Emotions will run higher than normal in showdown with Mizzou

The Jayhawks took care of business at home against Oklahoma on Wednesday night. Now Kansas takes to the road for the biggest week of its season. Bill Self's team is 8-1 at the halfway point of the Big 12 schedule, one game up on Missouri and Baylor. Next up, it gets both the Tigers and the Bears on the road, the former on Saturday, and the latter on Feb. 8. The border war with Missouri is always a big deal. This year's game takes on even more meaning thanks to both teams being ranked in the top 10, Missouri's pending departure for the SEC, and the Jayhawks' loss last weekend at Iowa State that let its rivals back in the race. "This will be as hard of an environment that we have played against, for a lot of reasons," Self said. "There is some pent-up frustration with everybody with the rivalry and them going to a different league. This could be end of a long, long rivalry as far as home-and-home goes. They will want bragging rights in their place. Certainly, we would like nothing more than going over there and spoiling their party." The Tigers were on the minds of the Kansas players even as the Jayhawks were putting the finishing touches on an 84-62 shellacking of the Sooners. "In the back of our heads, we were thinking about that game," guard Tyshawn Taylor said. "It's probably the biggest one we have on our schedule so far. Coach said in the locker room, it's something we can start thinking about now because now that's our focus." Self is confident that his team will fare better than it in its last road game, the 72-64 loss to Iowa State. "(Missouri has) a terrific team, and we will have to play the best that we have played, but I think our guys will be fired up to do it," he said. TRENDING: Though the Jayhawks will be one of the favorites this March, their bench hasn't been a strength. The reserves scored just nine points against Oklahoma, and they had five in the previous game at Iowa State. The lack of production is forcing coach Bill Self to play his starters big minutes, which could cause players to wear down later in the year.