Kansas (32-2) labored through a physical, defense-dominated first half and used a small spurt midway through the second to beat its in-state rivals for the third time this season. Coming off a sixth straight regular-season title, the Jayhawks will likely be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament when the brackets are announced Sunday.

Kansas State (26-7) had never beaten Kansas in six tries at the Big 12 tournament and had lost 40 of 42 meetings since 1994, but had hopes of winning its first conference championship since 1980. Instead, the Wildcats go into Selection Sunday still hoping for a high seed after setting a record for wins this season.
Denis Clemente had 17 points, Jamar Samuels 14 and Jacob Pullen added 13 for K-State.

Tournament MVP Sherron Collins had 12 points and seven assists for Kansas.

The two regular-season meetings were among the biggest in the rivalry’s 103-year history.

The final act — well, barring a fourth in the NCAA tournament — was a rivalry intertwined with bigger prizes: another Big 12 tournament title for Kansas, K-State’s first ever, a probable No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament on the line, big-time bragging rights.

Mostly, it was a lot of missed shots, offensive fouls and not much separation.

Kansas State missed its first 12 attempts against KU’s pressure before finally scoring on Wally Judge’s tip 5:14 into the game. The Jayhawks had similar problems with Kansas State’s overplaying defense, managing five points during the Wildcats’ scoreless start.

The clangs continued throughout the first half and the teams combined to shoot 13 of 67, with Kansas clinging to a 31-27 lead.

The trend continued into the second half until Kansas started to find seams and the bottom of the net midway through.

Kansas pushed the lead to 62-52 on Collins’ half-hook runner in the lane with just over five minutes left and answered every Kansas State challenge after that to go into the NCAA tournament with a head of steam.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The preseason discussion of best players in the Big 12 started with the Kansas duo of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich. Damion James of Texas was in there, too, along with the Kansas State guard tandem of Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen, and Iowa State’s Craig Brackins.

As the season progressed, a player who was not in the initial conversation moved ahead of the rest: Oklahoma State’s James Anderson.

Shooting his way past more heralded players in the conference, the unassuming, high-scoring junior was named The Associated Press Big 12 player of the year on Monday.

“I don’t know if before the season he was the leading candidate,” Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. “I thought he should be mentioned. But those other guys are great players, great people, have great reputations. I think it’s a true case that he played himself into being player of the year. He earned player of the year.”

Anderson received 13 votes from a panel of sports writers and sportscasters who cover the conference to become the second Oklahoma State player to earn the award, joining John Lucas in 2004. Collins received two votes and Aldrich one.

Anderson also was a unanimous selection to the Big 12 first team, joining Collins, Aldrich, Pullen and James. Baylor junior forward Ekpe Udoh, a transfer from Michigan, was named newcomer of the year and Colorado guard Alec Burks is the freshman of the year.

Anderson stood out with consistency and multiplicity.

He led the Big 12 in scoring with 22.9 points per game and bumped it up to 24.1 points in the Big 12, fifth-best in conference history. Anderson scored at least 20 points against every conference opponent and had five 30-point games.

More than the scoring, Anderson led the Cowboys through a difficult Big 12 conference and to a possible NCAA tournament berth by doing whatever it took to win. If it meant scoring 30 points, Anderson could certainly do that, but he was just as willing to defer to his teammates, focus on rebounding or guard the opponent’s best player if that’s what his team needed.

“He shoots it from the perimeter, he scores off the dribble, he gets to the foul line, he rebounds, he handles the ball, he defends – I don’t know what else you can do in a game,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “He impacts a game in a high way. He’s elevated Oklahoma State as a program.”

Udoh helped take Baylor from a spot in the NIT championship game last year to legitimate contender for an NCAA tournament berth this season.

The athletic, 6-foot-10 junior was a dominating force on defense, setting a Big 12 single-season record with 123 blocked shots, including 57 in conference, another record. Udoh showed an impressive game around the basket, averaging 13.4 points per game, and was second in the Big 12 with 9.8 rebounds per game.

