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Missouri hands No. 1 Kansas second straight loss, upsets Jayhawks 76-67 in Border War
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Missouri pulled off the biggest win of the Dennis Gates era on Sunday, upsetting No. 1 Kansas 76-67 in Columbia. It was the second straight loss for the Jayhawks, who fell at Creighton 76-63 on Wednesday.
Mizzou snapped a 4-game losing streak to Kansas in the process, with the Tigers’ last win against the Jayhawks on Feb. 4, 2012. It was also their first win against a top-ranked opponent since 1997.
Missouri upsets the nation’s No. 1 ranked team for the first time since 1997 🤯
MU storms the court after beating KU for the first time since 2012 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/mZKsSH00cA
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) December 8, 2024
The Tigers, who never trailed outside of an early 2-0 deficit, opened up an 18-point lead with less than two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half. Their largest lead of the afternoon was 24, as Tony Perkins made it a 57-33 game 5:45 into the second half.
The Jayhawks, though, fought back, cutting it to 65-63 with 2:25 left as part of a 30-8 run, but the Tigers effectively sealed it by scoring the game’s next 7 points.
Tamar Bates led all scorers with 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Mark Mitchell chipped in 17 while Anthony Robinson added 11. Four Jayhawks reached double digits in a losing cause, led by Hunter Dickinson’s 19 and David Coit’s 14.
Mizzou’s defense was a major factor, forcing 22 Kansas turnovers. That’s despite the Jayhawks holding a 40-29 rebounding edge, including a 16-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Tigers are now 8-1 and have matched their win total from a season ago. They’ll receive votes in Monday’s AP poll at the absolute minimum and may even find themselves ranked.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
