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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Quick thoughts from Missouri's 90-75 victory over Baylor.

Overview: Missouri's final season as a member of the Big 12 is officially its best. Kim English scored 19 points, and Michael Dixon added 17 to propel the Tigers to the conference tournament championship at the Sprint Center. Missouri will take a 30-4 record into next week's NCAA tournament, where the Tigers will likely be a No. 2 seed.

Baylor, which defeated regular-season champion Kansas in Friday's semifinal, fell to 27-7 and is expected to be a No. 3 seed next week. Saturday's loss to Missouri was the Bears' third of the season. Perry Jones III led Baylor with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Bears made just 39.7 percent of their shots.

Missouri never trailed Saturday, and the score was never tied. Baylor trailed by as many as eight points in the opening half, when Missouri shot a blistering 53 percent from the field. The Bears pulled within two points twice -- 33-31 and 37-35 -- before intermission. But each time, the Tigers responded with points on the other end. Missouri opened the second half with a 13-5 scoring run that made it 56-42.

Baylor never got closer than five after that.

Turning point: The Bears made a slight threat in the game's waning minutes. Trailing 75-62, Baylor went on a 10-2 run to whittle Missouri's lead to 77-72 with 2:20 left. But the Tigers made their free throws after Baylor began to foul, and it wasn't long before the game was out of reach.

Key player: It's hard to pick just one for Missouri, as five Tigers scored in double figures. Along with English and Dixon, Phil Pressey, Ricardo Ratliffe and Marcus Denmon had 15 each. Such balance illustrates the versatility and well-roundedness Missouri has shown all season.

Key stat: Not many teams would've defeated the Tigers on a night when they shot 53.8 percent from the field and 80.6 percent (25 of 31) from the foul stripe.

Miscellaneous: It was a bit of an awkward moment when Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas presented the Tigers with the championship trophy about five minutes after the final horn. Neinas has been ultra-critical of Missouri's decision to leave the Big 12 for the SEC. He was booed heavily.

The all-tournament team: Kim English (Most Outstanding Player), Phil Pressey (Missouri), Perry Jones III (Baylor), Brady Heslip (Baylor), J'Covan Brown (Texas).

What's next: Missouri is expected to open NCAA tournament play in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday. Most prognostications have Baylor going to Albuquerque, N.M., where play begins on Friday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When it arrived in Kansas City earlier this week, the Baylor basketball team noticed advertisements around town hyping a potential meeting between Kansas and Missouri in the Big 12 tournament title game.

It was talked about on television, on the Internet and in the hotel lobby. Everyone, the Bears said, assumed the Jayhawks and Tigers would be playing in tonight’s championship.

“It definitely caught our attention,” guard Brady Heslip said. “We used it as motivation.”

It worked.

Instead of Kansas, the Bears will be the team facing Missouri in tonight’s championship bout. If the two squads are as crisp and sharp as they’ve been all week, the game could actually turn out to be better than the one so many people had originally hoped for.

Missouri is 29-4 and ranked No. 5 in the country. Eleventh-ranked Baylor climbed to No. 3 in the polls earlier this season. The Bears advanced to tonight’s title game by upsetting Kansas 81-72 in the semifinals Friday.

The Tigers defeated Baylor twice this season, but they said they’ll hardly be complacent after seeing how well the Bears have played in their past two games.

“Just because we’re not playing Kansas doesn’t mean we’re not playing a great team,” Missouri guard Phil Pressey said. “Baylor has so much talent and they’re playing so well. We’re going to have to be at our best to beat them.”

Rare has been the night when the Tigers weren’t at the top of their game. Missouri’s field goal percentage (50.3) ranks third in the nation. The Tigers rely heavily on their outside shooting, but their patience on offense and the pride they take in sharing the ball usually lead to high-percentage shots.

Baylor coach Scott Drew said earlier this season that Missouri was the top offensive team in the nation.

