Links and keys to Manhattan

A few links before I get to the keys to tomorrow's game against K-State:

• There have been some rumors swirling the past week that Mizzou football will travel to South Bend, Ind in 2012 to play the Fighting Irish. According to Graham Watson's Friday chat session this is a realistic possibility:

"The Mizzou/LSU game was a rumor and I'll leave it at that. Another good rumor is MU/Notre Dame in like 2012, I think. That one might actually happen, though."

• Miles Smith, son of Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, has accepted an offer to become a preferred walk-on at MU. I don't know what a "preferred walk-on" is, but it would be pretty sweet to see Lovie in the stands at Faurot.

• Apparently several KU players took exception to the "refusal" of several Tigers players to take part in pre-game handshakes and fist-pounds when the two teams met in Lawrence...cry me a river. 

Now onto the keys to Saturday:

The Tigers will be huge underdogs heading into Manhattan against the No. 24-ranked Wildcats. It's hard to imagine them containing freshman sensation Michael Beasley better than they did in the teams' first meeting  (he scored 17 and grabbed 10 rebounds). But they can't let him explode. If Mizzou can hold him to 20 and 10 then you have to be satisfied. 

Either J.T. Tiller or Keon Lawrence have to step up and bring their A-games. When these two have played well the Tigers have almost always ended up with a victory. It would also be nice if Leo Lyons could play hard for the entire game. Leo had a big second half against K-State two weeks ago after he got his mid-range game going and really stretched the Wildcat defense. 

Mizzou will also need a little luck to upset this team again. Shooting a decent percentage from behind the arc will be a necessity and if they could get Beasley or Bill Walker in foul trouble again (both had four fouls in Columbia) it would obviously be nice. 

To be honest, I don't like the Tigers' chances at all. I have zero confidence in Mizzou's ability to give two solid efforts, on the road no less, in a row. But while the odds are certainly against the Tigers, they do have A LOT to gain if they can pull it off. A win and suddenly the whispers about the Tigers NCAA Tournament hopes becomes a murmur and we can begin to seriously talk about what it would take to send the Tigers dancing. 

My prediction: MU 71 K-State 88

Lets hope I'm wrong.