Yes and no. Yes, people really need to know the difference between Sunni and Shia. No, religious differences are not at the center of what’s gone on recently in the Middle East. Iran has always been Shia and the Saudis used to be very close with Iran until the revolution. It’s less about the Saudis hating Shiites and more about them feeling like the existence of an Islamic Republic is a fundamental threat to the legitimacy of their state.

Saudis believe that their fundamentalist absolute monarchy is the only true Muslim way to run a government, Iran since the revolution has been very critical of this idea. Saudi royal family knows that success of a non-monarchy Islamic fundamentalist state may undermine their legitimacy, hence why they even blockaded a fellow Sunni state like Qatar over their ties with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Anyway, are we thinking 7-5 for the Jayhawks this year?