Kansas basketball: Thomas Robinson’s 2012 Missouri performance rated one of last 25 years’ best

Thomas Robinson gave Kansas basketball fans a lot of memorable moments during his time in crimson and blue. From goal-shaking dunks to clutch blocks on defense, there was no shortage of highlight plays that he provided.

Perhaps no performance of his was as impressive as the one he gave on Feb. 25, 2012, when the rival Missouri Tigers came to Allen Fieldhouse for what would end up being the last matchup as conference foes.

A recent article by Myron Medcalf of ESPN listed Robinson’s performance against Missouri the 14th best on a list of top-25 performances in college basketball the past 25 years – and for good reason.

In front of an absolutely raucous, noise-shattering crowd, the Tigers were up big (19 points) on the Jayhawks for the majority of the first half. Then, Thomas Robinson happened.

He helped the Jayhawks storm back thanks to his 28 points and 12 rebounds.

But the biggest play he made in the game – and one that would go down in Kansas basketball lore forever – was the block he had on Missouri guard Phil Pressey’s shot at the end of regulation.

KU would go on to win the game 87-86 in overtime and the rest is history.

Robinson would go on to lead the Jayhawks to a national title game appearance where they finished runner-up to the Kentucky Wildcats.

Although they came up short, Robinson had a tremendous finish to his KU career earning First Team All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year, and a bevy of other conference and national honors.

One day, Robinson’s jersey will hang in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse – and you can bet, on the day of that celebration, a clip will be played of that memorable game against Missouri which became an instant classic and made Robinson a KU legend forever.