“They do two things extremely well,” Drew said Friday. “They can shoot it from the outside, and they can penetrate on anybody. So it’s pick your poison with them. You take away one thing, you get the other. That’s what great teams do. They have multiple options.”

Drew’s players seem to agree.

“If they get hot, it’s over,” said forward Quincy Miller, who is averaging 24.5 points in two games against Missouri. “They’re very good shooters. They know how to get to the paint and they know how to offensive rebound, which is a little surprising for a smaller team.

“Ricardo Ratliffe is definitely one of the best big men in the NCAA. They’ve got so much chemistry. They’re just a great team overall.”

Missouri has been especially good in Kansas City’s Sprint Center, where it's 4-0 this season with an average victory margin of 25 points. And get this stat: Guard Kim English is shooting 75.5 percent this season at the Sprint Center.

English, who averages 14.7 points, hopes to have another good game against Baylor, but he knows it won’t be easy.

Baylor surprised Kansas State and Kansas this week by playing man-to-man defense the majority of the game. The Bears are spending a lot of time in a three-guard lineup with point guard Pierre Jackson, 3-point specialist Heslip and defensive standout A.J. Walton. All three are solid ball-handlers -- Baylor committed just nine turnovers against Kansas -- who usually maintain their poise. And their presence has given more room and freedom for versatile forwards such as Jones and Miller, who combined for 31 points against Kansas on Friday.

The biggest difference, though, has been the play of forward Perry Jones III, who is averaging 24.5 points in two Big 12 tournament games. A projected lottery pick, Jones has had an up-and-down regular season and has struggled against top competition.

Or at least he had until this week.

“Perry Jones ... ever since the [ESPN.com article] about him came out, he’s been picking it up,” English said late Friday night. “He’s been playing really well. It’s good to see him playing that well. He seems like a really good kid. I love him, but I hope he doesn’t have a good night tomorrow.”

Both teams have plenty to play for.

There’s still an outside chance Missouri could earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and nothing would please the Tigers more than to strut out of the Sprint Center with a championship trophy from their final Big 12 tournament ever. Missouri is leaving the league after the season for the SEC.

Even though he knows the rest of the Big 12 will be pulling for his team to keep the title out of the Tigers’ claws, Drew said Baylor won’t be distracted by outside storylines.

“Right now we’re pretty focused on what we want to do as a team,” Drew said. “That’s why we’ve been successful the first two games.”

A victory by Baylor today would mark the first time in history that a team from Texas has won the Big 12 tournament. Making the achievement even more impressive would be that Baylor defeated Kansas State, Kansas and Missouri on their home turf at Kansas City’s Sprint Center, which doesn’t exactly feel like a neutral court when 90 percent of the 18,000-plus fans are either Wildcats, Jayhawks or Tigers.

“When we had that tough stretch in the Big 12, I was like, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to be able to beat the top teams,’” Heslip said. “But when you get a little momentum and then you win a game against a great team like Kansas, you definitely have to feel good.”

Jones agreed.

“If we keep playing like this,” he said, “there’s nowhere to go but up.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas and Baylor have spent most of the season ranked among the country’s top 10 teams. Still, even though they’ve remained close in the polls, the Jayhawks and Bears couldn’t have been farther apart on the court.

Kansas whipped Baylor by 18 points in January. A month later they humiliated the Bears by 14 points on their home floor.

Despite the lopsided scores, KU guard Tyshawn Taylor vows his squad won’t be looking past the Bears when the teams meet for a third time Friday in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

“They’ve got way too much talent,” Taylor said, “for us to come out and sleep on them.”

That was obvious Thursday, when Baylor demolished Kansas State in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the 82-74 score indicated. Perry Jones III scored a career-high 31 points for the Bears, showing glimpses of why he’s projected as an NBA lottery pick.

Jones had 18 points in Baylor’s setback against Kansas in Lawrence on Jan. 18 but scored just five points in the loss in Waco on Feb. 8. The NBA scouts in attendance Friday will certainly be interested to see how Jones fares in this third matchup against Jayhawks forward Thomas Robinson, a national player of the year candidate who is also projected as a lottery pick.

