Big 12 Tournament - Championship Game

The Kansas Jayhawks aren't just the best team in their conference right now, they're the best team in America. However, on the road to what they hope will be a national championship, the lads from Lawrence, Kan., wisely decided to collect as much Big 12 hardware as possible.

The NCAA Tournament is the event Kansas really wants to win, but before the Big Dance commences, the Jayhawks were given the chance to haul in another conference championship. Already in possession of the league's regular season title, coach Bill Self's bunch didn't waste a perfectly good evening in Kansas City. The KU crew disposed of highly-credentialed Kansas State to win their seventh Big 12 Tournament title in the 14-year history of the event. An eight-point triumph over coach Frank Martin's gallant but deficient Wildcats enables Kansas to lord itself over the rest of the Big 12 with even more authority. While Texas tumbled in a massively disappointing regular season, one of the big dogs in Middle America has delivered the goods in 2010.

At least to this point. The NCAA Tournament will tell a fuller tale.

But enough about the future: When you beat a number two seed - and we're not talking only about this Big 12 tourney - you've done something pretty special. Kansas State - the second seed in this event, below the Jayhawks alone - will surely be a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs. For any team to conquer KSU just once is a reasonable accomplishment.

Kansas has now turned that trick three times in as many outings. KU swept the Cats in a two-game regular-season set, and with this tournament victory, the Jayhawks affirmed their superiority not just in the Big 12, but in the Sunflower State. That kind of reality shows why Kansas will be the No. 1 overall seed when Bracketville's various precincts are made known to the public on Sunday evening's selection show.

How did Kansas fend off K-State this time around? The answer was simple: foul shots.

KU hit only two threes and attempted only eight, a surprising development when one realizes that threes powered the Jayhawks in the earlier stages of the 2010 Big 12 tourney. KU needed timely long balls to change momentum and establish leverage in the quarterfinals against Texas Tech and in Friday's come-from-behind win in the semifinals against Texas A&M. On Saturday at the Sprint Center, KU used pure power against the undersized Wildcats, underscoring the Jayhawks' ability to do what elite teams do: win while displaying manifestly different styles of play. On one day, Kansas can shoot you down from the perimeter, but on other occasions, the Jayhawks will rock and chalk you in the paint and at the charity stripe.

KU registered a plus-16 margin at the foul line in this game, hitting 24 free throws to K-State's paltry total of eight. KSU guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente need to get to the line, but in this game, the Wildcats' dynamic backcourt duo attempted only three foul shots. The free throw disparity pointed to KU's ability - despite playing its third game in three days - to display great defensive footwork and stop dribble penetration. On a night when most teams would have been at least somewhat fatigued - KU's Friday semi against A&M was an emotionally draining war - the Jayhawks appeared remarkably fresh, given the circumstances. As as result of their power on offense and their movement on defense, it's hardly surprising that KU was never in any danger during the final minutes of play. Kansas State hit only one field goal in the final 3:53, and never got closer than six points.

Yes, Kansas rules the roost in the Big 12. Now, though, the Jayhawks can prepare for the Midwest Region and set their sights on a much bigger trophy.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer