MONDAY. MARCH 6. 2006
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 5B
Big 12 Power Rankings
1. Texas
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4. Texas A&M
2. Kansas
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3. Oklahoma
5. Colorado
7. Nebraska
6. Oklahoma State
8. Kansas State
10. Baylor
11. Texas Tech
12. Missouri
Editor's Note: The Kansan Big 12 Power Rankings are voted on by Ryan Colaiani, Kansas men's basketball writer; Daniel Berk, Big 12 men's basketball writer; Eric Sorrentino, sports editor; and Erick R. Schmidt, associate sports editor.
Both Texas and Kansas will raise 2006 Big 12 Conference Championship banners, but only Texas will boast the title of Kansan Power Rankings champion. The Longhorns slipped up earlier in the week, but bounced back when it mattered. Kansas, which knocked off Baylor and Kansas State this week, couldn't recover in the voters' minds from the drubbing it received in Austin, Texas last Saturday.
Texas A&M might have played its way into the NCAA tournament with the upset against Texas. The Aggies are perhaps the hottest team in the conference, and nobody wants to see them in the Big 12 tournament. On the flip side of the tournament coin, Colorado needs to make some noise in the conference tourney to have a chance at the Big Dance. The Buffaloes have struggled mightily down the stretch, perhaps losing what once looked like a sure tournament bid.
In a move that defined the Big 12 this season, the teams in the bottom two-thirds of the conference were pretty much interchangeable. The league reeked of parity this season, as evidenced by Missouri's "thrilling" victory against Nebraska Sunday. A league with as many up-and-down teams as the Big 12 should make for an interesting conference tournament. Unlike years past, there doesn't seem to be a single team that has zero chance of winning the tournament, perhaps with the exception of Melvin Watkins and his Fighting Tigers, who took the prize of last place in the Kansan Power Rankings.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Sophomore center CJ Giles reaches to block the ball from Kansas State's sophomore guard David Hoskins during the second half of Saturday's game at Bramlage Coliseum. Giles had two blocks and five reboundes in the Jayhawks' 66-52 victory.
Sophomore guard Russell Robinson rushes down court and is fouled by K-State's Mario Taybron after picking up a loose ball. Robinson's fast breaks helped him to lead the Jayhawks with five assists.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Russell Robinson, left, and sophomore forward Darnell Jackson try to steal the ball from Kansas State's sophomore guard David Hoskins during the second half of Saturday's game at Bramlage Coliseum. Kansas scored 23 points off of K-State turnovers.
Chavez
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
On Saturday, Kansas faced a potentially embarrassing sweep by Kansas State when it almost blew a 15-point lead.
Then, freshman guard Brandon Rush took over the game, scoring 24 points en route to the 66-52 victory. Rush helped Kansas bring home a conference championship — its sixth in the past 10 seasons — and a league record of 13-3.
It's interesting how amidst all the panic about Kansas being worse this year than the previous three or four years, it winds up the regular season with a better Big 12 record than last year's team, which finished 12-4.
Unfortunately, North Carolina's success will likely impede the accolades that Self deserves, due to the East Coast bias that will ensure Williams taking home coach of the year. Self at least has assured himself the Big 12 coach of the year honor.
While this will likely bother the fans, Kansas players and Self probably couldn't care less.
That's why, as they head to Dallas for the Big 12 Championship to try and claim another feat that traditionally eluded them, there's intrigue.
Nobody has the slightest clue what will happen this weekend or the next four weekends. If any year there was a chance to surprise a few people, this is the year.
None of it matters now as the Jayhawks look at the calendar and see that it's March. For a team that knows no other way, it has to feel right at home.
For a team like Kansas, which is calm, cool and collected like its coach, that suits it just fine. All year, the Jayhawks heard everything from negativity and cynicism to praise and excitement from their loyal fans.
Chavez is a San Antonio senior in journalism.
KANSAS JAYHAWKS (22-7,13-3 Big 12 Conference)
| | PTS | REB | AST |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Wright, Julian | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Kaun, Sasha | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Robinson, Russell | 11 | 5 | 5 |
| Chalmers, Mario | 14 | 6 | 4 |
| Rush, Brandon | 24 | 6 | 0 |
| Hawkins, Jeff | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Jackson, Darnell | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Giles, CJ | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Moody, Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 66 | 35 | 11 |
KANSAS STATE WILDCATS (15-12. 6-10 Big 12 Conference)
| | PTS | REB | AST |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Diarra, Dramaue... | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| Thomas, Schyler... | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin, Carlier... | 17 | 9 | 0 |
| Taybron, Maco... | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Wright, Akeem... | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Harris, Lance... | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Stewart, Clent... | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Hoskins, David... | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| Yearby, Delvez... | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hughes, Tyler... | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS... | 52 | 34 | 11 |