Jones’ teammates hope the aggression he showed in Thursday’s win over Kansas State carries over into the game against the Jayhawks. The 6-foot-11 sophomore scored from all areas of the court and didn’t hesitate to drive and mix it up down low. It was a nice look for Jones following a regular season when he was often described as passive and soft.

Also, at times this season, Baylor hasn’t done enough to get Jones the ball. Bears coach Scott Drew admitted as much Thursday.

“That’s my fault,” he said.

It will be interesting to see what kind of defensive strategy Baylor uses to try to stop Kansas today. In both of the regular-season meetings the Jayhawks’ picked apart the Bears’ trademark zone. In last month’s tilt in Waco, Kansas went on a 32-4 run to put the game out of reach. Seven-foot Kansas center Jeff Withey had 25 points.

“We played two of our better games of the year against them,” coach Bill Self said, “and they probably look back and say they didn’t play two of their better games against us.”

The Bears said mental toughness will be important if they want to keep it close against the Jayhawks in Round 3.

“A couple of times we lost our head a little bit,” Baylor point guard Pierre Jackson said. “We got rattled when they made their runs. We’ve got to stayed poised and be mature about the situation. We’ve got to go out there and execute.”

Teammate Quincy Acy agreed.

“We can’t lay down,” Acy said. “If we get punched in the face we’ve got to get back up and keep fighting.”

Win or lose, the Bears know that today’s game will help prepare them for the NCAA tournament. Most bracketologists are predicting that Baylor will be a No. 3 seed.

“If you’re a competitor, you want to play the best,” forward Quincy Miller said. “And everyone says they’re the best.”

Missouri vs. Texas: Much like Baylor, Texas will be looking to avenge a pair of early-season losses when it faces Missouri in Friday’s other Big 12 semifinal. The Longhorns lost to the Tigers 84-73 in Columbia and 67-66 in Austin.

In the second defeat, it appeared as if Myck Kabongo was hacked by Tigers guard Matt Pressey as he attempted a game-winning shot from the baseline at the buzzer. The whistle never came, though, and Missouri escaped with the win.

Kabongo took the loss hard, teammate J’Covan Brown said.

“He was mad about missing the shot,” Brown said. “The guy fouled him. But the refs don’t call everything. He was upset but he moved on.”

Apparently.

Kabongo turned in an excellent defensive effort on Iowa State’s Scott Christopherson (10 points on 4-of-13 shooting) in Texas’ 71-65 quarterfinal victory over the Cyclones Thursday. The win made the Longhorns feel much better about their NCAA tournament hopes. Texas, which went 9-9 in the Big 12, entered the game on the bubble.

Longhorns coach Rick Barnes knows his team is in for a tough task tonight against Missouri, which is coached by his former assistant, Frank Haith. The fifth-ranked Tigers are 28-4 overall and shoot 50.3 percent from the field, a mark that ranks third in the nation.

“They’re a very explosive offensive team,” Barnes said. “They can hurt you in a lot of different ways. We’re going to have to defend them.”

Texas will obviously need a big game from Brown, who leads the Big 12 in scoring with 20.1 points per game. Brown’s three-point play with 36 seconds remaining Thursday broke a 65-65 tie and propelled Texas to victory.

“I love big games,” Brown said. “I like the challenge.”

He’ll certainly get one Friday night.

Editor’s Note: To see our expert picks for each of the nation’s 12 top conferences, click here. To cast your vote in these races, visit SportsNation.

A quick look at the player and coach of the year races in the Big 12:

Player of the year

Thomas Robinson is battling Kentucky’s Anthony Davis for national player of the year honors, so it’s logical to assume the 6-foot-9 forward is a shoo-in for the Big 12 award, right? Robinson averages team-high 17.8 points and ranks second in the country with 11.8 rebounds per game. He’s tallied 21 double-doubles and, in the most important game of the year, Robinson had a game-tying 3-point play and a game-saving block to help KU defeat Missouri in overtime Saturday.

