COLUMBIA, Mo. – There’s no denying that war has returned to the Mizzou Arena floor, least of all by the team looking to get back on the right side of a classic Midwestern basketball rivalry.

Missouri and Kansas play each other on the hardwood at noon Sunday, a part of the border war that under no circumstances can be considered another non-conference game.

“The Border War is not just a normal game,” MU coach Dennis Gates said. “We never deal with it like that. Our fan base will be thrilled. The history of the two programs, from the Big 8 Days to the Big 12 Days – and even now that we represent the SEC, it is still alive.”

“I would be an idiot if I sat here and acted like it was just a normal game, like it was nothing else,” added guard Tamar Bates, who grew up between schools in Kansas City. “It’s just as serious for the players as it is for the fans. I mean, obviously the fans are getting a little more provocative because they can’t think of better words. We just play basketball, but it’s always a really competitive game.”

Mizzou gets home field advantage in this edition of the renewed Border War. MU and KU have played three times since the series returned in 2021, twice in Lawrence and once in Columbia. Kansas won them all.

Last year at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, the Tigers played a very competitive first half and lost by nine points, 73-64. In 2022, the first season Gates coached Missouri, KU, he hit the ground running, winning 95-67 in the CoMo.

This is what Mizzou has to do: The Jayhawks (7:1) are the best-ranked team in the country and have a clear advantage over the Tigers (7:1).

“Yes, we face Kansas, we face (KU coach) Bill Self, we face players,” Gates said. “But we also face the history of your program.”

However, the Jayhawks are not invincible. They lost on the road to Creighton on Wednesday, a 13-point non-conference upset. Depending on how you look at the aftermath of these results, there will either be blood in the water around Kansas, or KU will be a team determined to right the ship in a decisive way.

Self’s team bucks the general basketball trend of bombing from 3-point range. The Jayhawks’ percentage of shots coming from beyond the arc is one of the lowest in the country. They score 62% of their points on two-point field goals, which is the fourth highest in the country.

“If you look at their shot selection or even their analytics and matrix, they’re defended by every single coverage,” Gates said, “if you look at the different teams they’ve played, not just this year but last Year. … They do a good job and get what they want.”

And what Kansas wants has a lot to do with center Hunter Dickinson. The 7-foot-2 fifth-year post player is averaging 14.5 points, nine rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Guard Zeke Mayo is KU’s primary shooter – the only player to attempt 40 3-pointers this season. He averages 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Guard Dajuan Harris, who grew up in Colombia, and forward KJ Adams round out the Jayhawks’ list of well-known key players.

Kansas’ inside-focused style of play will be an interesting test for Missouri’s defense. The Tigers have more length and versatility this season than they did a year ago, but they don’t always have a traditional center – like Josh Gray, who is averaging less than 15 minutes on the field per game.

“We just have to focus on keeping the ball in front of us because they love setting screens and hitting the short roll with KJ Adams, and they play a little different outside of ball screens with Hunter,” Bates said. “The focus is really just on knowing the personnel: like knowing the guys — because there are guys who like to shoot 3s and shoot 3s, but there are more guys on the team who are drivers or just play 10-footers and.”In.”

When Mizzou pulls off an upset, Gates explained, it secures advantages in several statistical categories – in addition to simply scoring points.

“We just have to do our job and play our style,” said Gates, whose team was 6½-point underdogs at FanDuel Sportsbook Saturday night. “They will play their style. The matrix in between is free throws, rebounds and turnovers – and you have to be able to win some of those categories.”

The Tigers get to the free throw line more often, while Kansas tends to be better on the boards. This makes turnover the most important battleground of the border war.

“The exposure of their opponents comes from the turnovers, the transition,” Gates said. “They’re going to do what they do in the half court, right? We can’t help them. If you look at their wins, their wins are because the teams helped them along the way.”

Missouri will play without guard Caleb Grill, who is out with a neck injury. To get a win against the Jayhawks, the rest of the roster will have to step up and create a hometown atmosphere that will rock a rivalry matinee.

“I think with all the rivalry games, there’s a different energy, a different feeling in the air,” said Mizzou forward Mark Mitchell, another Kansas City prospect who experienced the Duke-North Carolina rivalry with the Blue Devils. “This game will be no different.”