So not long after the Wildcats wrapped up a physically draining win over Missouri, Martin turned his attention to today’s titanic game against rival Kansas and gave his players this blunt assessment: “Kansas becomes the biggest game we’ve ever played at K-State.”

Faced with one of the biggest games in program history, most coaches would try to downplay the significance, worried how the added pressure would come down on 18-to-22-year-old players.

Not Martin.

The volcanic coach wants his players to understand exactly what they’re facing. Wants them embrace the pressure. Wants them to be ready for the reward on the other side.

Martin has, after all, prepared them for this moment since the day they arrived in the Little Apple, through all those demanding practices, the screaming, those us-against-the-world speeches.

Martin told his players the truth about today’s game because he knows they can handle it.

“Telling them this is the biggest game they’ve played, why is that negative pressure?” Martin said. “I look at it as great pressure, that their hard work has paid off, that they’ve put themselves in that conversation that something great can happen to this basketball team.”

It should be a great game either way, maybe one of the best in the 113-year history of the Sunflower Showdown.

The buildup was the same for their last meeting on Jan. 30, when Kansas pulled out a taut, 81-79 overtime
win in a well-played game at rowdy Bramlage Coliseum.

The stakes will be even higher this time at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.

Kansas (27-2, 13-1) is ranked second and Kansas State (24-4, 11-3) is No. 5, marking the first time since 1958 — when coach Tex Winter led the Wildcats and Wilt Chamberlain played center for the Jayhawks — the teams are both in the top 5.

Kansas has already earned a share of its sixth straight Big 12 regular-season championship and has the nation’s longest home winning streak at 58 games. The Jayhawks had a chance to clinch the Big 12 title outright Saturday against Oklahoma State, but were a step slow all day in a seven-point loss.

That, combined with Kansas State’s gritty 63-53 win over Missouri, left a crack for the Wildcats to earn a tie for the title. Kansas State has won seven straight since the loss to Kansas and won’t be intimidated by playing the Jayhawks at their place.

To get that tie, the Wildcats will still need to beat Iowa State and have the Jayhawks lose at Missouri on Saturday, but it’s still a chance — and they’re taking it seriously.

“There’ll be a lot at stake,” Kansas senior guard Sherron Collins said.

Last game for one of best players in Kansas history? Yeah, that’s going to make it even more difficult for Martin and the Wildcats.

So what, they say.

“It’s not about making things easy. You make things easy, you’re cheating them,” Martin said. “You’ve got to
make them difficult. You’ve got to be real with them. You’ve got to be honest with them. Life is about pressure. If you can’t handle pressure, you’re going to have a hard life.”

The next step is tonight.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas was in trouble before the season even started, with a series of fights and DUI arrests casting a fog over the Phog.

Talent? Never a question. This bunch may be the best coach Bill Self has had in his seven seasons in Lawrence.

Maturity, that was the issue. As precocious as these young Jayhawks were on a basketball court, there was still plenty of ripening needed off it.

Since then? Silence.

Other than sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor’s ill-advised Facebook fumblings (he supposedly said he wanted to transfer), the Jayhawks have been incident free since their summer of slip-ups, piling on wins on their march to another Big 12 Conference championship – and possibly another national title.

“We went through our crap before practice started,” Self said. “Look across America, how many teams deal with stuff? It’s pretty remarkable that this team has not had a lot of distractions since back before the season started. That’s one reason we’re winning games: We haven’t had to deal with a lot of that crap that a lot of teams have had to deal with.”

Kansas had a heavy load before the season.

A series of fights with the football team embarrassed the university and left Taylor with an injured thumb. Just two weeks later, junior guard Brady Morningstar was arrested on a DUI charge and promptly suspended for the first semester by Self. Reserve guard Chase Buford also was arrested on the same charge.

Once the season started, though, it was as if the mistakes never happened.

Kansas opened No. 1 in the polls, won its first 14 games and has followed its only loss (to Tennessee) with a 13-game winning streak. The Jayhawks clinched at least a share of their sixth straight Big 12 regular season title by beating Oklahoma on Monday night and can, with three more wins, become the second school to go through the conference undefeated, joining the 2002 Kansas team.

“They’re a great basketball team,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. “They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. They have a chance to win the whole thing.”

The remarkable part about Kansas’ string of conference titles is that it was done with three distinctly different teams.

