Missouri sophomore guard Matt Lawrence, who hit four of 10 three-point shots en route to 19 points, was impressed with KU’s freshman duo of Sherron Collins and Darrell Arthur.

Collins had 23 points and five rebounds; Arthur had nine points, four boards and two blocks. They combined for 17 of KU’s final 19 points.

“Those two guys are McDonald’s All-Americans,” Lawrence said. “They are freshmen, but they’ve got game.”

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Stats, facts: Collins had a career-high not only in points, but also field goals (eight) and attempts (14). : Russell Robinson’s two threes tied a career high. : Julian Wright (five) and Sasha Kaun (two) tied career highs in assists. Kaun had a season-high seven boards. : KU had a season-high 35 defensive rebounds. : MU attempted 16 more field goals than KU while outrebounding the Jayhawks, 43-42. It’s the largest differential since Iowa State attempted 27 more shots on Jan. 28, 2006. : Kalen Grimes’ 11 defensive boards are most by a KU foe since Jozsef Szendrew of Oklahoma had 10 in 2003. Grimes finished with 12 boards.

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Faces in crowd: ESPN SportsCenter anchors Neil Everett and Scott Van Pelt sat at midcourt. : KU signee Tyrel Reed of Burlington and his family sat behind the KU bench with recruit Travis Releford of Roeland Park Miege. : Kaun’s mom, Olga, was on hand. She lives in Tomsk, Russia. : Wright’s mom, Gina, who lives in Chicago, attended.

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Coach’s routine: Wonder what KU coach Bill Self did prior to walking through the northwest tunnel onto the Allen Fieldhouse court minutes 121â2 minutes before tipoff Monday night?

“I do the same thing every time,” he said of his pregame activities before home games.

“I huddle in the office and go over the scout (scouting report) one last time. I study it one last time while I’m watching ESPN probably. I change clothes and go downstairs, usually 10 minutes before I address the team. I try to get 30 minutes of quiet time where I gather my thoughts before I address the team.”

It’s not like he’s trying to meditate upstairs in his Parrott Athletic Center office.

“It’s not like I’m crawling in a bunker by myself saying, ‘Everybody stay out,”’ Self said with a laugh. “The study materials are my last bullet points I want to know going in. Any last things I want to make sure our team knows.”

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Border Showdown: Self has coached at both Illinois and Kansas. Both schools have rivalries with Missouri.

“I thought the Illinois-Missouri rivalry was great, and it is,” he said. “There is a little more hatred here. It goes back to centuries ago, the Civil War time or just after that. There are some deep-rooted feelings about the opponent that have evolved over time.

“When I say hatred, I’m not saying disrespectful. It’s a great rivalry. I don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves nationally as being one of the best in basketball.”

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The series: KU has won eight straight games versus MU in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has won six of the last eight meetings and 11 of the past 14. Yet the teams have split the last four meetings. KU is now 83-33 versus MU in Lawrence, 37-14 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU is 16-8 versus MU since the start of the Big 12.

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Nike Summit: KU signee Cole Aldrich was not one of 10 players selected for the 2007 USA Junior National team that will compete in the 10th-annual Nike Hoop Summit. Players who made the team are: Jerryd Bayless, 6-3, Arizona; Michael Beasley, 6-9, Kansas State; Jonny Flynn, 5-11, Syracuse; Donte’ Green, 6-9, Syracuse; Kevin Love, 6-9, UCLA; O.J. Mayo, 6-5, USC; Patrick Patterson, 6-8, Undecided; Derrick Rose, 6-4, Memphis; Kyle Singler, 6-8, Duke; and Nolan Smith, 6-4, Duke.