Not much to say about this one. Kansas played well for 37 minutes on Saturday night. It wasn't great, but it was good enough and Kansas got what they needed out of Tyshawn Taylor early and Thomas Robinson in the second half. In fact the Jayhawks looked poised to take the final contest in Columbia with about three minutes to go.
Then it just took a turn for the worse. As much as you hate to lose this one, it was a pretty classic finish to the rivalry in Columbia. The Tigers don't come out on top in this one nearly as often as Kansas, but they have made a few good Tiger memories knocking off ranked Jayhawk teams over the years. This was another one and a pretty fitting end to one half of this rivalry.
This one was obviously a little different considering Missouri was the higher ranked team and favored in this one, but it was still pretty clear that this was THE game for Missouri this season. The good news is that Missouri does have to return the favor and make the trip to Lawrence in a few weeks.
Now it's on to a road contest in Waco as things don't get any easier for the Jayhawks. A loss on the road against Baylor would mean that next Saturday's Baylor @ Missouri game would decide the new leader in the Big 12 race as we head into the home stretch.
Since the beginning we've known this was a Kansas team that was not on the same level as years past. Fortunately they've found a way to put themselves right there in the hunt and that's just part of being Kansas. But after this one and a series of narrow escapes by Missouri and Baylor, it's pretty clear that Kansas isn't getting any help on this journey. The Jayhawks are going to have to do the work themselves if they want to win an eighth straight.