GAME NOTES: Ending a 24-year drought against arch-rival Kansas in Manhattan, the 22nd-ranked Kansas State Wildcats now head out on the road, where they will meet the Missouri Tigers in Big 12 play this afternoon at the Mizzou Arena. Frank Martin's Wildcats handed the second-ranked Jayhawks their first loss of the season, topping Kansas 84-75 this week and in the process, took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings, with a 5-0 league mark. It marked the first win by Kansas State over Kansas in Manhattan since 1984. The victory was KSU's sixth straight and 10th in the last 11 games overall. Missouri was severely shorthanded this week, as five suspensions left the cupboard bare against Nebraska. The result was a 66-62 loss to the Cornhuskers, the Tigers' fourth loss in the last five games. Now at 12-9 overall and 2-4 in league play, Missouri has a lot of ground to make up to get back where Mike Anderson would like his team to be. This long running series could not be much closer, as KSU holds a narrow 113-112 lead overall. The Wildcats have won five of the last six meetings and are 2-1 against the Tigers in the Mizzou Arena.

Thanks to their incredible freshman class, the Wildcats were finally able to get a win over rival Kansas in Manhattan. Michael Beasley hit all four of his three-point attempts and finished the game with a whopping 25 points. Bill Walker was right behind with 22 points, while Jacob Pullen came off the bench to add 20 points in 28 minutes of work. KSU shot just .429 from the floor in the game, but outproduced Kansas from long range, hitting 12 three-pointers to KU's six. A dangerous offensive team, KSU is netting 80.7 ppg on the year. Beasley is probably the best of a hugely successful freshman class across the nation. The 6-10 manchild leads the Big 12 in scoring and leads the nation in rebounding with 25.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Walker is in Beasley's shadow right not, but has been a force in his own right, adding 16.1 ppg, while grabbing 6.5 caroms per outing. Pullen has started nine games and is on the cusp of double digits at 9.9 ppg.

Two of Missouri's top three scorers were absent this week from the roster and that certainly cost the Tigers in a four-point setback to Nebraska. DeMarre Carroll did his best to assuage the losses, recording a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. J.T. Tiller added 14 points and Vaidotas Volkus chipped in 12 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a shallow bench. Coach Anderson made the decision to suspend five players for an incident at a nightclub last week, and it remains to be seen who will be available this weekend. One player that certainly won't be is leading scorer Stefhon Hannah (14.7 ppg), who suffered a broken jaw as a result of the altercation. The team was also without Leo Lyons (11.7 ppg) this week and his return to the lineup will certainly be needed down the stretch, as Hannah could be out up to six weeks. Carroll (14.0 ppg, team-high 7.7 rpg) is a constant down low, but the team will need players like Keon Lawrence (9.8 ppg) and Matt Lawrence (9.3 ppg) to step up along the way.

The Wildcats would be the superior team even if Missouri was at full strength. At less than that, the Tigers have little to no chance of pulling off an upset in this one. Beasley will once again dominate, in what should be a double-digit win for the visitors.