Still, if you’re basing this award solely on performance in conference games, Robinson’s teammate Tyshawn Taylor is the better choice. Taylor leads the team with 18.4 points a game against Big 12 opponents, and he’s shooting 50.4 percent from the field. More importantly, Taylor’s leadership -- both vocally and by example -- helped set the tone for the Jayhawks en route to their eighth straight Big 12 title.

He’s scored 20 or more points eight times in the Big 12 and has raised his season scoring average from 9.3 points as a junior to 17.1 points this season. Taylor still has issues with turnovers, although the situation isn’t nearly as bad as it was in November and December. No major college point guard in America has been as good as Taylor since the turn of the new year.

That being said, I think the player of the year award should encompass the entire season, so for that reason I’m going with Robinson, who is also my pick for national player of the year.

Coach of the year

There are three worthy candidates.

Kansas’ Bill Self is the mastermind behind one of the greatest streaks in all of college sports. Winning eight straight league titles in a major conference such as the Big 12 is simply unheard of. UCLA won 13 straight conference championships from 1967-79, but that was when players were staying in school all four years. No power conference team since then has won as many consecutive titles as the Jayhawks. This year Self managed the feat despite losing four starters and six of its top eight scorers from last year’s Elite Eight team. While other major programs experience down years or rebuilding years from time to time, there has been no slippage at Kansas under Self.

Missouri’s Frank Haith is another strong candidate and would’ve been the easy pick had the Tigers won at least a share of the Big 12 championship. Missouri is a Final Four-caliber team, and Haith is one of the main reasons. This squad is playing with much more structure than it has in the past and takes tremendous pride in sharing the ball. The result has been a shooting percentage (49.7) that ranks third in nation. The mental toughness the Tigers showed in a deafening environment at Allen Fieldhouse Saturday said volumes about Haith and the culture he’s helped create.

Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg should also be considered. The Cyclones will finish third or fourth in the Big 12 after going just 3-13 last season.

My vote is for Self.

If I believed in ties, I’d rank Missouri alongside Kansas in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings. But I don’t, so Kansas gets the nod after clinching at least a share of its eighth straight conference title in Saturday’s 87-86 overtime victory against the Tigers.

1. Kansas: Thomas Robinson (national player of the year) and Bill Self (national coach of the year) both enhanced their chances of some lofty postseason honors in Saturday’s win over Missouri. Robinson finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Self coached his team back from a 19-point deficit in the second half.
2. Missouri: It was hard not to be equally impressed with the Tigers on Saturday. Their performance in what was easily the loudest environment they’ll ever encounter was stunning. I don't care that they ended up on the losing end. This is a Final Four candidate. Period.
3. Baylor: Monday is senior night at the Ferrell Center for Quincy Acy and Anthony Jones. But could it also be the final home game for sophomore Perry Jones III and freshman Quincy Miller, both of whom are projected as lottery picks in this summer’s NBA draft?
4. Iowa State: Assuming they lose at Missouri on Wednesday, a victory over Baylor on Saturday would place the Cyclones in a tie with the Bears for third place in the Big 12 standings. That’d be quite a feat for a team that finished just 3-13 in league play a season ago.
5. Kansas State: The Wildcats are one of the toughest teams in the country to figure out. Seriously, how do you beat Missouri on the road one night then lose at home to Iowa State three days later? Frank Martin’s team needs to beat either Texas A&M (Tuesday in College Station) or Oklahoma State (Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.) to feel rock-solid about its NCAA tournament hopes.
6. Texas: The Longhorns needed overtime to defeat Texas Tech in Lubbock Saturday. That’s a reason for concern. Wednesday’s home game against Oklahoma is huge in terms of earning an NCAA tournament bid. A victory would ensure at least a .500 record in Big 12 play.
7. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys would be ranked ahead of Texas -- a team they beat -- if not for a recent hand injury to LeBryan Nash that will likely sideline the freshman for the remainder of the season. Monday’s home game against Kansas will be tough with Nash out. And winning in Manhattan on Saturday won’t be easy, either.
8. Texas A&M: The Aggies played Kansas tough on Wednesday before getting drilled by 18 points at Oklahoma State over the weekend. It’s unfortunate that injuries and off-court distractions ruined Billy Kennedy’s first season in College Station. He’s done the best he could with the hand he was dealt.
9. Oklahoma: The Sooners certainly aren’t giving in. They snapped a six-game losing streak by defeating Oklahoma State on Wednesday before giving Baylor all it could handle in a 70-60 defeat in Waco on Saturday. Oklahoma led that game at intermission.
10. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders end their miserable regular season against a pair of ranked teams in Baylor and Missouri. Don’t be surprised if Texas Tech is the Big 12’s most improved team next season, although Texas will certainly be in the mix for that accolade as well.

