Columbia, Mo. ? Shiny, brand-new Mizzou Arena will resemble the worn-out Hearnes Center in at least one way today.

It’ll be rocking and rolling with Kansas University in town.

“I expect it to be high-hell, to be honest with you,” Kansas senior Keith Langford said of the atmosphere in the 15,061-seat building for today’s 1 p.m. men’s basketball battle between KU (22-4 overall, 12-3 Big 12 Conference) and Missouri (14-15, 6-9).

“The last three years, we’ve finished the conference with wins over there. We shut down the building the last time we were there,” Langford said of KU’s 84-82 victory March 2, 2004, in the final game played at Hearnes. “They have so much incentive. We have to be prepared, because we’re going to get their best shot.”

Missouri’s incentive is a .500 record today, then better-than .500 at next week’s Big 12 tournament. A winning record would make the young Tiger team eligible for an invitation to the NIT.

KU wants an undisputed Big 12 regular-season title and still is seeking a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Plus, the Jayhawks’ four seniors want to finish their KU careers undefeated in Columbia.

“It’d be incredible,” Langford said of going 4-0 at Mizzou. “I don’t think too many guys can say they did that at Kansas, because the rivalry is so heated.”

KU last won four straight in Columbia from 1964 to ’68.

“It’d be good, I guess, for when I’m done, for bragging rights,” KU senior Michael Lee said, “but I’m not going into the game thinking, ‘We’ve never lost to Missouri, woo woo.”’

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Lee, Langford, Aaron Miles and Wayne Simien are 8-1 overall against Missouri. Their only loss to the Tigers came in the 2003 Big 12 tournament in Dallas.

“They always give us their best game,” Lee said. “It’s fun to win. I think about the Antlers (student fan section), the intensity, the rivalry, I guess for lack of a better word the hate between the two groups. It makes for a great game every time.”

The KU seniors’ victories in Columbia have been memorable.

Last year, David Padgett cashed a baseline jumper with :02 left to give KU its 84-82 victory.

KU won, 79-74, in 2003 courtesy of a pair of dramatic baskets. Aaron Miles hit a desperation three to tie the game at 74 as the shot clock ran out, which was followed by a Kirk Hinrich three to seal the victory.

KU capped a perfect league season with a 95-92 victory in 2002. The Jayhawks hung on after leading, 54-45, at the break.

“All of ’em, man,” Miles said, asked which KU-MU game in Columbia he remembered the most. “My freshman year, I have a memory of almost costing us the game. We were up late, and I misunderstood what coach (Roy) Williams wanted. I was walking upcourt. He told me to push it. I pushed it, had an open shot and missed it. I remember Kirk driving in, missing a shot and Drew (Gooden) tipped it in.

“My sophomore year, there was my lucky shot (two-handed, off-balance push shot) and Kirk’s three. Last year, I remember David winning it.”

The 6-foot-11 Padgett, who was wide-open on the baseline, accepted a pass from Langford and fired in a line-drive bucket that assured the victory.

“It was an ugly shot, a lucky shot,” Padgett said at the time, just a few weeks before he announced plans to transfer.

The shot spoiled the Senior Day of MU mainstays Arthur Johnson, who scored 37 points, and Rickey Paulding.

“Oh man, it was the last thing I expected to happen,” Padgett said. “It was the farthest thing from perfect. Keith was supposed to take the shot, but I was open and he passed it to me.

“I didn’t really have a move. There wasn’t enough time to pass it to somebody else. I turned around and heaved it up there. I just hoped somebody would tip it in.”

KU coach Bill Self remembers it as one of the greatest plays by a freshman and one of the greatest victories of his career.

“I think it was the most exciting win we had,” Self said of a team that went 24-9 and advanced to the Elite Eight. “We’ve had a number this year, but that ranks at the top. It was a well-played game, a a fabulous game. It ranks as one of the best wins I’ve been part of.”

He believes today’s game has the makings of another thriller. MU led by eight at halftime before struggling the second half against a KU zone defense that sparked the Jayhawks to a 73-61 victory.

“It’s a huge game for us. I can’t speak for Missouri, but I’d think it’s huge for them,” Self said. “With so many young players, I’d think an opportunity to go to the postseason would be big for them. Plus, you are playing Kansas in the last game of the season at home. They’ll have plenty of motivation.

“We’re playing for a chance to win the conference outright and seeds. Our motivation needs to be every bit as great as what anybody else’s motivation is, because it means so much to our seniors.”

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Notes: Self said Saturday he hadn’t decided if he would start senior Michael Lee or sophomore J.R. Giddens at the third guard spot today. Self said it would be a game-day decision. … The Jayhawks rode a chartered bus Saturday to Columbia. The team stopped at Kauffman Stadium and dined at the Stadium Club. The Royals put birthday wishes for Wayne Simien on the stadium’s videoboard. Simien turns 22 Wednesday. KU’s traveling party checked into its Columbia hotel without any of Missouri’s Antlers on hand — the student group perhaps heeding coach Quin Snyder’s wishes to not bother the Jayhawks this year.