VCU Stuns Kansas

Kansas seemed poised to make it back to the Final 4 for the first time since winning the 2008 national championship, crashing the Elite 8 by dominating inferior teams and relying heavily on the offense of Marcus and Markieff Morris. Many people thought KU would walk over 11th seeded Virginia Commonwealth, and later 8th seeded Butler, to another appearance in the national title game.

Unfortunately, the Jayhawks ran into the hottest team in the country, and turned in its worse offensive performance of the season. KU fell to the rams, 71-61, and only has itself to blame. VCU played well, but KU's offensive performance was shocking. The Jayhawks shot 2 for 21 from three point range and 15 of 28 from the free throw line. Unbelievable.

There are two ways to look at this loss - on the positive side, KU was not expected to be much of a factor this season, and the Jayhawks still managed to win its seventh straight Big 12 title and make it to the Elite 8. However, KU may be losing the Morris twins to the NBA, and rumors of Josh Selby jumping to the NBA have lingered all year. If KU returns the twins, it will likely enter the polls next season ranked in the top five yet again and get another title shot in March. Should the twins jump to the NBA, KU will really struggle next year, and will likely be in a full rebuilding mode.

Kansas Wins Big 12 Tournament

For the fourth time in the last six years, Kansas and Texas met in the final of the Big 12 Tournament. Once again, Kansas defeated the Longhorns, heading into the NCAA tournament as a one seed with both the Big 12 regular season and Big 12 Tournament titles.

After losing to Texas in the regular season and seeing its 69 home winning streak snapped, the Jayhawks were out for blood in this one. All week, KU players and coaches mentioned that the death of Thomas Robinson's mother was a distraction before the team's last meeting, and this time the outcome would be different. Kansas backed up its talk with one of its best games of the season, torching Texas' defense (one of the nation's best) with a balanced attack.

If KU continues to play at this level, it will coast into the Final 4. However, the Jayhawks have a tendency to lay up at times, and the second round loss to Northern Iowa still lingers in the minds of the Jayhawk faithful. KU should have something to prove this year, which could be trouble for NCAA field.

KU beats Mizzou, Wins Big 12 Title Outright

Turns out, Kansas won't be sharing anything this season, as it won the Big 12 title outright with a tough 70-66 win over Mizzou in Columbia. The game showcased the Jayhawks' toughness, as they survived a late Tiger push, some of the worst calls you will ever see and even the ever classy Mizzou fans throwing things on the court. Kansas has now won at least a share of seven consecutive conference titles, and has won the last three outright.

Despite being terrible on the road, Missouri had been undefeated at home leading up to Saturday's contest. Once again, the Tigers had absolutely no answer for the KU big men, especially Marcus Morris, who had a monster game with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas Robinson helped KU build a lead it wouldn't lose in the second half with a lot of tough put-backs, and ended up with 15 points and 13 boards. If KU's big men continue to play at a high level, KU is almost unbeatable - no other team in the country has the firepower to match what the Jayhawks do inside.

For Missouri, it was the same old story. Despite a perfect home record, the Tigers again couldn't avoid a season sweep at the hands of their rival. Is it time for Mizzou fans to panic? Possibly - Mizzou ended its regular season with three straight losses and is limping into the post season. Its tournament seed will be average at best, which means the Tigers will likely have to knock off a very good team in round two to crash the Sweet 16. It looks like Mike Anderson may have taken this program as far as he can. MU is always competitive and good enough to finish in the top half of the Big 12 and make the NCAA tournament, but thats about it. Missouri rarely beats Kansas - the Jayhawks have won the last five meetings and 11 of the last 14 - and has still never been to the Final 4. Anderson is rumored to be interested in the Arkansas job, and it would be interesting to get a Tigers' perspective on this.