Wayne Simien, with help from Keith Langford and Aaron Miles, were part of the Nick Collison/Kirk Hinrich teams that won conference titles in 2002-03 and helped Kansas win the first of the current string in 2005. Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers anchored the next three, two with Julian Wright and one with assists from Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson during the national championship season of 2008.

The current group, anchored by Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, has won two straight now. The Jayhawks kind of backed into last year’s title, learning they had clinched after a 19-point loss to Texas Tech. This season, Kansas marched through the schedule, sewing up a piece of the title early in a conference that has the highest RPI rating in the country.

“It never gets old,” Aldrich said. “It’s just one of those things that you work so hard for five, six, seven months over the course of the summer and then practice starts and you really work hard – and it all pays off.”

This year’s group has the chance to be the best of the bunch.

It doesn’t have the same killer instinct of the 2008 team, which liked to get a team down, then steamroll it into submission. This year’s bunch is more like a cat playing with a toy, swatting their opponent around, letting them back up, then finally delivering the crushing blow.

What this year’s team is better at is winning tough games, at least during the regular season.

In 2008, Kansas opened the season 20-0, then lost road games against Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma State in conference. It wasn’t until the one-and-done format of the NCAA tournament that the Jayhawks were able to handle pressure.

This year’s team thrives under tension.

Kansas has defended Allen Fieldhouse, pushing the nation’s longest home winning streak to 58 games, and has played some of its most impressive games on the road, beating teams like Temple, Texas, Texas A&M and Kansas State.

“There is something about this team that continues to impress our staff in that we play better when the situations are at their toughest,” Self said. “This team was able to go to win at places that team was not able to win at, against quality competition. That team was the best we’ve had since we’ve been here, but this team has a chance to get to that point; we’re just not there yet.”

AUSTIN – Marcus Morris scored 18 points to lead No. 1 Kansas to an 80-68 victory over No. 14 Texas on Monday night and the Jayhawks easily handled an opponent that a few weeks ago was supposed to challenge them for the Big 12 title.

Kansas (23-1, 9-0) outmuscled and outhustled the Longhorns (19-5, 5-4) in just about every way, holding the top-scoring team in the Big 12 to 37 percent shooting and scoring 27 points off 17 turnovers.

And when Texas finally staged a late rally, Kansas slammed the door behind senior point guard Sherron Collins.

Freshman J’Covan Brown scored 28 points for the Longhorns, who have lost five of their last seven games after earning the first No. 1 ranking in school history a month ago.

The Jayhawks gave Texas a lesson in how to not just get to No. 1, but how to stay there, using a 22-0 run in the first half to quiet a raucous home crowd and open a big lead that Texas never really threatened.

Kansas, No. 1 for the second straight week after being out of the top spot for three weeks, even outrebounded a physical Texas lineup 45-34 and allowed just five points off its 10 turnovers.

Brown scored most of his points in a late burst that cut Kansas’ lead under 10 late before Tyshawn Taylor made two free throws. Collins then bulled through two defenders to fire a sharp pass to Tyrel Reed for a layup that ended the rally.

Kansas was No. 1 in the preseason poll and for the first eight weeks of the regular season before its only loss, at Tennessee.

Texas is in a free-fall after the best start in school history. The Longhorns looked like national title contenders when they were 17-0.

But that No. 1 ranking now seems like ancient history to a team struggling to find any offensive rhythm or make big stops on defense when they count.

Texas tried to muscle up Kansas by inserting forward Gary Johnson into the staring lineup for the first time. But his 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting couldn’t make a difference.

Damion James had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns for his 50th career double-double. But just like so many other recent games, he was Texas’ only scoring option for long stretches.

Texas led 14-11 before Markieff Morris’ long 3-pointer started Kansas’ big run that left the Longhorns looking bewildered at both ends of the court.

Collins zipped a pass to Marcus Morris and he made a nifty grab in a dead sprint for a layup. Taylor made a 3-pointer before two Texas turnovers led to easy Jayhawks baskets. Collins’ long 3-pointer from the left wing made it 30-14.

Texas went scoreless for more than 11 minutes and missed 12 straight shots before James banked in a 3-pointer. Kansas led 34-24 at halftime.

Kansas opened the second half with an alley-oop dunk from Collins to Henry and the Jayhawks’ stifling defense continued to force wild shots and turnovers.

