Members of Missouri’s rowdy student-cheering section, The Antlers, have been known to dial the cell phone numbers of Kansas University’s players and coach Bill Self in the days leading up to the KU-MU game in Columbia, Mo.

They made their first contact with Self early Saturday morning. The two teams meet at 8 p.m. Monday at Mizzou Arena.

“Coach said he got a call at 2:30 in the morning,” KU freshman Tyshawn Taylor said, noting he had not received any calls … yet.

“I’m hoping and praying nobody calls my cell phone. Coach said to be ready,” Taylor added.

Self confirmed the calls.

“They started last night. They were great, very friendly,” he joked.

How the heck do the Antlers get the KU players’ numbers?

“Probably from some girls we gave them to, not knowing who they were,” Taylor theorized. “If it gets too annoying, I’ll just turn my phone off.”

Self says …

Self, on the KU-MU rivalry: “They don’t care for us much, and the feeling is very mutual.”

Good D

KU’s Sherron Collins, who scored 12 points, held OSU’s Byron Eaton to an eight-point outing off 2-of-6 shooting Saturday.

“He’s a good guard. You can’t take anything away from him. Today wasn’t one of his good days,” Collins said of Eaton, who had 26 points versus KU last season in an OSU victory in Stillwater.

“I think I did a good job on him in the first half (zero points, 0-for-3 shooting). In the second half, he got going a little bit. Late in the game, we lost concentration and let him do things. Overall, we did a good job on him as a team,” Collins said.

Collins tried to not take it as a personal battle.

“It takes a lot from my teammates when I get in a one-on-one competition with someone else and try to outplay them. I’ve been getting my teammates involved and letting them help me. I think that’s the best thing I can do,” Collins said.

Appleton plays

KU reserve guard Tyrone Appleton had an assist and two turnovers in a three-minute stint the first half. He entered after Taylor picked up his second foul. Reserve forward Travis Releford had five points in seven minutes.

“Tyrone had two turnovers in three minutes. I thought he did OK,” Self said. “I thought Travis made the most out of his minutes.”

All-out effort

KU’s Little and Tyrel Reed had the best hustle plays of the game. Reed stole the ball at midcourt, then stumbled on his way to the hoop, where he scored, was fouled and hit a free throw to complete a three-point play in the second half. Shortly after, Little dove on the floor chasing a rebound and passed to Cole Aldrich for a slam.

“We usually do play hard,” Self said. “We don’t always play smart, but we play hard.”

Pete Goering dies at 60

Former Topeka Capital-Journal sports editor and executive editor Pete Goering, who covered Kansas University sports for many years, died Saturday after a two-year bout with cancer. He was 60. Visitation and funeral service times had not been announced as of Saturday night.

Stats, facts

KU, which has won eight games in a row, stretched its homecourt win streak to 37 games. KU is 91-6 at home under sixth-year coach Self. … KU’s 8-0 record in the conference is its best mark since 2004-05, when the Jayhawks went 9-0. … KU hit 11 of 15 free throws. Over the past three games, KU is 46-for-55 (83.6 percent). … Aldrich’s 16 defensive rebounds were most by a KU player since Drew Gooden had 20 against Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament on March 9, 2002. … Brady Morningstar matched a career high with six assists. … Little is now shooting 69 percent during the conference season (27-for-39) after a 6-for-8 effort versus OSU … Eaton’s 10 assists were the most by a Kansas opponent since D.J. Augustin had 13 on March 3, 2007.

— Gary Bedore