Men’s Basketball Meets Kansas in Hy-Vee Hoops Border Showdown

The Hy-Vee Hoops Border Showdown returns to Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday with the Tigers taking on the No. 2 Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m. on ESPN.
 
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri has won its last four games to improve to 7-2 on the season.
• The Tigers are coming off an 82-72 victory over Wichita State on Sunday.
• Graduate guard Sean East II posted his second-straight 20-point game versus the Shockers (his fifth of the season), scoring a season-best 22 in the win.
• Overall, East leads Mizzou with 16.8 points and 3.4 assists per game this season.
• Noah Carter is second on the team with 12.6 points, while leading MU with 6.2 rebounds.
• Nick Honor also scores in double figures with 11.8 points per game.
• The Tigers are scoring 75.4 points per game, while allowing 67.2 defensively.
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
• Kansas owns an 8-1 record after earning a 88-69 win over Kansas City Tuesday.
• Winners of four-straight games, the Jayhawks are currently ranked second in the AP poll and third in the coaches poll.
• Hunter Dickinson leads KU with 20.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, while Kevin McCullar ranks second with 19.2 points.
• Dajuan Harris Jr. has a team-best 7.2 assists.
• The Jayhawks own a scoring offense of 80.7 points with a scoring defense of 65.2.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Missouri and Kansas have met 269 prior times on the basketball court – making the series the 10th-most played in the NCAA record book.
• Overall, Kansas holds a 174-95 advantage over the Tigers since the schools first met in 1907.
• The rivals renewed the series in 2021 with Kansas earning a victory the last two seasons.
• MU has lost its last 14 games at Allen Fieldhouse and is searching for its first win at Kansas since a 71-63 victory in 1999.
 
TIGERS VERSUS BIG 12
• A former member of the Big 12 Conference, MU owns a 161-146 all-time mark against the league.
• While in the Big 12, the Tigers posted a 157-134 record from 1996 to 2012 (139-119 in regular season and 18-15 in postseason).
• Since joining the SEC, Mizzou is 4-12 against Big 12 opponents, winning its last meeting with the conference with a 78-61 win over No. 12 Iowa State last January.
 
TIGERS VERSUS TOP FIVE
• The Tigers own a 23-84 all-time record against schools ranked in the top five of the AP poll.
• MU has lost its last 11 contests versus top-five foes – its most recent win in 2013 over No. 5 Florida.
• The Tigers are also 5-34 against schools ranked in the top two – losing its last 19 contests since a victory over No. 1 Kansas in 1997.
• Last year, MU was 6-4 versus ranked teams.
 
TIGERS VERSUS RANKED JAYHAWKS
• Mizzou has faced a ranked Kansas team 80 times previously with a 21-59 record.
• The Tigers are also 5-34 when Kansas is ranked in Lawrence with a 10-26 all-time mark versus a top-five Jayhawks team.
• MU owns one win (in seven tries) when playing a top-two Kansas team on the road as the No. 2 Tigers beat the No. 1 Jayhawks, 77-71, in 1990.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
• The Tigers are hoping to continue a strong start away from Columbia this year.
• Mizzou earned wins during the season’s first month at Minnesota and Pittsburgh.
• It marks the first time since 2003-04 that MU has two road non-conference wins and first time since 1991-92 with two over power-conference foes.
• In fact, MU is just one of just four schools nationally with two road wins over power-conference schools.
• Overall, Mizzou has won its last four road games – its longest streak since 2000 and the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.
 
20-POINT THREAT IN SEAN EAST II
• Sean East II has saved his best for last in 2023-24.
• East leads the Tigers with 16.8 points per game – double his career average entering the year, while eclipsing 20 points five times this season.
• His five 20-point games are more than double the total he had in his first three seasons combined.
• In fact, it marks the first time that a Tiger has eclipsed 20 points in five of the season’s first nine games since Jordan Clarkson in 2013-14.
 
MULTI-TALENTED
• The good news for Sean East II is he is showcasing his all-around game as of late
• In wins over Pittsburgh and Wichita State last week, East averaged 21.5 points and 6.5 assists.
• In fact, East tallied 22 points and nine assists in the victory over WSU – the first Tiger to pair at least 20 points and nine helpers in a game since Phil Pressey versus Kentucky on Feb. 23, 2013.
• Overall, East leads MU with 3.4 assists per game.