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Report: Kansas and Missouri working on exhibition matchup for this month

Bill Self,

AP

AP

The Border War may be making a return to college basketball. Sort of.

Kansas and Missouri are in talks to faceoff on the basketball court later this month, but in an exhibition to raise money for hurricane relief efforts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday.

The game would be played Oct. 22, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, but needs a waiver from the NCAA to proceed, the Post-Dispatch reported.

If the two programs are able to get this done, it would appear to be a major step forward to actually seeing these long-time conference rivals return to actually playing real games against each other. They haven’t shared a court since the Tigers left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012. The Jayhawks lead the all-time series, which dates back to 1907, 172-95.

Kansas coach Bill Self, who has not been in favor of playing his easterly neighbor, said this past summer he thought the two schools would eventually face off again.

“I’m sure there will be a time where Kansas and Missouri play again. I don’t know when that time will be,” Self said in July, according to the Kansas City Star.

It didn’t seem like anything was moving toward a reunion this summer this summer, though.

“I certainly don’t have any ill feelings toward our bordering state or school at all,” Self said. “But I’m not interested in doing what’s best for Missouri. That doesn’t interest me at all, just like they are not interested in doing what’s best for Kansas. I’m interested in doing what’s best for us.

“Certainly I think my athletic director and my new chancellor, I’m sure they feel the same way. If it’s best for us to play them, then I’m sure we’ll play. That will be a decision by more than just me.”

It would seem there’s momentum to get this done, and for a good cause. Hopefully it clears the way for these two to reignite a great rivalry with regular on-campus games in the near future.