College basketball is heating up, people, and there is no better example than tonight’s Border War between #16 Kansas and #19 Missouri. The atmosphere at Mizzou Arena was electric even though the home team only scored 16 points the entire first half (and trailed by 14 at halftime). Bit by bit, the Tigers chipped away at the lead, and after trailing for the previous 30 minutes, J.T. Tiller’s bucket with 0:50 remaining gave Mizzou the lead, 60-58. Twenty seconds later, Mario Little made a rainbow jumper from the baseline to tie the game, 60-60. The Tigers ran the clock down and with just 0:02 remaining, Zaire Taylor got a very friendly bounce to put Mizzou ahead for good, 62-60.

One of the biggest differences between college hoops and the NBA is the energy of the home crowd. The fans in Columbia stuck with the Tigers even when things were going badly and gave them that extra boost when they needed it most. With the Jayhawks up two, Sherron Collins (who is an 84% free throw shooter on the season) missed two crucial shots at the charity stripe due in no small part to the fact that he was shooting into the teeth of the student body.

It’s Rivalry Week and ESPN has a number of great Top 25 matchups over the next few days. Mizzou and Kansas got us off to a great start.