It’s the game of the weekend.

If you’re a true college basketball fan, you have to find a way to see Mizzou-Kansas on Saturday afternoon.

This could be the end of the rivalry.

The Big 12 title is at stake. A Missouri victory would put the Tigers and Jayhawks in a 13-3 tie for the first place. A Kansas victory would give the Jayhawks a slice of the Big 12 title for the eighth consecutive season.

It has a pair of serious national coach of the year contenders in Frank Haith and Bill Self. Allen Fieldhouse will go crazy.

The Tigers won the first game 74-71 on Feb. 4, but the Jayhawks have been the better team since that game.

So how can the Tigers beat the Jayhawks for the second time this season? It won’t be easy. The Jayhawks look like a Final Four team right now. And the Tigers are coming off a 78-68 loss to Kansas State.

Missouri won’t have a chance if it’s struggling from the 3-point line. In the first game, the Tigers were 10-for-22 (45 percent) from beyond the arc.

That was a crucial factor in Missouri’s victory. The Tigers hit shots -- really Marcus Denmon hit shots -- because they put in the work to free their best shooters, proven in this sequence from the first game (starting at the 1:22 mark).

Michael Dixon is dribbling the corner as the play unfolds. Kim English sets a hard screen that frees up Denmon on the right wing.

(Denmon scored 29 points and went 6-for-9 from the 3-point line in the game. The Jayhawks had to shadow him, and they’ll have to stick with him Saturday too.

He hits the big shot at a crucial juncture.

But this play showcases Missouri’s versatility and perimeter potency.

After English sets the screen, he’s open at the top of the key. Had Denmon been stuck on that play, he could have easily found English (46 percent from the 3-point line) as a second option.

English, Denmon and Dixon shoot 36 percent or better from beyond the arc.

It’s quite simple. If Missouri’s shooters find more success from the 3-point line, they will put the Tigers in a position to get their second win of the season against the Jayhawks.

When and where: Saturday (CBS, 4 p.m. ET), Phog Allen Fieldhouse (Lawrence, Kan.)

The setup: Kansas and Missouri are coming off less than stellar performances. The Jayhawks won an ugly game against Texas A&M, while the Tigers are coming off perhaps their worst conference game of the season, a home loss to Kansas State. But in a happy place or not, this game is not for those who are ready to play. This game is for those who are prepared for a fight. Saturday at the Phog will be the Big 12’s top two scoring teams, with Missouri leading the league in scoring (73.7) and second in field goal percentage (48.1) in conference play, while Kansas is second in scoring (73.5) and leads in field goal percentage (48.4).

Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring defense (60.8) and field goal percentage defense (38.1). It also tops every Big 12 team in scoring margin (+12.1), perhaps the most important indicator of a team’s strength and efficiency (and, predictably, a metric that is completely ignored by the RPI). Missouri is second in the league in scoring margin (+7.0) but is a shaky fifth in the Big 12 in scoring defense (66.7) and dead last in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (46.9).

