Kansas Continues to Own Kansas State

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- This had been one extremely emotional week for the Kansas Jayhawks.

But you wouldn't have known it the way they dominated on the basketball court Saturday, thumping rival Kansas State, 90-66, in front of a packed house at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks extended their winning streak over the Wildcats to six and began a new home winning streak at one -- after losing last week to Texas.

Saturday's victory capped an emotional week in which the entire team attended the funeral of teammate Thomas Robinson's mother on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The entire team, including Robinson, took the floor Saturday and put forth an impressive performance, as No. 6 Kansas improved to 19-1 and 4-1 in Big 12 play.

Forward Markieff Morris led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Robinson came off the bench to score 17 points. Robinson, who missed a couple games while attending to his mother's arrangements, entered the game to a standing ovation at the 16:45 mark.

Kansas State, the preseason favorite to win the conference, continued to struggle as its guards settled for senseless jump shots early while Kansas opened up a big lead. Jacob Pullen led the Wildcats (14-8, 2-5) with 21 points, but he connected on just 8-of-22 from the field and 4-of-10 from 3-point range for the game.

How It Was Won: The Jayhawks played sound defensive basketball and offensively played efficiently enough to overwhelm a Wildcats team that continues to underachieve. Marcus and Markieff Morris along with Robinson off the bench were nearly unstoppable on the inside while Josh Selby and Tyshawn Taylor took over on the perimeter.

How It Was Lost: The Kansas State guards failed to attack the basket early, instead settling for jump shots. During the first 10 minutes of the game, Jacob Pullen & Co. jacked up unsuccessful long balls while the Jayhawks opened a 20-6 lead. This game was never competitive.

Key Stat: The Jayhawks shot a blistering 63 percent from the field, while K-State converted just 34 percent of its shots.

What We Didn't like: It is frustrating to see the Wildcats' perimeter players settling for jump shots and Frank Martin seemingly not be able to make in-game adjustments. The Wildcats' strength was supposed to be their guard play but it hasn't looked like it. K-State will not only fail to win the conference, but could be on the verge of missing out on a NCAA Tournament bid.