Missouri vs Kansas: 2024-25 college basketball preview, TV schedule

TV Schedule: Sunday, December 08, 1:00 pm ET (ESPN2)
Location: Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri

When Missouri and Kansas take the court at Mizzou Arena on Sunday, it will be the 271st meeting between the Jayhawks and the Tigers. While this series has been one-sided, Missouri has found some success against Kansas in the past. Mizzou’s most recent win against KU was back in 2012, but since then these two programs have met only four times with the rivalry being renewed in 2021.

Both teams are coming off hard-fought games earlier this week, with Missouri picking up a win over California and Kansas dropping its first game of the season at Creighton. But regardless of the outcomes of those previous games, both teams will be ready for this matchup. 

Missouri’s 98-93 win over California was exhausting for the players and the fans. Mizzou found itself in a 16-point hole going into the half, a position the Tigers hadn’t been in all season. But Missouri used a dominating second half to claw its way back into the game. The Tigers shot 84.6 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes against Cal, outscoring the Golden Bears by 21 points. Anthony Robinson II dropped a career-high 29 points in the win to lead all scorers.

Kansas struggled to get things going on offense against Creighton and failed to score at least 75 points for the first time all season, dropping the game 76-63. The Jayhawks entered the game as the top-ranked team in the country, but Creighton’s defense made Kansas star Hunter Dickinson a non-factor. Dickinson was held to only six points in the loss. Dajuan Harris Jr led Kansas in scoring with 15 points. 

Missouri has been great offensively this season. The Tigers are the fourth-highest scoring team with 91.1 points per game and lead the country in field goal percentage at 52.6 percent. Mizzou has been solid from three but is making nearly 65 percent of its shots inside the three-point arc, which also leads the country. The three-point game got off to a somewhat slow start this year, but Missouri is currently making 35 percent of its shots from deep.

Mizzou will likely be without leading scorer Caleb Grill (13.6 ppg) for this matchup. Grill left the Lindenwood game with a neck injury and missed the against Cal on Tuesday. He was shooting 55 percent from three on 5.4 attempts per game before his injury. Missouri has three other players averaging double-digit points, with Tamar Bates and Mark Mitchell averaging 12.3 and Anthony Robinson II averaging 12.0. 

Defensively, Missouri has kind of been a mixed bag. The Tigers have shut down most of its mid-major opponents but struggled mightily against Cal to get stops, giving up 10 threes to the Golden Bears. Mizzou is holding opponents to 40 percent from the floor this season, but the Tigers still haven’t gone up against any elite teams. If Missouri wants to keep the game against Kansas close, the defense will need to be better.

Kansas has a solid offense in its own right. The Jayhawks are averaging 80.3 points per game while making 50.3 percent from the floor. KU is led in scoring by fifth-year senior Hunter Dickinson with 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Zeke Mayo (11.8 ppg) and Columbia, Missouri native Dajuan Harris Jr (10.4 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures this season. 

The Jayhawks are a physical team that likes to score inside the three-point arc. Dickinson and KJ Adams do most of the interior work for Kansas, averaging nearly 17 shots per game from two between both of them, helping the team make nearly 58 percent inside the three-point arc. Kansas doesn’t shoot a lot of threes but is relatively efficient from deep, making 34.6 from three on seven makes per game. The one area where the Jayhawks have struggled on the offensive end is getting to the free-throw line. This season, Kansas is only attempting 13.5 per game which ranks 353rd in the country. 

Defensively, Kansas is one of the better teams in college basketball. The Jayhawks are allowing only 67.1 points per game to opponents and holding teams to 40.1 percent from the floor. Kansas will let teams fire away from deep, but its interior defense makes up for it. One area where Missouri might take advantage of the KU’s defense is getting to the free throw line. This year, opponents are getting to the line 18.5 times per game against the Jayhawks. 

Mizzou has a chance to take down Kansas but it will take an all-out effort on offense and defense. This will be the biggest test for Missouri this season. The Tigers are humming on offense, but the level of competition hasn’t been great. Can Missouri score as efficiently against a good defense? Missouri will need to slow down one of the best players in college basketball in Hunter Dickinson, while also stopping the rest of the incredibly talented Kansas roster. 

It’s been 12 years since the last time Missouri beat Kansas in basketball. Will this be the year that the Tigers finally flip the script and steal a win from the Jayhawks?