Kansas leads the league in rebound margin (+5.7 to Missouri’s -1.0), blocks, assists and steals. The Jayhawks might not be deep, but they are rock solid. The Tigers might not be deep, but they are dynamic and fearless. This is one of the great games of the season, with a chance to be a memorable spectacle. The sport needs more matchups like this one.

Neither team can rely on significant bench production. Kansas, in my judgment (and as reflected in The Bilas Index), is the better team because the Jayhawks have size and the ability to get the ball inside for higher percentage shots and more opportunities to get fouled. If you recall from the first meeting, Kansas seemed to have the game in its win column with three minutes to go and an eight-point lead. But the Jayhawks made a couple of mistakes, and the fearless Marcus Denmon made the Jayhawks pay for every one of them, willing Missouri to the home win.

After the game, I was walking down the hallway to the locker rooms and passed Kansas star Tyshawn Taylor using the wall to hold himself up. Anyone who believes these players don’t care is simply incorrect. They care deeply, and Taylor showed how much he had invested in that game. He was mentally and physically spent, devastated about the loss.

That game was incredible in its solid play. Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor, a rarity in today’s bump-and-grind games. Missouri hit 10 3-point field goals and more than doubled the Jayhawks in free throw attempts. One thing is certain, the Jayhawks cannot get a bagel from Jeff Withey and expect to win, even at home. In Columbia, Withey played 23 minutes and did not score, grabbing four rebounds.

After that first game, it was clear that Kansas and Missouri are capable of reaching a Final Four and could win the whole thing with a good draw and some good fortune. Kansas is probably better suited for it, because of its inside strength and ability to get the ball inside and get to the free throw line. Missouri will cause problems because of its style differences and the matchup problems it poses, but the Tigers are vulnerable to a lot of teams on bad shooting nights.

Tigers' stud: Denmon. The diminutive wing guard put on a show with 29 points and 9 rebounds against Kansas, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Late in the game, Denmon carried the Tigers, and this was after a prolonged shooting slump. He is afraid of nothing and is a difficult cover because he can score in transition, off the catch or the bounce and drives the ball with a relentless attitude. Denmon’s play would add up to a Big 12 Player of the Year honor in most seasons, but he just happens to be in the Big 12 with Thomas Robinson this year.

Jayhawks' stud: Robinson. A legit national player of the year candidate, Robinson has been magnificent all season long. He never takes a game off, and his only real issue is his penchant for taking a perimeter shot or putting the ball on the floor when he should simply lock down his defender in the post and take him apart. Robinson had 25 points and 13 rebounds, but five turnovers, in the first meeting. Robinson was doubled but hit 11 of 17 shots.

Tigers' wild card: Ricardo Ratliffe. He is having a magnificent season and has missed so few shots that he is closing on a national record held by Oregon State star Steve Johnson. Ratliffe is always surrounded by four guards, but Kansas was able to frustrate him, holding him to six points, four rebounds and only five shot attempts. On the floor, Ratliffe usually plays off of his guards, but Kansas did a good job of closing him down and attacking him, putting him into a position to foul. Ratliffe has to give Missouri a presence and be productive in Lawrence.

Jayhawks' wild card: Withey. The transfer from Arizona has blossomed since the Missouri game, averaging 16.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.4 blocks per game in the past five outings. Withey has the ability to be a game-changer, blocking shots, rebounding and finishing. Missouri presents some difficulties for him because he has to guard Ratliffe and can be drawn away from the basket for ball screens. He needs to stay out of foul trouble and be productive. Missouri served him up his only bagel of the season, and Kansas needs something out of him.

Tigers' X factor: Kim English. The senior sharpshooter scored 18 points in the first meeting and has the ability to draw a bigger defender and take him away from the paint. English has been smart about his shot selection and has done a great job defending and laying his body on the line, which he did not do as well last season. English is a respected player and has been an important part of Missouri’s success. Unless English has a productive outing, I am not sure the Tigers can win in Lawrence.

