No. 1 KU beats No. 9 K-State 72-64 in Big 12 final

By JOHN MARSHALL, AP Sports Writer John Marshall, Ap Sports Writer – 21 mins ago

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.

Denis Clemente had 17 points, Jamar Samuels 14 and Jacob Pullen added 13 for K-State.

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

Part II was pre-billed as one of the greatest Sunflower Showdowns ever, the teams ranked in the top 5 against each other for the first time in 52 years. It was a bit of a flop, Kansas winning easily in Collins‘ Allen Fieldhouse finale.

Even with less than 24 hours of buildup, it was a monumental event, one of the biggest in Kansas City sports history. Maybe not on the level of Danny and the Miracles winning a national title for Kansas at Kemper Arena in 1998 or the I-70 World Series won by the Royals three years earlier, but a top-fiver for sure.

The Power & Light District outside the Sprint Center was shoulder-to-shoulder two hours before the game. Inside was a purple-and-blue checkerboard of fans filling the 18,897-seat arena to the brim, the roars and boos colliding in a floor-shaking fury with each momentum swing.

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

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

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.



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