Back when he was a boy growing up in Olathe, Jeremy McFall had a favorite uncle.

Brian McFall, a Lawrence banker, has had season tickets to Kansas UniversityâÂÂs menâÂÂs basketball games for years, and from time to time he would invite nephew Jeremy to join him in Allen Fieldhouse.

âÂÂI guess I went to five or six games,â young McFall said. âÂÂI always had goose bumps.âÂÂ

McFallâÂÂs goose bumps returned on Wednesday night when he stepped on the storied fieldhouse floor as a starting guard for Central Missouri State.

âÂÂI never thought IâÂÂd play here,â said McFall, a 6-foot junior who scored 15 points and counted six assists in the NCAA Division II Mulesâ 97-70 loss to the Jayhawks. âÂÂIt was a Catch-22, though. YouâÂÂre playing in a great place, but youâÂÂre playing against one of the top teams in the nation.âÂÂ

Still, the Mules werenâÂÂt kicked to smithereens like many other Division II schools that have visited KU. With about 16 minutes remaining, CMSU was within single digits (59-50).

âÂÂWe were hoping theyâÂÂd make mistakes and weâÂÂd stay in it,â McFall said, âÂÂbut in the end it came down to them being bigger, taller and stronger.âÂÂ

Teammate Brian Rhodes, who came in as the unbeaten Mulesâ leading scorer with a 15.5 average, was nearly as awed as McFall about stepping on the Allen Fieldhouse floor.

âÂÂIt was like a dream pretty much,â said Rhodes, a 6-6 junior whose mother, niece and high school coach had come from Sullivan, Mo., to see him play. âÂÂWe watch TV. We know everybody on that team and what they do.âÂÂ

What the Mules saw on TV was pretty much what they saw in person.

âÂÂTheyâÂÂre 6-9 and 6-10, and weâÂÂre 6-5 and 6-6.â Rhodes said. âÂÂItâÂÂs tough. ItâÂÂs a lot more physical than in our league.âÂÂ

First-year CMSU coach Kim Anderson didnâÂÂt have goose bumps. Anderson had been in Allen Fieldhouse numerous times while playing for Missouri and later as an MU assistant coach under Norm Stewart. Moreover, Anderson had been here several times during the last two seasons while working as the Big 12 Conference director of basketball operations.

âÂÂIt was a very special moment for me to be in the big chair,â Anderson said. âÂÂIâÂÂve been here so many times âÂÂ: The fans were great. This is one of the special places in the country. To be honest, I enjoyed every minute of it.âÂÂ

Central Missouri State wasnâÂÂt really out of it until midway through the second half when the Jayhawks boosted that nine-point lead into a 19-point bulge.

âÂÂWhat was really good is our guys competed,â Anderson said. âÂÂWe just donâÂÂt have the horses, but I think we have the heart.âÂÂ

Kansas played without one of its steeds, preseason All-American Kirk Hinrich, who watched the game in street clothes on the KU bench while nursing a bad back. HinrichâÂÂs absence didnâÂÂt break the Mulesâ hearts, but they were disappointed nonetheless.

âÂÂI wish he was playing because I like to watch him,â Anderson said. âÂÂI wanted my guys to play against him. Maybe theyâÂÂd learn something.âÂÂ

Both Rhodes and McFall said they would have preferred to have been on the same floor with Hinrich, who was injured in last weekâÂÂs Preseason NIT in New York City.

âÂÂWe knew he wasnâÂÂt going to play,â Rhodes said, âÂÂbut we wanted him to because everybody wants to go against the best.âÂÂ

CMSU (4-1) will return to its real world on Saturday when it travels to Jefferson City, Mo., to tangle with Lincoln University.