Jayhawks' X factor: Taylor. The senior point guard has had a tremendous season. We spend time talking about his turnovers, but there is no way Kansas is among the nation’s top five teams without Taylor and his stellar play. Taylor is averaging 16.5 points, 5 assists and is shooting better than 47 percent from the floor. In Big 12 play, Taylor is third in the league in scoring and fifth in assists. With his speed, ability to get to the rim and improved shooting, Taylor is a tough player to shut down.

Key stat: Paint scoring. Both teams can score in the lane and get close-in shots, but they do it differently. Kansas pounds the ball inside, hits the offensive glass and gets a ton of high percentage shots that give the opponent a chance to foul. Missouri also gets a lot of paint touches but by dribble penetration and off turnovers. The team that wins the paint will win the game.

And the winner is: Kansas. The Jayhawks have to feel like they let one get away at Missouri. Kansas will pull out a win and claim the driver’s seat toward its eighth straight Big 12 title, 75-70.

Saturday’s game between Kansas and Missouri will go a long way toward deciding this year's Big 12 regular-season champion. Both teams have identical 12-2 conference records, but Missouri gets the nod in this week’s Conference Power Rankings because of its victory over the Jayhawks on Feb. 4 in Columbia.

1. Missouri: Frank Haith’s squad eked out another hard-fought road victory Saturday when it defeated Texas A&M 71-62 in College Station. The win was the seventh straight for the Tigers, who will try to avenge a Jan. 7 loss to Kansas State on Tuesday.

2. Kansas: The Jayhawks had an easy time with last-place Texas Tech in Saturday’s 33-point win. Forward Thomas Robinson continues to make a case for national player of the year honors. The junior is averaging 17.7 points and 11.8 rebounds.

3. Kansas State: Angel Rodriguez scored 15 points to lead the Wildcats to their best win of the season against Baylor on Saturday. The 57-56 victory upped Kansas State’s Big 12 record to 7-7 and will greatly enhance its resume on Selection Sunday. Two more tough tests await this week. The Wildcats visit Missouri on Tuesday and host Iowa State on Sunday.

4. Baylor: The Bears are in a downward spiral with losses in three of their past four games. Scott Drew’s team failed to score in the final two minutes of Saturday’s home defeat against Kansas State and looked completely disorganized and lost on its final two possessions. Getting healthy at Texas on Monday won’t be easy.

5. Iowa State: Scott Christopherson scored 25 points and Chris Allen added 16 in Saturday’s 80-69 victory over Oklahoma. At 9-5, the Cyclones are now tied with Baylor for third place in the Big 12 standings. Standout Royce White has had three single-digit scoring outputs in his past five games.

6. Texas: Saturday’s 90-78 loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater snapped the Longhorns’ four-game winning streak. Texas was outscored from the free throw line 43-14. At 7-7 in league play, Rick Barnes’ team desperately needs a home win against Baylor on Monday to enhance its NCAA tournament hopes. Texas lost to the Bears 76-71 on Jan. 28 in Waco.

7. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys are the Big 12’s most improved team; especially when they play at home. Oklahoma State has now defeated Missouri, Texas, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma in Stillwater. They still have home games remaining against Texas A&M and Kansas. Keiton Page had 40 points in Saturday’s win over Texas, when he was 20-for-20 from the foul stripe.

8. Texas A&M: The Aggies have lost five of their past six games, and with Kansas coming to town Wednesday, things may get worse before they get better. Point guard Dash Harris hasn’t played since Jan. 23 because of a foot injury. Elston Turner averages a team-high 14 points.

9. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders didn’t do much to capitalize on their Feb. 11 victory over Oklahoma. They turned in a dismal offensive performance in a 47-38 setback against Texas A&M on Tuesday before getting stomped by 33 points at Kansas on Saturday.

10. Oklahoma: The Sooners have lost six games in a row and eight of past last nine. Wednesday’s home game against Oklahoma State looks like a possible victory, as the Cowboys have been terrible on the road. Still, it’s been quite a collapse for a team that opened the season with wins in nine of its first 10 games.

