Kansas completed the trifecta sweep of the Kansas State Wildcats on March 16, 2013, by beating them 70-54 in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game. For the third time in the last four seasons, Kansas (29-5), the nine-time Big 12 Conference regular-season champions, earned both the regular-season and tournament titles. The 2013 tournament championship is Kansas' 13th all-time league tournament title and ninth Big 12 tourney crown.
KU increased its overall record against Kansas State to 186-91, while owning a perfect 8-0 mark in Big 12 Championship play.
Kansas was not burning it up on the scoring end, but when a team holds Kansas State to 16 points for a half, they don’t need to set the world on fire making buckets. It was a nip-and-tuck through the first half as Kansas took the lead for good at the 9:07 mark. Kansas State only achieved a leading margin of 3 points during the first half while struggling on offense. Lucky for Kansas that Kansas State’s offensive struggles carried over into the second half while Kansas was able to find their rhythm and put the Wildcats away. KSU would only get as close as 9 points at the 8:35 mark before Kansas shut the door for good and put the hammer down for the win.
From KUSports.com, Senior Jeff Withey, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, led the scoring for the Jayhawks with 17 points. Coming off a career-best 23 points, Ellis followed with his first back-to-back double-digit scoring performances with 12 points, including 10 in the second half. Ellis also claimed All-Big 12 Tournament honors. Sophomore Naadir Tharpe scored his career-best 12 points, to round out the three Jayhawks with double-figure points.
Check out the final stats here.
Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament field will occur Sunday, March 17, and that will determine where and when Kansas will play in the first round of the tournament.
If you would like to be notified when Ryan publishes an article, click "subscribe" below, follow his BLOG, follow him on TWITTER, find him on FACEBOOK or find him at Man Versus Triathlon.
Endurance Sports Examiner
Kansas City Endurance Sports Examiner
Kansas City German Shepherd Examiner
Kansas Jayhawk Basketball Examiner
General Pets Examiner
Fitness and Exercise Examiner
Outdoor Rec and Adventure Examiner
Recreational Sports Examiner
Comments