Hatred, history make Border War rivalry unique, says KU basketball coach Bill Self

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self appreciates Missouri fans for one reason:

How much the Tiger fans hate KU.

For Self, the hatred between KU and Missouri is what makes the Border War rivalry special. The No. 6 Jayhawks (8-1) and unranked Tigers (9-0) will write another chapter in their historic rivalry at 4:15 p.m. Central on Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

“Missouri and Illinois (Self coached at Illinois) is a good rivalry; I thought there was a little bit of respect in that rivalry,” Self said at the media availability. “With Kansas and Missouri, from a fan standpoint, I don’t know if there is as much respect as there is as much a flat-out dislike or hate. I think that’s what makes it a great rivalry.

“I don’t think you could have Larry Brown or Norm Stewart (former Missouri coach) or Roy Williams (former KU coach) or Quinn Snyder (former MU coach) — or obviously coach (Dennis) Gates and myself — enjoy a rivalry as much if it didn’t have those types of emotions involved. So that’s good, but it’s different.”

As KU’s coach, Self has a 16-4 record against the Tigers and a 5-4 record in Columbia. Historically, KU leads 175-95 against Missouri, although that specific mark is in dispute (over one KU win).

“You know Dave (Lawrence, former KU football player) far better than me playing for coach (Don) Fambrough — and obviously (at) Missouri, ... guys that played for coach (Norm) Stewart (would, too),” Self said. “‘I’ll never spend a dime in that state.’ That type of mindset created such interest and emotion that made it what it is. That’s what makes it special and good and I’m sure it will be full of all of those things on Saturday.”

Self thinks the rivalry has a different feeling to it that not even the in-state rivalry between Kansas and Kansas State lives up to.

“When we play K-State, it is a rival; I’m not saying anything ... that is taking away from the rivalry, but it doesn’t feel quite the same as the historical rivalry that’s existed between Missouri and Kansas going way back before even the universities had basketball programs,” Self said. “So it’s different.”

Self has made it a point to educate his players on the history of the matchup.

“I don’t know if we will do anything special, but we will certainly let it be known that this is an important game to their fan base and our fan base,” Self said. “ It will certainly go a long way with both programs in determining how good of a nonconference season you have.”

For several young Kansas players, including a number of key-contributing freshmen, Missouri will be their first taste of a big-time rivalry game.

“I think we will be fine,” Self said. “I think what happens a lot is we think we are pretty cool until you actually play with live bullets. You go to the Garden (Madison Square Garden) or you go to Indy and those aren’t live bullets. You go to the Bahamas, and even though that is a neutral-site game, 50% of the people are still cheering for you. This is their first taste for what it is like to play a true road game. If you are going to play a true road game sometimes, it’s better to ease into that.”

Last year, Self continued, the Jayhawks eased into that type of environment by playing in a road-like atmosphere at St. John’s in a game that was technically off-campus. A local example would be the games KU plays at T-Mobile (formerly Sprint) Center in Kansas City.

“So this is different,” Self said. “This is like going right into the hornet’s nest and (being) able to experience that right of the bat. It will be different. In a perfect world, it would be nice to ease into these situations, but that’s not the way the schedule is set up.”