KU basketball is alone atop the Big 12 standings, continuing to collect nail-biting wins

LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball’s road to 5-0 in Big 12 Conference play has been anything but easy this season.

After avoiding an upset just before the turn of the new year at home against Oklahoma State, a two-point victory, in early January, the Jayhawks had to go on the road to face Texas Tech and West Virginia. Although the latter matchup saw Kansas win in Morgantown by a comfortable 14 points, the Jayhawks’ win in Lubbock against the Red Raiders days earlier came by just three points.

The next week, these past two games, allowed No. 2 Kansas to return to Lawrence and its raucous home crowd for contests Tuesday against Oklahoma and Saturday against No. 14 Iowa State. The finals, albeit wins just the same, didn’t resemble many of the non-conference victories inside Allen Fieldhouse as the Jayhawks had to battle to the final moments for a four-point win against the Sooners and a two-point win against the Cyclones.

But with each game, Kansas coach Bill Self and his squad racked up another victory in what many describe as the toughest conference in college basketball this season. After each thrilling, agonizing, riveting and stressful 40 minutes that have come in Big 12 play the first two weeks for the Jayhawks, they’ve celebrated a win. And thanks in part to a little help around the conference, Kansas now holds sole possession of first place atop the conference standings.

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“I mean, it’s fun to play in these big-time games because the conference is so, so hard,” Jayhawks sophomore forward KJ Adams Jr. said. “But coach already tells us every day that it’s just going to be a battle. So, we kind of expect it going into these games, that it’s going to be one of those last possession games and it’s going to be a war every time.”

Teammate and freshman guard Gradey Dick added: “We look forward to these games where it goes down to one possession. And that’s what — the great thing about the Big 12 is … not one single team is an easy win. So, when it comes down to it, we have to have guys step up. And I think this win was even more sweet when you kind of have a little distraction around with the 125 (year program anniversary) reunion. But when we can pull out a good win like that and go celebrate that, it just makes everything great.”

The defensive stop that delivered this most recent 62-60 win against Iowa State as the final seconds ticked off the clock didn’t exactly go to plan. Kansas had a couple fouls to give before a foul would put the Cyclones in the bonus, and certainly tried to give at least the first so Iowa State would have less and less time for what ultimately would be the final play of regulation. But for one reason or another no foul was ever called, and after the Cyclones went the length of the court the game ended after a contested 3-pointer missed its mark anyway.

It meant, postgame, the moods of one side drew a stark contrast to that of the other despite the reality either very well could have said it deserved to win and been the one celebrating. The Jayhawks (16-1, 5-0 in Big 12) could have someone like redshirt junior forward Jalen Wilson talking about how preserving for wins like that could help them in win-or-go-home postseason games. Iowa State (13-3, 4-1 in Big 12) could have more than one individual discussing what it might take to clear the hurdle between the Cyclones and beating Kansas.

Self isn’t quite sure winning as many close games as they have in Big 12 play, four by four points or less, will prove all that helpful come March. Perhaps there is a breaking point that could be reached at some point, that could keep the Jayhawks from accomplishing what they’re attempting to if it comes at the wrong time. But with each win like it the more inevitability could start to enter one’s mind, which could prove beneficial for Kansas’s confidence as well, and the team’s schedule doesn’t get any easier.

“I would welcome anything that’s a win in this league,” said Self, who’d soon start running through the upcoming games in the Jayhawks’ schedule. “I don’t think that we’re going into any game thinking, ‘This one’s going to be easy.’ And certainly — So, it was Iowa State today, at K-State (on Jan. 17) … TCU, Baylor, Kentucky, and then don’t we have K-State and Iowa State both right after that? I mean, that’s a joke.”

No. 13 Kansas State (15-2, 4-1 in Big 12) will enter the upcoming contest against Kansas right behind the Jayhawks in the conference standings at 4-1 in the Big 12 with Iowa State and No. 10 Texas (15-2, 4-1 in Big 12). The Wildcats suffered their first loss of conference play Saturday against No. 17 TCU. So, the in-state rivalry will have more than just bragging rights on the line this season.

Veterans like Wilson, who will be coming off a 16-point and 11-rebound double-double, and redshirt junior guard Dajuan Harris Jr. should help Kansas navigate the environment in Manhattan. And there’s something to be said for the confidence Adams, now at 10-straight games scoring in double figures, and Dick, 21 points against the Cyclones, will be playing with as well. But, as Wilson pointed out, there’s a specific experience this new-look Jayhawks squad can pull from.

Kansas went on the road earlier this season to face another rival, Missouri. The Jayhawks dealt with the atmosphere the Tigers’ crowd created well. So, Wilson indicated, Kansas has a template to follow.

“It’s going to be a great environment, just as it always is,” Wilson said. “They’re going to be super pumped to, first of all, play us, but they’re having a really good season this year. I know they just took a tough loss. So, they're definitely going to be amped to play, trying to get that off their shoulders. And it’s going to be a heated environment. They’re going to hostile as usual, all the chants and stuff like that. But we’ve just got to stay focused.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association's sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas men's basketball is first in the Big 12 Conference standings