Kansas-Texas Preview
After extending its spectacular run of Big 12 titles - and moving back atop the national rankings in the process - Kansas can turn its focus to wrapping up an outright crown for the eighth time in a dozen years.
The No. 1 Jayhawks just need to avoid becoming the latest upset victim on No. 23 Texas' home floor Monday night.
Kansas (25-4, 13-3) clinched at least a share of its 12th consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship with a 67-58 win over Texas Tech on Saturday and is one shy of matching UCLA's record from 1967-79.
"Sometimes winning is a relief and losing is the end of the Earth," coach Bill Self said. "This feels better than a relief. I'm really proud of our kids. They've really tried hard and they've given us what they've got."
Self's team, which held the top spot in the poll for two weeks in January, received 63 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel Monday.
The Jayhawks need only to beat the Longhorns (19-10, 10-6) or 21st-ranked Iowa State on Saturday to keep this season's title to themselves. The first game in that closing set has them visiting a team that knocked off then-No. 3 Oklahoma 76-63 on Saturday.
"It is big for us, but we feel like we are a good team and we are capable of games like this every time we step out on the floor. We are excited, but it is a quick turnaround (before the Kansas game)," Longhorns senior guard Javan Felix said.
The matchup with the Jayhawks will mark the fourth straight home game against a Top 25 opponent for Texas, which went 2-1 in its previous three. The Longhorns beat No. 10 West Virginia 85-78 on Feb. 16 and is 4-1 at home against ranked teams, including a victory over then-No. 3 North Carolina on Dec. 12.
They can become the first team since Kansas in its 2008 NCAA championship run to knock off a pair of top-three opponents in back-to-back games. The Jayhawks beat No. 1 North Carolina in the national semifinals and second-ranked Memphis in the title game.
Texas, though, has one win in its last 10 matchups with Kansas, and the Jayhawks have been ranked no lower than 14th in those matchups. The Longhorns lost 76-67 in their Jan. 23 meeting.
Kansas has won its past two road matchups with Top 25 opponents - including a 76-72 win over then-No. 3 Oklahoma on Feb. 13 - after dropping its first two this season.
Texas leading scorer Isaiah Taylor (15.5 ppg) has tallied 23 points in each of the past two visits from Kansas with his team splitting those games. The junior guard has a combined 37 in his past two games and led the way with 18 in the upset of the Sooners despite missing 10 of 15 shots.
Jayhawks leading scorer Perry Ellis (16.1) contributed eight points on 4-of-13 shooting Saturday, his first single-digit performance since Nov. 25. Svi Mykhailiuk had a team-best 17 off the bench, one shy of tying his career best.
Ellis had 26 points against Texas last month, one shy of matching a season high, and has a combined 54 in his last two games against the Longhorns. Wayne Selden Jr. scored 19 in the latest matchup but has totaled nine points on 4-of-15 shooting in his past two games.
