Kansas-Missouri exhibition game raises $1.75M for hurricane relief

ByMITCH SHERMAN
October 22, 2017, 8:08 PM

— -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas?and Missouri?raised more than $1.75 million for hurricane relief on Sunday with a late-arranged basketball exhibition, a 93-87 victory for the Jayhawks.

The Border War rivals, who had not played since Missouri left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference in 2012, announced this event on Oct. 13 to benefit five organizations championed by former U.S. presidents to support victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

"To raise money for hurricane relief, I think, is tremendous for everybody involved," first-year Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. "It's a great gesture. We really appreciate the support of the fans to jump on board. It was a great night for the city of Kansas City."

Fans of the two programs split nearly 19,000 seats at the Sprint Center, raising more than $1 million in ticket sales. Pay-per-view online fees and donations made by text message on Sunday led to the final figure.

A charged atmosphere greeted the teams as Missouri jumped to a four-point halftime lead. Kansas used a 19-5 run in the second half to take control.

"It was certainly more intense than a lot of games we'll play prior to league," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I thought it was a great atmosphere. Kudos to both administration and fan bases for doing something that was pretty special.

"I admit, I had butterflies. I was excited to be out there."

Kansas leads the all-time series of regular-season and postseason games against Missouri 173-95. It won 17 of 23 meetings in Kansas City prior to the exhibition Sunday.

The Jayhawks enter this season, led by preseason Big 12 player of the year Devonte' Graham, in search of a 15th Final Four appearance after they lost in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament in each of the past two seasons.

Missouri, 8-24 a year ago, was bolstered by the addition of native son Martin, who immediately lured 6-foot-10 freshman? Michael Porter Jr.?The No. 2 prospect in the signing class of 2017, Porter led the Tigers with 21 points on 6-for-20 shooting in his debut.

"I'm kind of putting this loss on myself," Porter said. "There's a lot more I could have done for the team."

Graham led the Jayhawks, the preseason favorite of Big 12 coaches to win a 14th consecutive league title, with 25 points.