A lot has gone on in the world of Missouri men’s basketball in the week leading up to Sunday’s “Showdown for Relief” against Kansas. As Missouri fans set their sights on the renewal of the Border War, here’s a breakdown of the week’s events that have led up to the exhibition in Kansas City:
####Fans may be able to watch “Showdown for Relief” through pay-per-view
According Gabe DeArmond of PowerMizzou.com and several other outlets Thursday morning, Missouri and Kansas are in the process of finalizing a deal that would allow fans to watch Sunday’s game through pay-per-view.
Initially, the game was not set to be televised or streamed and was going to be broadcast exclusively by each school’s respective radio networks as part of a decision made by the two programs and their conference television packages.
DeArmond also reported that all of the revenue from the pay-per-view subscriptions would go to disaster relief. All proceeds from Sunday’s game will be put toward relief efforts in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Maneater will have more information as details emerge.
####Tickets sell out at lightning speed
If ticket sales are any indication, the excitement surrounding the renewal of the Border War, even if it’s just a scrimmage, is intense on Missouri’s campus.
Many students who attempted to purchase tickets on the ticket site were unable due to the high influx of online traffic.
Received texts from numerous students saying tickets to the Mizzou – Kansas exhibition game on Sunday sold out in less than a minute.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) October 17, 2017
A tweet from [@MizzouHoops](https://twitter.com/MizzouHoops/status/920388937855700992) said that student tickets for the game sold out in just under two minutes, and the total ticket allotment of about 9,000 tickets sold out in less than ten.
####Porter Jr. named SEC Preseason Co-Player of the Year
Freshman forward Michael Porter Jr. was named the Southeastern Conference Preseason Co-Player of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday during SEC Tipoff in Nashville, Tennessee. With the selection, Porter Jr. becomes the first Tiger to be chosen as a Preseason POY since Missouri guard Phil Pressey received the honor ahead of the 2012-13 season.
Sharing the selection with Porter Jr. are Georgia senior forward Yante Maten and Texas A&M sophomore forward Robert Williams. Missouri fans will be able to see Porter Jr. and the Tigers battle both Maten and Williams in Columbia this coming season, with Maten’s Bulldogs visiting Missouri on Jan. 10 and Williams and the Aggies coming on Feb. 13.
Porter Jr., who averaged over 30 points per game and double-digit rebounds during his senior season at Nathan Hale High School, was also named Preseason First-Team All-SEC.
####Tigers picked to finish fifth in SEC
After three consecutive seasons in the cellar of the SEC, Cuonzo Martin’s new-look Tigers were picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll released by the conference during Wednesday’s event. The Tigers were dubbed to finish in the upper tier of the pack, behind Kentucky, Florida, Texas A&M and Alabama.
Despite winning just eight games in the SEC over the past three seasons, the Tigers were picked to finish ahead of nine teams in the conference.
Missouri’s best conference finish since joining the SEC came in its first year in the conference, when the Tigers finished sixth with an 11-7 SEC record.
The Tigers will kick off conference play on Jan. 3 when they visit the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road in Columbia, South Carolina.
_Edited by Anna Sirianni | asirianni@themaneater.com_