How the past, present and future will influence Mizzou basketball in the Border War's return to Columbia
Depending on who you ask, the Border War history will have a different text to it.
There are either the Missouri stories, which tells tales of buzzer-beating wins and thrilling upsets; or the Kansas tales, which tell stories of winning streaks and the all-time upper hand in a bitter rivalry.
Or, there's the history lesson. Why each school despises the other and where the vitriol truly lies.
"The history of it all made me understand the Missouri-Kansas thing. I'm on the Kansas side of things when it comes to history, not Missouri if you know what I mean," former MU senior guard, and current George Mason head coach, Kim English said. "I'm talking Civil War history. I like John Brown more than Quantrill. But, when you understand that, you get why these two places hate each other so much."
That all returns Saturday to Columbia for the first time in a decade. Missouri and Kansas basketball will play for the 271st time in Mizzou Arena.
There isn't much on the line this year as opposed to 10 years ago. Then, MU and KU jockeyed with each other for conference titles, conference tournament seeding and yearly bragging rights.
The game Saturday will serve as a reflection point. Not just for the past, recalling Feb. 4, 2012, but for the present status of the Border War rivalry and the future of Missouri basketball.
"It's not the same at all," English said. "It's not the same, but it's always good to play. It's a great game."
The past
The last time Kansas basketball came into Columbia to play a basketball game was over a decade ago.
The Tigers beat the Jayhawks 74–71, the second-to-last time the two would play as rival members of the Big 12 and the last time Kansas would make an appearance in Mizzou Arena until Dec. 10, 2022. Mizzou Arena made the day memorable for the wrong reasons, to start.
Pyrotechnics that didn't ventilate properly left a haze over Norm Stewart Court.
"It was a heavy, deep smoke over the court," English said. "I actually vomited at half-time because of the smoke inhalation."
English remembers the fireworks in the actual game itself, too. Marcus Denmon lit up Kansas in the second half as the Tigers overcame an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes to win. Denmon had 29 points, and Michael Dixon sunk crucial free throws to seal the win.
It was English's second and final win over Kansas as a MU Tiger. He beat Kansas again as an assistant coach at Tennessee. It taught him a lesson about playing against a Bill Self-coached team.
Missouri was reminded of that lesson last season at the Allen Fieldhouse. A 102-65 beat down at the Jayhawks' hands last season was a stiff reminder of how talented teams need to be to defeat Kansas.
"You're going to be playing against a team that will not beat themselves," English said Thursday. "If you beat Kansas, you have to beat them all the way to the buzzer. You know it's not gonna be given to you. You have to take it."
That's what makes the lasting memories of 2012 and 2009, English's wins over Kansas, so satisfying. To get there, he had to earn it. It made the wins sweet, but the close losses hurt even more.
English still recalls the agony of the one-point loss MU suffered against KU just a few weeks later on February 25. A win there may have secured MU a No. 1 seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and a Big 12 regular season title.
That's why his favorite memories were simply getting those wins.
"Winning," English said. "Coming out with more points than them."
The paths both MU and KU traveled after the 2012 regular season varied greatly. Kansas would earn a berth in the 2012 National Championship Game, winning a title in 2022. Missouri ventured to the SEC, where Dennis Gates became the fourth coach the Tigers have had since that 2012 season.
That last Border War in Columbia was a chance for MU fans to send off the Class of 2012, who have always represented a different era of Tigers basketball.
The rivalry might not be the same, but players like English are the reason the hate has carried over.
"We had no reason to be upset about anything," English said. "It didn't really matter to us. We weren't going to the SEC. We are Big 12 players."
The present
Mizzou Arena will be sold out Saturday. The stage will be set. Basketball fans nationwide will turn their eyes from No. 1 Houston vs. No. 8 Alabama to Missouri-Kansas.
All eyes will be on the two proteges, spanning two decades apart.
Gates came to Missouri from Cleveland State, by way of Florida State. FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton, who tutored Gates as an assistant, did the same for Self at Oklahoma State in the late 1980s.
"We're from the same coaching tree," Gates said. "We got pretty much our start from the same person in Leonard Hamilton."
Self's lessons from Hamilton's tutelage led to jobs at Oral Roberts, then Tulsa and then Illinois. Roy Williams' departure from Kansas to North Carolina gave Self that opportunity.
Years later, Gates used his experience from his jobs at Marquette, Northern Illinois, California, Nevada and FSU to his success at Cleveland State, and now his first Power 5 job at Missouri.
The similarities between the two proteges weren't lost on the mentor.
"I remember watching Bill and saying this guy has that it factor," Hamilton told the Tribune in March 2022. "Dennis has that it factor about him that you just know that he is going to be successful in whatever responsibility you give him."
Both coaches represent the present-day Hamilton coaching tree. Both will be leading different teams. Gates will be coaching a virtually new roster compared to the few remaining players who stayed.
English said the one way to be successful in the Border War rivalry is to live it. Specifically, participants need to know what it's like to play at the Allen Fieldhouse.
Kobe Brown, one of the three returnees from last year's Border War, remembers it. It was hostile. It was deafening.
"Just the experience of playing in an arena like that, in front of a crowd like that," Brown said. "That's always fun."
Brown said his message to his teammates was this rivalry is serious, and that it means so much to the community the Tigers are playing for.
That community will be ready to support the Tigers in full force Saturday. Brown preparing his teammates for that atmosphere is a boon, considering the opposition has played in plenty of atmospheres like Saturday will have.
"I look forward to it," Self said. "I love good atmospheres."
The future
English enjoyed the festivities from 10 years ago. Now, he couldn't imagine being a coach on a day like that with that rivalry.
"As a coach now, that day would be my worst nightmare," English said. "All the hype in the world, two top-10 teams, College GameDay, players participating in College GameDay. I mean, it was just so many distractions around Columbia that day for a game."
That atmosphere won't hold the same water. But, it will be a key game that can help dictate the immediate and long-term futures of MU basketball.
As the marquee game on Missouri's non-conference slate, staying competitive or winning outright will go a long way toward telling what the Tigers can be under Gates.
Starting 9-0 has re-energized some areas of the Missouri fan base. Defeating Kansas will amplify MU's potential with a key win that will count come March and any potential NCAA Tournament bids.
"It's an important game to both fan bases," Self told reporters on Thursday. "Certainly, it will go long ways with both programs in determining how good a non-conference season you have."
This game will be a measuring point for both MU and KU for the seasons to come. The two are scheduled to play until 2026, with one game in Lawrence, one in Columbia and two more games at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Winning these games keeps the status quo of a dominant for Kansas; winning these games means the rise of a Missouri program under a rising star head coach.
It's true the rivalry isn't the same. It should be a part of Missouri's future all the same.
"It's a rivalry that I think college basketball should continue to have," Gates said.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How the past, present and future influence Mizzou against Kansas
