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Summary Kansas won. Let's get to the analysis. Analysis WOW! I hate to ever get too "up" or too "down" after a game, but tonight's game is really testing my ability to abide by that. Kansas came out after a one point halftime lead (43-42) and completely dominated for the rest of the night to finish with a huge win over archrival Missouri, 105-73. The second half of this game was, by far, the best basketball that this team has played all season. It might have very well been the best half of basketball that a Kansas team has put forth in quite some time. Since many, many Jayhawks put forth stellar efforts in this game, it makes a lot of sense to me to do the analysis by player. Here goes: Drew Gooden - This might have been the best game that Gooden has played at Kansas. It's fairly well known that I might not be Drew's biggest fan. It's not that I think he hurts the team, it's just that I tend to think we can do better than having a 6'10" guy bring the ball up the court, dribble drive, etc. Tonight, Gooden had 26 points and 10 rebounds. That's a pretty normal night, right? Well, in a word...No. Drew got his points tonight on 11-16 shooting (including ZERO attempts from the 3-point line) and hitting all of his free throws. Drew put the ball on the floor several times (which, honestly, makes me cringe) but was very effective with it, and committed just 3 turnovers. This game, and future big games like it, might be Drew's best case to make a run at national player of the year. Gooden truly looked like a consensus all-american tonight. That is high praise, especially coming from me. Kirk Hinrich - Hinrich was the co-MVP for tonight's game. Check out these stats...23 points, 8-11 from the floor, 3-3 from the 3-point arc, 6 assists, just 2 turnovers. Pretty good night I'd say, but that's just the half of it. Kirk also drew defensive responsibility on Missouri all-conference swingman Kareem Rush. Rush's line included just 13 points and 6-19 from the floor (1-7 from behind the arc), and the three that he actually hit was a wide open look he got after the Kansas defense collectively dove after a loose ball that squirted out of the pile to him. There were other players that contributed to the defensive effort against Rush, but Hinrich was the ringleader. Great game for Kirk. Jeff Boschee - Boschee continues to be (possibly) my favorite player on this team. Jeff only took 8 shots tonight, but he hit 5 of them to contribute 13 points, including a couple of big 3-point shots while the game was still in doubt. Boschee also grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and didn't have any turnovers (again). Another solid night by the senior. Nick Collison - Statistically, a below average night for Collison (13 points, 6 boards), but Nick avoided fouls, turnovers, and defensive breakdowns. This is the line that was most surprising to me, because it seemed like Nick did much more than what showed up in the boxscore. In any event, Collison had a solid night and did a nice defensive job against Missouri's interior players. Missouri basically had no inside game (their starting power forward and center combined for 11 points and 6 rebounds), and Nick's physical presence, along with Drew's athleticism on the inside, was a big part of that. Some other notable statistics: Aaron Miles had 8 assists and ZERO turnovers in his first Border War. Bryant Nash hit a 3-pointer for the second game in a row after not making one in his entire career before Saturday. The starting 5 worked well together tonight, really led by the upperclassmen (the four listed above). This was one of those games that you'd like to watch over and over again. Kansas was absolutely dominant. Stat of the Game: Kansas, an admittedly turnover-prone team due to their fast pace of play, had just 13 turnovers in the game and shot 61% from the floor. The Jayhawks showed what can happen when they value the basketball and are efficient of the offensive end of the court. Offensive efficiency + defensive intensity = blowout win over a quality basketball team. This is an excellent lesson, and one that would be very, very good for the Jayhawks to remember. Another key: For the most part, the officials allowed this game to be fairly physical. There were only 31 fouls called in the game, 17 on Mizzou and 14 on Kansas. Neither team was ever in foul trouble and the players for both teams could defend and hit the boards without worrying about ticky-tack fouls. There were a couple of calls that were questionable, at both ends, but for the most part this game was allowed to be decided on the court. It was a very refreshing thing, as a college basketball fan, after watching the officials call a staggering 53 (FIFTY THREE) fouls in the Duke/Virginia game last night. The Jayhawks moved to 18-2 and 7-0 in the Big 12. Next up, KU hosts Colorado in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. Tonight, Kansas firmly planted itself in the driver's seat in the conference race (if it wasn't already there) and put on a performance worthy of placing the entire country on notice. And that...is a nice position to be in.

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Rock Chalk.... Robert