Over the years much has been written and talked about concerning the KU-MU rivalry, which reached a boiling point on March 11, 1961. Just months before the basketball game, KU’s football team played Missouri in Columbia when the Tigers were 9-0 and ranked number one in the AP Poll.

KU was coached by Jack Mitchell. The Jayhawks had John Hadl at QB, Curtis McClinton and Bert Coan at halfbacks, and Doyle Schick at fullback. Those four players went on to become starters in the NFL. MU was coached by Dan Devine and the AD was Don Faurot—both hated KU. The Jayhawks stomped the Tigers on their home field (23-7) and cost MU the AP national championship.

Missouri fans were still bitter about the loss of the football game when KU’s basketball team traveled to Columbia; the Jayhawks had whipped the Tigers (88-73) earlier in Lawrence. KU’s starters were Wayne Hightower, Bill Bridges, Al Correll, Nolen Ellison, and Jerry Gardner.

MU’s players and fans were spoiling for a fight and they got it; Wayne Hightower and MU’s center, Charles Henke, started it and the brawl escalated. The MU mob took Hightower into the stands and he was lucky he wasn’t seriously injured. This was not the normal pushing and shoving—fists were flying. MU fans and many of the football players spilled onto the floor and entered the fray.

ABC was televising the game nationally with Jack Buck doing the play-by-play. Following the bravado by the Missouri players and crowd, one picture remains clear after all these years: Bill Bridges (6-6, 230) standing at mid-court with his fists up, ready to go. Bridges seemed to have an invisible fence around him; no one from MU ventured within 25 feet of him—Bridges was still all alone when the brawl finally ended.

The atmosphere will be similar this coming Saturday when the Jayhawks play the Tigers for the last time in Columbia. Good luck in the SEC Missouri, you won’t be missed.

Missouri doesn’t match up well with Kansas; the Jayhawks have too much power in the pivot with Withey and Robinson. The guess here is that Withey will guard MU’s only talented big man, Ricardo Ratliffe (6-8, 240). Withey can handle Ratliffe close to the basket.

And KU’s perimeter players—Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson, and Travis Releford—are bigger and more talented than MU’s guards.

But Missouri’s crowd will be close to out of control and that will be the great equalizer; it will be a fiercely contested game that could go either way.

The moment of truth has arrived for KU’s current basketball team: the Jayhawks play at MU, at Baylor (Feb. 8), and at Kansas State (Feb. 13). Kansas plays road games against their three main challengers for the Big 12 title in a span of ten days.

KU could lose all three, which would throw the conference race into a tailspin. If they win one of the three, the Jayhawks will still be in the thick of the title chase. If Kansas wins two of the three, the Jayhawks will have a death grip on the key to the throne room. And, even though it’s unlikely, if KU wins all three, the Big 12 race will be over.

Kansas State’s basketball team took a major hit in their attempt to get back in the Big 12 race when they lost at home to Oklahoma last Saturday. That left the Wildcats with a 4-4 Big 12 record and numerous challenging games left.

Coach Frank Martin’s team has been inconsistent on offense; in particular, K-State has committed too many unforced turnovers.

The league race is exciting for the fans, but it doesn’t mean much in today’s game. At the end of the season, all that matters is how teams fare in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas State had a 15-5 overall record after the OU game; if the Cats win 20 or more games, they will be a lock to make the Big Dance.

This K-State team has been a mystery: Just when the Wildcats appear to be making progress, they take a big step backward. Martin’s team needs one or two players besides Rodney McGruder to start scorning on offense. McGruder has been terrific in Big 12 play, but he can’t do it by himself.

Kansas State can still have a stellar NCAA Tournament, but the clock’s ticking. Martin must get the offense squared away soon or his ball club could slide into the pit of lost seasons.