“The impact you see, No. 1, is defense and I think that is attributed to him,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. “It’s contagious to all of those guys. But No. 2, the impact he can have on the game on the offensive end because of his skill and ability to score.”

Burks had no trouble making the transition to college ball. The heralded high school player from Grandview, Mo., led Big 12 freshmen in scoring with 16.8 points per game – seventh-best nationally – and led the conference in field goal shooting at 53 percent.

“Coming in, I believe in my heart he was as talented as any high school player coming out,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “But you never know how he’s going to react when the lights are turned on the ball’s thrown up. From the opening tip of the first game of the year, Alec embraced those moments.”

Anderson took a similar approach to the lack of attention he got before the season. He’s quiet by nature and tries to avoid the spotlight whenever he can, sometimes avoiding postgame interviews after he’s had a big game. But to not be included in the conversation of best players in the Big 12, well, Anderson wasn’t going to stand for that.”

“It was a lot of motivation, just to show everybody that I was one of the top players in the Big 12 and the country,” Anderson said. “I just tried to do that and help our team win at the same time. I just tried to do whatever I could to make our team better.”

First Team

Cole Aldrich, Kansas, Jr., 6-11, 245, Bloomington, Minn.

James Anderson, Oklahoma State, Jr., 6-6, 205, Junction City, Ark.

Sherron Collins, Kansas, Sr., 5-11, 205, Chicago

Damion James, Texas, Sr., 6-7, 225, Nacogdoches, Texas

Jacob Pullen, Kansas State, Jr., 6-0, 200, Maywood, Ill.

Second Team

Tweety Carter, Baylor, Sr., 5-11, 185, Reserve, La.

Denis Clemente, Kansas State, Sr., 6-1, 175, Bayamon, Puerto Rico

LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor, Jr., 6-4, 205, Monroe, La.

Donald Sloan, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-3, 205, Dallas

Ekpe Udoh, Baylor, Jr., 6-10, 240, Edmond, Okla.

Honorable Mention

Craig Brackins, Iowa State; Alec Burks, Colorado; Bryan Davis, Texas A&M; Kim English, Missouri; Marcus Morris, Kansas.

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.

Clemente matched his season high with five 3-pointers, including three straight early in the second half to break open the game.

Kansas State (18-4, 5-3 Big 12), coming off Saturday’s 81-79 overtime home loss to a Kansas team that moved from No. 2 to No. 1 in The Associated Press poll, won for the first time in Lincoln since
2006.

The Wildcats had a double-digit lead 9 minutes into the game and never led by fewer than seven points the rest of the way.

Jacob Pullen had 13 points and Curtis Kelly added 12 for the Wildcats.
Jorge Brian Diaz had 13 points and Ryan Anderson 10 for Nebraska (13-9, 1-6).

Lance Jeter’s 3-pointer finished a 7-0 spurt to open the second half that pulled Nebraska within 42-35, but Clemente went on his run of 3-pointers to rebuild the Wildcats’ lead to 53-37.

Nebraska lost for the 13th time in 18 games against ranked opponents under fourth-year coach Doc Sadler. The Huskers play at No. 1 Kansas on Saturday in the second of five straight games against Top 25 teams.

The Huskers struggled mightily in the first half against the more athletic Wildcats, missing five layups and a dunk and having three other shots blocked.

Anderson shook his right fist in disgust after one of his passes sailed out of bounds untouched because Christian Standhardinger cut the wrong way, one of the Huskers’ 16 turnovers.

Nebraska scored just one field goal in the 6½ minutes before halftime, and that appeared to be by accident. Standhardinger was preparing to rebound Brandon Ubel’s short shot when the ball glanced off his hands and went through the hoop.

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.

