So the book’s already been closed on Missouri basketball and the Mike Anderson era, huh? It’s already time for him to be fired? Boy, that didn’t take long, and it’s probably not a great time for Kansas to come to town if the Mizzou fanbase was looking for something to feel better about.

This is the best Kansas team that has come to Columbia since 2002, when the Jayhawks were No. 1 in the country and had lost just two games. That Kansas team was perfect through Big 12 play. Mizzou was a possession away from challenging that undefeated Big 12 record, but lost 95-92.

I can’t even pretend to know what’s going to happen Saturday. Missouri has played well, its played poorly, and through it all no one has been able to tell which is the real Missouri basketball team. Is it the coaching? Is it the players? I’m sure there’s enough blame for both factions, but the real answer is that it’s still too soon to tell what this team is capable of doing.

Mike Anderson needs his guys in his program. And yeah, I know Stefhon Hannah, Darryl Butterfield, J.T. Tiller, DeMarre Carroll and Keon Lawrence are his guys. But I mean guys that he was given more than a couple weeks to watch before he offered them a scholarship. Anderson arrived on campus in April. He didn’t even have a schedule to sell. He was picking up what was left on the recruiting circuit. Some good, some bad, a lot of it inconsistent.

I still contend that we won’t know what Anderson can do with this program until the 2009-10 season. That’s the second year with his guys in place. Guys he spent several months recruiting and evaluating. If those kids that he handpicked to work his system produce the same results, then start the ousting campaign. But doing it before then is unfair.

And let’s remember the alternative:

The Kansas game may or may not make Missouri fans feel better about the direction about the program. In reality, the only way to really feel better about this team is to see then take whatever magic they find at Mizzou Arena and apply it to the road. Texas Tech and Colorado are hardly intimidating places to play and places the Tigers can pick up a couple easy wins. The thrill of getting Bob Knight his 900th win is gone and the Red Raiders will revert back to their mediocre playing. Colorado lost to New Orleans. No, not the Hornets. The New Orleans Privateers. I think a Privateer is a pirate. I’m fairly certain on of their players has a wooden leg.

The NIT is a very real possibility and the NCAA Tournament is not out of the realm of possibility. And if all else fails there’s always the College Basketball Invitational. Yeah, a third made-up tournament presented by the makers of the CBE Classic to allow the mediocre teams to play through March. If Mizzou starts to plunge toward that tournament, we’ll talk more about it, but right now hope (and pray) that this program doesn’t slide into the realm of made-up postseason tournaments. The College basketball postseason isn’t AYSO and everyone does not have to play.

But I digress…

This isn’t a bad Missouri team. It’s not a great Missouri team. But it might just be good enough to point the program back in the right direction.

Here’s how the Tigers stack up against the Jayhawks (Big 12 ranking in parentheses):