We learned two things (well, more, but let's stick with two) from last night's match-up between No. 16 Kansas State and No. 15 Kansas inside of Allen Fieldhouse:
1. The Jayhawks were clearly the better team last night, winning 64-49 by shutting down K-State senior stars Barry Brown and Dean Wade. The win kept Kansas' hopes of a 15th straight league title alive, although Bill Self's team will need to win out - and get some help - to claim a share of the crown.
2. Through 15 Big 12 games, K-State is a better team than Kansas. The two programs split their pair of games against each other, but the Wildcats still maintain a one-game lead over their in-state rivals with just three games left to play. League standings are pretty cut and dry - no opinions - and they say K-State is better.
Kansas should feel good about itself this morning, but K-State (and, well, KU, too) also have to remember point No. 2.
No matter how frustrating last night was for the Wildcats and their followers, K-State still faces a golden opportunity to claim the second league title of Bruce Weber's tenure in Manhattan.
And, in doing so, the Wildcats (and possibly a red-hot Texas Tech team, too) would ensure the Jayhawks' amazing run through the league comes to an end.
The question for K-State fans is simple right now, who's shoes would you rather be in?
You could be Kansas, a game off the pace set by K-State and Texas Tech with road trips left to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Now, those are two of the worst teams in the Big 12, to be fair.
Kansas is 2-5 in Big 12 road games, including a road loss to arguably the conference's worst team in West Virginia in Morgantown. KU also has a home game left against Baylor, like K-State.
Or, you could be the Wildcats. A game up on KU with three games left against teams you're 3-0 against so far this season (Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma). Two of those three wins came on the road; now the 2-1 home split flips in K-State's favor.
Realistic worst-case scenario for the Wildcats (a loss at TCU with two home wins) leaves the Wildcats 13-5 in the league. The unlikely, best-case scenario for Kansas is 13-5 and finishing the season in a tie with the Wildcats.
That's where these two programs are following last night's game.
That's the message K-State coach Bruce Weber immediately shared with his team following the letdown in Lawrence.
Yes, he was upset with how K-State played - particularly on offense, where he felt far too often the Wildcats failed to make one last pass to create an open shot. This is particularly upsetting on a night where Weber's team shot it relatively well from deep (38.1 percent from three-point range) but struggled mightily from two-point range, making just 10-of-37 (27.0 percent) of shots within the arc.
Weber has to wonder if it's a different game if a couple more good looks are created at the right time. Plenty of teams who've lost in Lawrence could say the same, however, and at the end of the day results are what they are.
That, of course, stands for the entire league race as well.
Weber talked about this closing stretch, the fact his team is still in first place and praised his players in the post-game for the reasons why they've earned this pole position heading into the final three games.
The Red Raiders, now just a half-game back but even in the loss column, are going to remain a real threat the rest of the season. Tech still has challenges left at TCU (like K-State), home against Texas and on the road against Iowa State.
Nobody is playing better than Chris Beard's bunch right now (who K-State and KU both split with, as well), but, again, who's path would you rather have?
K-State: Home vs. Big 12 No. 5, road at Big 12 No. 7, home vs. Big 12 No. 8
Texas Tech: Road at Big 12 No. 7, home vs. Big 12 No. 6, road vs. Big 12 No. 5
The math on this one isn't too tricky. K-State has three games left against opponents averaging 6.67th place, Tech has three left against squads averaging exactly sixth place. The Wildcats have two of three at home; Tech has two of three on the road (plus an extra game with Oklahoma State it must win to eliminate the half-game edge and truly catch K-State).
On paper, K-State is in the best position of anybody to win the Big 12 with 83.3 percent of its season finished.
Being the favorite with the most favorable remaining path doesn't hang you a banner, however.
The Wildcats will have to play much better than they did Monday night to do that. But, if they do - and revert back to who they've been the vast majority of Big 12 play - K-State will ultimately get the last laugh for the first time in a long time over Kansas.