The Huskers (8-3, 5-2) will play in the conference championship game for the first time since 2006 and fifth time in the Big 12’s 14 years. They’ll face the South champion Dec. 5 in Arlington, Texas.

Kansas State (6-6, 4-4) ended its season with losses in three of its last four games. Because two of the Wildcats’ wins were against lower-division teams, they needed to beat Nebraska to become eligible for a bowl game.

Nebraska’s Zac Lee completed 13 of 19 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. Helu, who has 1,057 yards, gave the Huskers a
two-touchdown lead early in the third quarter with his 14-yard run.

Daniel Thomas ran 19 times for 99 yards, and Gregory was 11 of 31 for 126 yards for K-State.

Humbled by an early loss to Louisiana-Lafayette and a 66-14 beatdown by Texas Tech, Kansas State is alone atop the Big 12 North after impressive wins over Texas A&M and Colorado. The Wildcats forced four turnovers and held Colorado to 244 total yards for their first 3-1 start in the Big 12 since 2000, during coach Bill Snyder’s first tenure.

Colorado looked nothing like the team that traded big plays with Kansas last week, scoring on its first drive and doing little else to lose its 10th-straight road game. The Buffaloes are 2-17 away from Boulder in coach Dan Hawkins’ three-plus seasons.

A week after allowing 66 points and more than 700 yards in a disheartening loss to Texas Tech, Kansas State (4-3, 2-1 Big 12) steamrolled Texas A&M on both sides of the ball for its most lopsided conference win since beating Iowa State 58-7 in 2002.

The Wildcats led 38-0 at halftime after Thomas scored on runs of 7, 3, 9 and 17 yards, then scored 21 points over the first 5:12 of the third quarter before Texas A&M (3-3, 0-2) finally started to put points on the board.

Keithen Valentine ran for a pair of touchdowns in the second half and Grant Gregory was steady after being replaced by Carson Coffman last week, throwing for 147 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-13 passing.

Embarrassed by Texas Tech, Kansas State’s defense took it out on Texas A&M, forcing five turnovers while holding the Aggies to 70 first-half yards and minus-13 yards rushing overall.

The Wildcats also harassed Jerrod Johnson, the Big 12’s total offense leader, with six sacks and three interceptions, ending his Big 12 record at 242 pass attempts without throwing a pick. He finished with 314 yards passing and threw two touchdowns to Uzoma Nwachukwu – both after Kansas State had built a 59-0 lead.

There is, however, no getting around it. Texas A&M will be in Manhattan tonight, averaging 513 yards and 37 points per game.

The fact the Aggies (3-2, 0-1 Big 12) are fresh off a disappointing 36-31 loss to a nationally ranked Oklahoma State is no comfort to the Wildcats (3-3, 1-1). For one thing, the similarities between Texas A&M and Texas Tech are obvious.

“Both defenses get to the ball and on offense they have a quarterback who can run and throw the ball,” said running back Keithen Valentine. “If we can do everything that we can do, then we will be all right.”

The shellshocked Kansas State defense was overwhelmed by Texas Tech’s prodigious offense. In 17-plus seasons, no Bill Snyder-coach Kansas State team had ever surrendered more than 64 points.

But Texas Tech’s first-time starter at quarterback, Steven Sheffield, threw for 490 yards and seven TDs, completing passes to 10 different receivers.

Now comes Aggies quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who leads the Big 12 in total offense at 356 yards a game. Johnson has thrown for 1,579 yards and 14 touchdowns.

If the Wildcats manage to intercept one of his passes, it will be his first of the year.

“He presents a lot of challenges for us,” said Snyder. “He is putting up some very good numbers, both through the air and on the ground. He is a very dangerous player in both of those aspects. He has the capability to do a lot of positive things. He also has a lot of good players around him.”

The Wildcats, in the meantime, were trying to sort out their own quarterback situation. Sixth-year senior Grant Gregory seemed to have won the job with his play in a 1-point victory over Iowa State the week before the Texas Tech debacle. But Gregory played so poorly against the Red Raiders he was replaced by the man everyone thought he’d beaten out, Carson Coffman.

