Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor (10) yells after a basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Iowa State in Lawrence, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Taylor contributed 28 points as Kansas won 82-73. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) _ Any time Kansas comes to town, it's a big
deal for Missouri. It seems a bit bigger this time around.
The border rivalry that dates to the Teddy Roosevelt
administration is about to be shut down indefinitely as Missouri
leaves for the Southeastern Conference. Oh, and both schools are in
the top 10, too.
The fourth-ranked Tigers (20-2, 7-2 Big 12) have been a
season-long surprise under first-year coach Frank Haith, who
arrived from Miami as a relative unknown with a shaky track record.
Now he's a contender for national coach of the year, getting the
maximum from a seven-man rotation heavy on senior experience.
Once again, they're chasing eighth-ranked Kansas (18-4, 8-1),
seeking its eighth straight conference championship and with a
one-game lead in the Big 12 over Missouri and Baylor. Thomas
Robinson is a candidate for national player of the year, and the
only player in the conference averaging a double-double every
night.
Missouri students began camping out Wednesday night, eager for
Saturday morning's ESPN GameDay show ahead of that night's game.
For the Jayhawks' final visit to Columbia for a Big 12 game,
Robinson figures the taunting will be taken to a new level.
``I'm not letting anybody in that gym, stadium, state, stop
me,'' Robinson said. ``So they can say what they want. You're not
listening to the crowd. Otherwise, you wouldn't be no good.''
Haith hopes there's a way to keep the series going beyond the
return matchup Feb. 25 in Lawrence, Kan., which will be Game 267
dating to 1906-07, when the Jayhawks were coached by basketball
inventor James Naismith but lost on consecutive days at Missouri.
Haith noted optimistically that Clemson-South Carolina,
Georgia-Georgia Tech and Florida-Florida State, three series closer
to his old job at Miami, are alive and well despite being in
different conferences.
``Absolutely. I think it's a great rivalry. I'm excited about
being a part of this thing, this weekend,'' Haith said. ``Hopefully
in time, we can rekindle that and we can still play.''
Bad blood off the court is responsible for halting this one.
When Missouri joins the SEC in July it'll be the first time the
schools haven't been in the same conference. The move could
endanger the Big 12 television package if West Virginia isn't able
to extricate itself from the Big East in time for next season,
leaving the conference with just nine teams.
Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas recently labeled
Missouri's decision ``selfish'' and ``disruptive,'' adding that the
SEC had offered to delay the Tigers' move until 2013. And don't
forget the Kansas university relations Twitter account, which had
this reaction to the move in November: ``Missouri forfeits a
century-old rivalry. We win.''
So, expect emotions to be high for the Columbia finale.
Kansas coach Bill Self said he's not mad, just disappointed.
``Kids on both sides are prideful, fans are prideful,'' Self
said. ``There's talk on both sides of it and that translates down
to players as well.''
Missouri players have been reminded all week to ignore hoopla
and concentrate on the game. Leading scorer Marcus Denmon, sixth
man Michael Dixon and reserve forward Steve Moore, all from Kansas
City, need no more incentive.
``All that stuff you hear is going on, you try to block it out
because all that stuff, you can't control,'' Moore said.
Guard Kim English, one of the more outspoken Missouri players,
was purposefully respectful. He made meticulous note of Kansas'
rich tradition, although he added, ``But we're living in the here
and now.''
``Respect their players, really look up to them, respect their
coach,'' he said, ``that's about it.''
The same goes for Kansas, although players are ready to ramp it
up in tribute to the spirit of a beloved series on the verge of
cancellation.
``This rivalry goes way back before we even know, so we kind of
take on that role of not really liking those guys,'' guard Tyshawn
Taylor. ``We're going to embrace the crowd, we're going to embrace
the fans, we're going to go out and do what we do. That's why we
came to Kansas, to play games like this.''
The rivalry actually has been rather lopsided, with Kansas
holding a decisive 171-94 advantage and carrying a five-game
winning streak into Saturday's matchup.
The last time Missouri had a higher ranking for a matchup was
2009, when it was 11th, four spots ahead of the Jayhawks, and lost
by 25 points in Lawrence, Kan.
It's been a bigger game for Missouri in recent years because of
Kansas' stature, and the Tigers' lack of it.
``We cannot win any games except for Kansas and we had a great
season,'' Missouri forward Ricardo Ratliffe said, echoing remarks
from seasons past.
Kansas had a 10-game winning streak snapped at Iowa State last
week, but is coming off a 22-point victory over Oklahoma on
Wednesday. That's not much time to prepare for Missouri's
four-guard offense, with dazzling sophomore Phil Pressey
distributing to 3-point threats Denmon, English and older brother
Matt Pressey.
The lone inside man is a major beneficiary, too. Ratliffe is
shooting 75 percent, threatening the single-season NCAA field goal
percentage record of 74.6 percent by Oregon State's Steve Johnson
in 1981. He will have his hands full with Robinson.
``I don't see it as a matchup problem because I think I have the
ability to at least contain them, and stay in front of them,''
Robinson said. ``And I look at it like they have to check me. It
works both ways.''
____
AP Sports Writer David Skretta and AP freelance writer Jake
Kreinberg contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)