When Texas guard Dogus Balbay mishandled the ball in the backcourt, all his teammates had already run to the other end. With four Jayhawks under the basket, Collins cooly tossed it to Marcus Morris for an empathic two-handed dunk and a 50-34 Kansas lead.

Everything seemed to be working for Kansas at that point. Brady Morningstar stroked a 3-pointer and Collins spun through the lane for a behind-the-the back pass to Cole Aldrich for a dunk. Even a botched alley-oop layup to Marcus Morris worked when the ball bounced right back to him on the other side of the basket for an easy putback.

Baylor led 77-76 when Walton made the second of two free throws. Texas’ Justin Mason then made one of two before Walton got to the line again with 10 seconds left and calmly hit both.

Texas had one last chance to tie it but Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Baylor (16-4, 3-3 Big 12) got its first regular-season win over Texas (18-3, 4-2) since 1998. Tweety Carter led the Bears with 27 points.

Texas rallied from 14 points down early in the second half. Damion James had 20 points and 19 rebounds for the Longhorns, but fouled out in the final minute of overtime.

-Kansas 81, Kansas State 79
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Sherron Collins bounced back from a back injury to score on a hard drive with nine seconds left in overtime, helping No. 2 Kansas pull out a gritty win over No. 11 Kansas State.
Kansas (20-1, 6-0 Big 12) dismantled Missouri on Monday and closed out the rivalry week sweep by winning an epic back-and-forth battle with Kansas State (17-4, 4-3).

Collins hit the floor with 2:44 left in overtime and went to the bench holding his back, then returned just in time to score on a baseline drive. He missed the free throw, but Cole Aldrich grabbed the rebound and Brady Morningstar hit two free throws to close out the Jayhawks’ 26th win in their last 27 games in Manhattan.
Aldrich had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Collins finished with 16 points.

Kansas State had a chance to win it in regulation, but Kansas’ Tyrel Reed stripped a streaking Dominique Sutton at the buzzer. Jacob Pullen had 22 points and Denis Clemente added 13 on 4 of 15 shooting for the Wildcats.

-Missouri 95, Oklahoma State 80
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Kim English ended a scoring slump with 20 points and had four of Missouri’s 16 3-pointers, helping the Tigers bounce back from their worst loss of the season by whipping Oklahoma State.

James Anderson had a season-high 31 points with eight rebounds for Oklahoma State (16-5, 4-3 Big 12), hounded into a season-worst 24 turnovers by Missouri’s all-court pressure. Matt Pilgrim added 21 points, 15 above his average, and added nine rebounds.

Marcus and Michael Dixon also had four 3-pointers apiece for Missouri (16-5, 4-2), which was 17-for-31 from long range and shot 52 percent overall.

Laurence Bowers had 16 points and Zaire Taylor 14 points for the Tigers, who have won 32 in a row at home and entered the game with a 29-point average victory margin.

Kansas (17-1, 3-0) used its depth to get Baylor’s big front line in foul trouble and hit just enough shots down the stretch to eke out its 53rd straight win at Allen Fieldhouse. Collins got the Jayhawks started with two nifty assists and closed it out with a 3-pointer from the wing, combining with Marcus Morris to score 12 of Kansas’ final 14 points.

Morris finished with 22 points.

Baylor (14-3, 2-2) gave Kansas its toughest test of the season at home, riding LaceDarius Dunn’s 27 points to become the first team in 92 games to more over 50 percent (52) against the Jayhawks. The Bears just couldn’t come up with the stops down the stretch, extending their Big 12 road losing streak to eight games.

• Oklahoma State 90, Colorado 78

STILLWATER, Okla. – James Anderson scored 26 points, Marshall Moses had 20 points and 18 rebounds and Oklahoma State snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Colorado 90-78 on Wednesday night.

Anderson, the Big 12 Conference’s leading scorer, fueled a 10-2 run early in the second half that gave Oklahoma State (14-4, 2-2) a 15-point lead and went 11-for-13 from the free-throw line. Anderson has scored in double figures in 32 straight games, matching the third-longest streak in school history.

Alec Burks led Colorado with a career-high 24 points. Colorado (10-8, 1-3) has lost 31 straight conference road games since Feb. 5, 2006, when the Buffaloes won at Oklahoma State, and 23 in a row on the road against NCAA Division I foes, dating to December 2007.

Moses matched his career rebounding high as Oklahoma State outrebounded the Buffaloes 38-23 to move to 10-0 this season at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys also shot a season-high 55.4 percent from the field.

