Columbia, Mo. ? Today, more than ever, Sherron Collins must perform all the duties of a pure point guard superbly if the Kansas University basketball team he leads is going to pull off the upset tonight in what will be a wild atmosphere inside Mizzou Arena.

That’s right, the upset. Las Vegas oddsmakers, not pollsters, determine what constitutes an upset, and they have made Missouri the four-point favorite in tonight’s matchup between the defending national champions and the resurgent Tigers.

Forty Minutes of Hell: The Next Generation, has taken hold in Columbia, where likable coach Mike Anderson has the Tigers playing the sort of basketball his mentor, Nolan Richardson, had his Arkansas Razorbacks playing all the way to a national title.

Missouri’s style — constant pressure and a hurry-up offense — counts on opponents losing their cool. It works best at home, where Mizzou is 14-0 this season. The Tigers force 19.2 turnovers per game. The teams that beat them in Big 12 play did so because they took care of the basketball. Nebraska turned it over 11 times, Kansas State 16 times.

Meanwhile, the player on whom KU’s fortunes swing is the player charged with taking care of the basketball and keeping young teammates from caving under the sort of pressure Mizzou Arena cooks.

In some ways, this is just the sort of game that suits Collins. He loves to play fast. The Tigers forever try to be the aggressors and take their lead from senior forward DeMarre “The Junkyard Dog” Carroll, the only player in the Big 12 to rank among the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage and steals. Collins, who constantly will be hounded by a fresh guard because of Mizzou’s deep backcourt, prides himself in forever being the aggressor.

If Kansas is to win tonight, Collins must play better than he did against Jonny Flynn of Syracuse, Nic Wise of Arizona and Kalin Lucas of Michigan State. He appeared rattled at times during those games, averaging five turnovers.

In KU’s four losses, Collins has hit 35 percent of his shots, 31 percent of his three-pointers. In the 19 victories, he has made 45 percent of his field-goal attempts, 39 percent of his three-pointers.

He knows what sort of a challenge awaits him.

“A Mizzou challenge,” Collins said. “They are always tough, scrappy.”

Collins is always tough, scrappy. Tonight he must be tough, scrappy and composed.

The buzz for this Border War rendition is even louder than usual, thanks to Anderson elevating the program and doing it with class. Missouri and Kansas last played each other when both teams were ranked six years and six days ago.

Quin Snyder coached Missouri then. Roy Williams coached a Kansas team that lost to Syracuse in the national-title game.

Snyder is resurrecting his coaching career in the NBA Developmental League for the 18-8 Austin Toros. He’ll spend his Valentine’s Day coaching in the D-League All-Star Game in Phoenix, a game in which Collins never wants to play. He can help himself avoid it by keeping his team composed in true point-guard fashion tonight.