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1) The complete dominance of football in the American sports landscape has maybe never been more apparent. There was only one FBS college football game played in the last week and it was a game that, while symbolic and important to many people, featured two teams that don't really factor into the larger conversation for most fans. And yet football still dominated the college sports landscape this week.
While Missouri played its longest-tenured rival and there were some elite college basketball games across the country, 90% of the college sports conversation was about the four teams in (and one team out) of the College Football Playoff, the Heisman Trophy, other national awards and the transfer portal. It was perhaps the best example yet that football is a 12-months a year sport and it dominates the national consciousness to the point where everything else has become a niche sport.
It's definitely true in college. And while it's probably less true in the pros, it's true there too. Sure, people pay attention to NBA and MLB free agency. There are pockets of fans who get really invested in the months-long regular seasons of those leagues. But no other league has a full show in the offseason to reveal its schedule, no other league has year-round mock drafts leading up to an actual draft that lasts three days.
None of this is really a new development or breaking news. It just really hit me in the days leading up to Missouri vs Kansas in basketball. There was a time that would have dominated every conversation for just about every Mizzou fan. But honestly, the game last week didn't really have a ton of hype and buzz leading into it. Sure, people were interested. But not as interested as they are in which transfers are visiting or who''s opting out or transferring out of Ohio State. Football has so taken over our consciousness that the ancillary surrounding events in football now get far more attention than the actual games in other sports.
2) That wasn't the only reason Mizzou/Kansas didn't draw as much attention. First of all, on the Missouri side, almost nobody expected to win. So that's a part of it. Fans aren't going to get psyched for a game they fully expect their team to lose and I think 98% of Missouri fans fully expected the Tigers to lose that game
But it's more than that. The rivalry (and yes, I think it's fair to still call it that) isn't the same. It's not exactly just another game, but it's just not what it used to be. There are certainly Mizzou fans who hate Kansas as much as they ever did and I'm sure there are some Kansas fans who feel the same way about Mizzou. But there are fewer of them. And my guess is they're almost all probably at least 40 and quite often older than that. My generation and generations before me were raised on MU/KU and the hatred was instilled early and stoked often. But if you're 30, you were a teenager the last time the teams played twice in a season and the last time the game counted toward any sort of standings or championships.
It's just different now. Both sides still want to win the game. Both sides still admit it means more than most games. But it doesn't mean what it used to. Leading up to the games since the series was reinstated, I've felt like the anger and the hate has been manufactured far more than it used to be. I know far fewer Missouri fans that really pay attention to what Kansas does when it isn't playing Missouri and vice versa. If you're a student at either school, how could you really understand what it used to be? You weren't even ten years old. You weren't alive when Roy Williams was the coach at KU, much less when Norm Stewart was at Mizzou.
Overall, I still like that they're playing. I'd much rather cover Mizzou/Kansas than whatever game would probably replace it on the schedule. But it just doesn't mean as much and unless they play in the NCAA Tournament or the College Football Playoff, it never will. Year by year, the stories us old guys tell about the Border War will become distant memory and legend. It's yet another thing that has become a victim of conference realignment. That's not an argument Missouri should have stayed or anything like that. It's just a statement of fact. The days of the series being what it was simply aren't ever coming back.
3) As far as the actual game, it was nothing special. Missouri came out and showed it wasn't intimidated. Then Kansas made the run it always makes. Missouri didn't roll over, but never seriously threatened in the second half. The Jayhawks got a win in which they probably feel like they didn't play all that well and the Tigers took a loss that gave them some reasons to hope going forward but also exposed some of the weaknesses the current team has.
My lasting impression was this: Missouri's just a player or two short of where it needs to be to really make a run this season. Don't get me wrong, the Tigers can still make the NCAA Tournament. I don't think I'd bet on it as of today, but it's certainly not out of the question. And once you're in the tournament, who knows what can happen? But as far as being a team that's as good as last year's over the course of a full season, they're just a player or two short. I think that player was probably Matthew Cleveland. The former Florida State Seminole visited Mizzou when he entered the transfer portal, but ultimately ended up at Miami. He's currently averaging 15 points and 4 rebounds for the Canes while shooting 63.8% from the field and 43.5% from three-point range.
Sean East II has been a star for Missouri. He's improved far more than I thought was possible. But beyond that, Mizzou doesn't have a consistent second threat. Tamar Bates has done it once or twice, Noah Carter and Nick Honor can do it sometimes, there are other guys who might do it here and there. But Missouri was really only in that game because East was playing out of his mind (at one point, East was 5/10 from the floor and the rest of the team was 7/28). East and Connor Vanover shot 12/21 and the rest of the team went 12/37. In other words, if East doesn't go off, how does Missouri beat good teams? Right now, I'm not sure.
Again, I'm not writing off this season. Teams can improve (Mizzou has already done so and very well might do so even more going forward). Missouri still has the sixth best overall record in the SEC at this point in the season. It can absolutely win some games. I'm just not sure it can quite get to where Mizzou fans hoped it would get when last year ended. The good news is there's legitimate reason to believe this could be the worst team Dennis Gates has. This year's freshmen will become sophomores, a top five recruiting class is on the way next year and Gates will hit the portal for a piece or two again this spring. Tomorrow, it's expected he'll start his 2025 recruiting haul off with top-25 national prospect Aaron Rowe. Gates looks to be an elite recruiter and a damn good game day coach, talent evaluator and developer. The arrow is pointed squarely up for the program. It just might include a season that's a step sideways or slightly back before it gets there.
4) Here's how I'd rank the SEC in terms of basketball tiers as we near the end of the non-conference season:
Tier 1: Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky
Tier 2: Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State
Tier 3: Mizzou, Ole Miss, Florida, South Carolina
Tier 4: Vanderbilt, Georgia, LSU
I think one or two of the tier 3 teams could move up to tier 2 and one of them could fall down to the top of tier 4. One of the tier 2 teams might be able to put itself into tier 1.
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