Second place in the Big 12 Conference will be on the line tonight when the Mizzou Tigers take on the number six Kansas State Wildcats.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, they will be playing with out forward Justin Safford who suffered a knee injury in their blowout win Wednesday against Colorado.

Mizzou will be trying to win their fourth Big 12 road game of the season.  In their last road game, they had no trouble with Nebraska.  Before that, it was another easy win as they beat Colorado in Boulder.  But, Manhattan could be a different story.

The Wildcats have lost only two games all season at home.  Their last loss was back in January to Oklahoma State.  Before that, the Wildcats had not suffered a loss at Bramlage Coliseum since November the 20th to Ole Miss.
These two teams have already met once this season.  That game was on January 9th at the Mizzou Arena as the two teams would go back and forth before Mizzou pulled away for a 74-68 win.

While Mizzou is 2-1 against the Top 25 this season, history will not be on their side as they head to Manhattan to face the number six Wildcats.  The Tigers have not beaten a top 5 team on the road since beating Kansas in Lawrence in 1994.

Mizzou’s win on Wednesday was rather bittersweet, as they beat Colorado easily, but it came with a price.  Junior forward Justin Safford suffered a torn ACL while going up for a layup in the first half.  He was averaging more than 10 points a game for the Tigers.  His treatment options are supposed to be discussed during the coming week.

The Tigers and the Wildcats will play in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU with the tip off tonight set for 7:00.