Mizzou is still hilariously pathetic
What an absolute smashdown. The Jayhawks executed the first ten minutes of the game nearly perfectly, with almost zero resistance, earning breathless accolades from Self. Mizzou’s gimmick defense did nothing besides giving KU constant opportunities at the rim and at the three-point line, which is exactly how this team wants to operate and represents an ideal scenario out of Jayhawk dreams. “Are they kidding,” I thought. Reader, they weren’t!
For almost the entirety of the second half, KU passed up open shot after open shot, focusing on methodically ironing out sets rather than continuing to pummel the beaten and exhausted Tigers. The Jayhawks tried to let Mizzou get within 15, just to get the blood pumping a little bit and make things feel more like a real live game, but Mizzou just could not do it. Bless their heart! Hook. It. To. My. VEINS.
No one expected Mizzou to win, sure. But that effort from MU was, speaking from a purely Jayhawk perspective, absolutely hilarious, distinctive in its specific degree of patheticness. Bill Self said KJ Adams’ performance reminded him of Draymond Green, which I’m assuming is shorthand for an undersized post player leaving bigger defenders in his wake all game in a borderline-mindblowing way. (I don’t expect Adams to run the offense from the elbow anytime soon, which is where this comp misses for me but I love the energy). Maybe Green is selling KJ short here when it comes to the MU game—what about Barkley? I expect one of the bench bigs will emerge eventually, but they’re going to have to snatch every second out of KJ’s hands.
Gradey Dick, who Mizzou just kind of allowed to roam the perimeter and get stone-set for his perfect jumper, cooked for the first six minutes of the game before the Jayhawks fully got into scrimmage mode. Dick is a special player, one who has shown he’s both a better athlete and has a better floor IQ than anyone reasonably expected. I am going to miss him when he’s gone!
I’ll play devil’s advocate here for the briefest of moments: There’s a world where Mizzou’s AD big-times us. They left for a bag in the SEC, which is something KU would have loved to do, had they been given the opportunity. We had the worst D1 program in football for several years, including a 2-10 campaign last year. There’s plenty of fodder there.
However, the bowl game back-and-forth could not have been more of a comedy of errors for MIZ. I have no idea if the payout rumor is true—that the Liberty Bowl per-team payout is 5x the payout for whatever the bowl game they’re in—but goodness, what an embarrassing performance from MU HC Eli Drinkwitz, who stuck by his extremely weak bit about playing us in 2025 and made a truly dumb sign that earned condemnation from troll king Lane Kiffin:
It may seem like I’m relishing this—I am, definitely—but what Missouri has done in the last few days has transcended the subjective. The basketball face-plant might have not been avoidable, but every other puddle of mudd they stepped in is of their own creation. As for their fanbase, it’s quiet uptown. Basketball might be the least of their problems, which is a terrifying thought that also brings me great and genuine joy. We honestly didn’t even wave the banner at them as much as we could have; the basketball did the talking, and it was a very one-sided conversation.
Adidas Bowl on Saturday. Get ready for some bad jerseys!