I’m thrilled the Border War is back, let’s just get that out of the way first here. So it won’t be misconstrued at any point in this preview of the most important non-conference game Missouri will have played since maybe Braggin Rights back in the early 2000s, I’ll say 2004?
If you’re a fan of college basketball, this game is up there with the all time best rivalries around. I think Duke-North Carolina is the best rivalry, but MU-KU is up there with Kentucky-Louisville, Indiana-Purdue, Georgetown-Syracuse, and Michigan-Michigan State. The fact this game wasn’t immediately created upon Missouri’s exit from the Big 12 back in 2012 was a disservice to College Basketball and was largely due to Bill Self’s over-inflated sense of self-worth.