Snyder said he was unsure who would be today’s starter.

“Whoever practices well, we’ll get them on the field and hope that he can handle the environment that he’s in that given week,” Snyder said.

Kansas State quarterback Grant Gregory, a sixth-year senior at his third school, made his first career start last week and led the Wildcats to a victory.

“I’m never going to give up, and I feel like there’s always a chance,” he said earlier this week. “If there’s still time on the clock, there’s still an opportunity to win the game.”

There were times when Gregory’s career seemed destined for a dead end. Like when he got hurt during his freshman season at Indiana and then was asked to switch to receiver, or when he transferred to South Florida only to be stuck behind a proven winner in Matt Grothe.

There was yet another obstacle at Gregory’s third school, Kansas State, earlier this season. He was mostly limited to spot duty behind starter Carson Coffman in the Wildcats’ first four games.

But recently the 23-year-old, sixth-year senior finally got the opportunity to prove himself. Gregory made his first career start in last week’s Big 12 Conference opener against Iowa State, playing the entire game and accounting for all three of the Wildcats’ touchdowns in a 24-23 win.

“I was telling people after the game it was the first time since high school I felt like I contributed to a team’s victory, and that’s why you play,” said the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Gregory, who earned Big 12 offensive player of the week honors. “It was an amazing feeling to finally do that after six years.”

K-State coach Bill Snyder said he “really felt wonderful” for Gregory, who already holds two undergraduate degrees and is working on a masters. Snyder described him as an “awfully good young person” with solid values, a strong work ethic and a team-first attitude.

Of Gregory’s performance last Saturday – he completed 16 of 23 passes for 206 yards and two TDs, and rushed for another 29 yards and a score – Snyder said he “really did some very, very positive things in the ballgame and created some big plays for us, which was important for us to have.”

Despite all that, Snyder isn’t quite ready to hand Gregory the keys to his offense. The coach said he also saw some deficiencies in Gregory’s game, such as an interception and some other poor decisions, and as of Wednesday night Snyder said he hadn’t decided on a starter for today’s game at Texas Tech.

Snyder said he wants Coffman and Gregory to remain in a weekly competition, and he’d prefer for both of them to play – just like they did in three of K-State’s first four games.

“That’s never predetermined. That’s something that takes place as the game unfolds, so I couldn’t answer that question until after we’ve done it,” Snyder said. “Would I like for both to be able to play? Yes. They’re both good guys, both have worked extremely hard and both deserve to be on the field.”

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said it was not a shock to see Gregory on the field last week, but the Cyclones “were a little surprised to see him start.” Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said he wouldn’t be caught off guard if both quarterbacks play today, and that preparing for one is no different than game-planning for the other.

“I’m not sure if coach Snyder made a quarterback change or what have you, but I’m not really concerned with that,” said McNeill, who added that Coffman and Gregory have similar skill sets. “When you watch film, both do a good job running the offense, and the plays do not change with the quarterback.”

Gregory said he leaves the pocket and runs “a little more” than the 6-3, 212-pound Coffman, who “throws it a little better,” according to Gregory. Coffman has passed for 684 yards this season with two touchdowns and four interceptions, and he’s rushed for 73 yards and two TDs.

Gregory, who said he didn’t learn of his start last week until about an hour before kickoff, hopes to get another opportunity. But he knows the decision is out of his hands, and he said he and Coffman will remain supportive of each other either way.

“Neither of us have earned that right, and you’ve got to earn the right be on the field on Saturday,” Gregory said early this week. “I had a decent game, and hopefully I get to play (today) and don’t do anything to mess it up. Hopefully I get on the field and have a good game and help us pull out a victory.”

To comment on this story:

adam.zuvanich@lubbockonline.com l 766-8733

courtney.linehan@lubbockonline.com l 766-8735