Five years ago, the appearance of Arkansas coach Mike Anderson at Mizzou Arena created a stir. He was booed with vigor. At one point in the game, his Missouri successor, Frank Haith, started marching toward the Arkansas bench with apparent malice, although Haith was moving just slowly enough to be corralled from behind.

Afterward, Anderson was confused at the reaction. Things had gone well during his tenure at Missouri, even if he hadn’t retired here, as he promised a few weeks before accepting the job coaching the Razorbacks. As time moved on, the response Anderson received became less passionate, mostly because Missouri basketball fans felt dead inside, and also because there weren’t many of them in the arena.

The old crowds and passion have returned, but as we head into Saturday’s regular-season finale, I sense closure on the Anderson front. If you saw Mike Anderson in a fight with a bear, you would probably still help the bear, but only because that’s what Mike repeatedly instructed you to do, not because you really wanted the bear to win.

The return of Anderson is way down the list of reasons this game matters for Missouri.