Of Oklahoma State’s 14 wins this season, 12 have come by double digits.

Oklahoma State, coming off road losses to Oklahoma and Baylor, jumped to an 11-0 lead, as the Buffaloes opened the game with five turnovers and five missed shots. Colorado cut the margin to 27-24 at the 4:46 mark but Oklahoma State led 37-30 at halftime.

With the Cowboys up 40-33, Obi Muonelo started a 10-2 run with a 3-pointer and Anderson finished it with another, making it 50-35 with 16:33 left.

Colorado cut it to 55-43 on a 3-pointer by Levi Knutson with 13:15 left, leading to a quick timeout by Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford, who came charging onto the court. The Cowboys responded with six straight points and Colorado came no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Muonelo hit four 3-pointers in the second half to help keep Oklahoma State comfortably ahead and finished with 18 points. Keiton Page added 14 points for the Cowboys.

Dwight Thorne scored 15 points for Colorado and Cory Higgins, the Buffaloes’ leading scorer, scored 13 points, six below his average. Burks remained the only true freshman in Division I to score in double figures in every game this season.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Turner Gill era kicked off at Kansas with a promise that fans will never forget.

“I’ve been asked if I’m taking this job to get to another program. The answer to that is a very decisive ‘no,’ ” Gill, a former Nebraska quarterback and Buffalo head coach, said Monday at a packed news conference.

“I’m not coming here to use it as a stepping stone to a football dynasty, but rather to create a football dynasty here at KU. I hope to be here 15 or 20 years because if I’m here 15 or 20 years, that will mean we have done well.”

Athletic director Lew Perkins said following the news conference that Gill will make “about $2 million a year,” very close to what former coach Mark Mangino was paid.

Gill wasted no time in adding some heft to his staff: He said Carl Torbush was leaving as Mississippi State defensive coordinator to join the Jayhawks in a similar capacity. Former San Diego State head coach Chuck Long will be Kansas’ offensive coordinator.

Torbush was also head coach at Louisiana Tech and North Carolina, so both coordinators will bring head-coaching experience.

The 47-year-old Gill was 20-30 in four seasons after taking over a Buffalo program that for years had been nothing but a bottom feeder – not unlike the Jayhawks during most of the past 40 years in the Big Eight/Big 12.

But he quickly built the Bulls into conference contenders and was MAC coach of the year in 2007 and ‘08, continuing a lifetime of success which included a brilliant career as a Nebraska quarterback and assistant coach.

“I’m a competitor. I love to win,” Gill said. “I’ve been blessed and had opportunities where I’ve been successful just about everywhere I’ve been. I hope that happens here at the University of Kansas.”

In personality and demeanor, Gill seems the polar opposite of Mangino, his prickly predecessor who resigned under pressure after an internal investigation into allegations of mistreatment of players.

Nutt and Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone issued statements after media reports suggested Nutt was interested in the Kansas job. Nutt said he’s staying put with the Rebels after guiding them to consecutive Cotton Bowl appearances in his two seasons in Oxford.

Nutt is 17-8 in two seasons in Oxford and has guided Ole Miss (8-4) to consecutive eight-win seasons for the first time since 1989-90. The Rebels play No. 21 Oklahoma State in the Jan. 2 Cotton Bowl.

Also Tuesday, a group of Kansas players issued a statement expressing their support for the program and athletic director Lew Perkins as he conducts his search for a successor to coach Mark Mangino, who resigned last week in the midst of an investigation into his treatment of players.

The two-week investigation into Mangino split both players and fans into separate camps, with some supporting and others denouncing the volatile head coach who came within two victories of the 100-year-old school record.

The statement Tuesday from a group of junior starters said they wanted to express “unwavering confidence” in the team and the athletic department.

“We are excited to start preparation for next season and trust that all other aspects of the program will be handled in a satisfactory manner,” said the statement, which was addressed to Kansas fans. “We have no doubts that Lew Perkins is acting in our best interest to ensure a successful season next year and years to come.”

It was signed by players Sal Capra, Drew Dudley, Chris Harris, Jake Laptad, Brad Thorson and John Wilson.

Instead, it was a tale of the nation’s top-ranked team beating up on a downtrodden program cleaned out by the lure of the NBA draft.

Markief Morris scored a career-high 19 points and No. 1 Kansas pulled away in the second half to defeat UCLA 73-61 on Sunday, sending the Bruins to their fourth consecutive loss.

