KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fans of the Missouri-Kansas men’s basketball rivalry don’t have to wait 140 days until the teams meet again on Dec. 9, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.
Teams composed largely of former Tigers and Jayhawks are set to meet Saturday in the second round of The Basketball Tournament, or TBT, which promises a $1 million prize to the winning team.
Show Me Squad (Mizzou) is set to battle Mass Street (KU) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Wichita State’s Charles Koch Arena.
Tickets for the game, which includes a 1 p.m. tip between Heartfire and the LA Cheaters, are available on the Shockers’ website.
The Mass Street vs. Show Me Squad game also will air on ESPN2.
Teams loaded with Kansas State (Purple & Black) and Wichita State (Aftershocks) alumni also cruised through the TBT first round, but all eyes will be on the Border Showdown redux of sorts.
Erick Neal, a former Texas-San Antonio who now plays professionally in Yugoslavia, led Show Me Squad to a 96-90 opening-round win against Vegas Rebellion (UNLV) on Wednesday.
He scored 24 with nine rebounds, while former MU star Jontay Porter, who currently plays in the NBA G League, added 21 points and a game-high 15 boards along with five assists.
Isaiah Mosley, who spent last season with the Tigers, added 23 points and matched Porter’s game-best five assists.
Show Me Squad also features Tony Criswell, Paul Pressey, Dree Gholston and Benny Sternberg.
Mass Street also won Wednesday, rallying past We Are D3 for a 70-67 win led by Thomas Robinson, who had game-highs with 21 points and 15 rebounds. He currently plays professionally in Puerto Rico.
Mario Little, who now plays professionally in Venezuela, added 17 points and Keith Langford, who most recently played in Greece and announced his retirement from professional basketball in May, scored 15.
Mass Street’s roster also includes Pembroke Hill grad Brandon Rush, Wayne Selden Jr., LaGerald Vick, Tyshawn Taylor, Jamari Traylor, Kevin Young, Mario Chalmers and Mitch Lightfoot among others.
Meanwhile, Marcus Foster, D.J. Johnson and Thomas Gipson III all reached double figures for Purple & Black in a 72-59 win Thursday against DaGuys STL.
The K-State alumni team also features Kamau Stokes, Martavious Irving, Desi Sills and Mike McGuirl along with Missouri Southern and Olathe South graduate Marquis Addison among others.
Former Mizzou standout Jordan Barnett led DaGuys STL with 15 points in the loss.
Purple & Black is back in action at 6 p.m. Friday against Team Arkansas, which includes former Kansas player Hunter Mickelson — who scored 13 with nine rebounds in an opening-round win — at Koch Arena.
Aftershocks (Wichita State), which includes Conner Frankamp, also won their opener 66-54 on Thursday against B1 Ballers.
The Shockers alumni squad plays at 8 p.m. Friday against Beale Street Boys (Memphis)
Both games can be seen on ESPN2.
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