“They’ve had a lot of defections to the NBA and it’s hard to keep reloading,” Kansas coach Bill Self said after his first visit to Pauley Pavilion.

• No. 3 Villanova 95

Maryland 86

WASHINGTON – Scottie Reynolds scored 25 points and Corey Fisher added 20 to lead No. 3 Villanova to a victory over Maryland on Sunday night in the BB&T Classic.

The Wildcats (8-0) set a school record by attempting 39 3-pointers, making 16 – one short of the school mark. Corey Stokes led the way, going 5 for 11 from beyond the arc as part of an 18-point performance.

The Wildcats also ruled the boards, finishing with a 45-33 rebounding advantage.

• No. 14 Connecticut 79

Harvard 73

STORRS, Conn. – Jerome Dyson scored 24 points and came within an assist of a triple-double as No. 14 Connecticut held off Harvard 79-73 on Sunday.

The 6-foot-4 Dyson, who has scored over 20 points in five of UConn’s seven games, grabbed 14 rebounds.

Kemba Walker had 20 points and Stanley Robinson added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Huskies (6-1).

• No. 18 Clemson 72

South Carolina 61

CLEMSON, S.C. – Tanner Smith and Demontez Stitt scored 14 points each and Clemson won its sixth straight game over rival South Carolina.

The Tigers (7-2) used a late 18-6 run to pull away – and bounce back from a bad defeat to Illinois on Wednesday night when they surrendered a 23-point second-half lead and lost 76-74.

Devan Downey, who scored a career-high 37 points against the Tigers last season, was 3 of 15 from the field for eight points.

• No. 21 Florida St. 82,

Fla. International 62

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Deividas Dulkys scored a career-high 19 points and Florida State overcame a slow start and poor first-half shooting.

The taller Seminoles rode a 26-3 run to a 34-17 halftime lead, allowing first-year coach Isiah Thomas’ visiting Panthers only one field goal over the final 11:02 of the half. FIU shot 22.2 percent in the first half and 35.5 percent for the game.

Florida State (7-2) scored the first nine points of the second half to build a 43-17 lead and opened it to 49-19.

The university made the announcement as athletic director Lew Perkins informed the players of the news.

Perkins declined to describe the school’s settlement with its former coach, other than to say it was satisfactory to all parties. After going 12-1 in 2007, winning the Orange Bowl and being honored as the national coach of the year, the 53-year-old Mangino was given a raise and contract extension through 2012. He would have been due $6.6 million if fired without cause.

Perkins said assistants David Beaty, Clint Bowen and Bill Miller would share interim coaching duties until a permanent replacement is found.

Possible candidates include Texas A&M offensive coordinator Nolan Cromwell, a great wishbone quarterback at Kansas in the mid-70s, Houston coach Kevin Sumlin and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.

After winning their first five games this year and rising to No. 16 in the rankings, the Jayhawks were favored by many to win the Big 12 North. But instead they failed to win another game, finishing the season with a 41-39, last-second loss to archrival Missouri. That final, hard-fought defeat kept them from becoming bowl eligible for what would have been a school-record third straight year.

Mangino went 50-48 with the Jayhawks, finishing two victories shy of A.R. Kennedy’s school record set in the early 1900s. Since Mangino arrived, Kansas has been able to upgrade its football facilities far beyond what they had been.

McCoy is 43-7 in his career, breaking the wins record he shared with former Georgia quarterback David Greene (2001-2004).

Texas (11-0, 7-0) secured its first division title since 2005, with a Thanksgiving game at rival Texas A&M left to play before the Big 12 championship on Dec. 5.

McCoy threw four touchdown passes, two to James Kirkendoll.

McCoy’s big night and two more games to shine on national television could give his Heisman Trophy hopes a big late-season boost. He has 23 touchdown passes this season with 2,996 yards.

Unlike other games when Texas was winning big and McCoy watched the fourth quarter from the sideline, he stayed in against Kansas until late to say a final goodbye to the home fans.

Kansas (5-6, 1-6) dropped its sixth straight, compounding a miserable week and season for Mangino. University officials have confirmed they are investigating Mangino over allegations of emotional and verbal abuse of players, fueling speculation he may be fired.

Kansas put up some of the best numbers of the season against the nation’s top-rated defense. Jayhawks quarterback Todd Reesing passed for 256 yards. Dezmon Briscoe had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.