The race for the Big 12 title appears to be a two-team affair between Missouri and Kansas. The rest of the league, however, is in a state of flux. Here are this week’s power rankings:

1. Missouri: Aided by Oklahoma's porous free throw shooting, the Tigers escaped Norman with a three-point victory last week before dismantling Baylor at home Saturday. On Wednesday they get to avenge last month’s loss to Oklahoma State when they take on the Cowboys in Columbia. Marcus Denmon has made 14 of his previous 26 attempts from 3-point range.

2. Kansas: The Jayhawks looked like a totally different team last week thanks to the emergence of Jeff Withey. The 7-foot center scored a career-high 25 points in Wednesday’s win at Baylor before erupting for 18 points, 20 rebounds and seven blocks Saturday against Oklahoma State. Kansas travels to Manhattan to play Kansas State on Big Monday. Bill Self’s squad defeated the Wildcats by 18 points on Jan. 4. Expect a closer game on the road.

3. Baylor: Not many teams in the country had a worse week than the Bears, who were humiliated in blowout losses to Kansas and Missouri. Baylor looked ill-prepared in both games and cowered under the national spotlight. Leading scorer Perry Jones III accounted for just nine points on 3-of-20 shooting in the two losses. It’ll be gut-check time for Scott Drew’s team when it hosts Iowa State on Monday.

4. Iowa State: If they beat Baylor, the Cyclones will be able to make a case for being the Big 12’s third-best team. They’ve already defeated Kansas, Kansas State and Texas. On Saturday, Fred Hoiberg’s squad defeated Texas A&M by 23 points. Leading scorer Royce White is averaging just 7.7 points in his last three games, but ISU is still hanging in.

5. Texas: The Longhorns -- who count six freshmen among their top eight players -- are beginning to mature. Texas has won four of its last six games, and the two losses were by a combined six points. Freshman guard Sheldon McClellan has taken some of the pressure off of leading scorer J'Covan Brown by scoring in double figures in his last three games.

6. Kansas State: Saturday’s 75-64 loss to Texas may have been the most frustrating of the season for the Wildcats, who blew a 13-point halftime lead en route to their third defeat in five games. Texas attempted 48 free throws compared to 12 by Kansas State. Once a Top 25 team, the Wildcats will fall to 6-7 in the Big 12 if they don't defeat Kansas at home Monday.

7. Oklahoma State: You won’t see the Cowboys in the NCAA tournament this season, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t hope for the future. Travis Ford’s squad has shown loads of improvement during the last month. Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State on Tuesday and cut a 29-point deficit to 12 at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday before eventually falling to Kansas 81-66. Guard Markel Brown is averaging 20 points in his past two games.

8. Texas A&M: Saturday’s 23-point loss at Iowa State was the fourth in a row for the Aggies, who are even in danger of falling at Texas Tech on Tuesday. Khris Middleton (knee) returned to the court Saturday but contributed just five points on 2-of-9 shooting. Point guard Dash Harris has missed five consecutive games with a foot injury.

9. Texas Tech: The team that nobody thought would win a Big 12 game finally pulled off a victory Saturday. Billy Gillispie couldn’t help but get emotional when talking about the Red Raiders’ 18-point win over Oklahoma in Lubbock. The victory was the first for Texas Tech since Dec. 30. Javarez Willis scored 21 points.

10. Oklahoma: The Sooners went 10-2 in nonconference play, but things have been going south for Lon Kruger’s squad ever since. Oklahoma is just 3-9 in Big 12 play -- with two of the wins coming against K-State -- and Saturday it was embarrassed by a Texas Tech squad that had yet to win a league game. The Sooners shot just 32.7 percent in the loss.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- They call it 10-for-14, a sort of masochistic shooting drill Marcus Denmon and Phil Pressey dreamed up in the preseason. The idea is simple: Make 10 out of 14 shots from seven spots on the floor.

The catch? If you don’t hit 10, start over.

Pressey rarely had to start over when the two Missouri guards got together for the preseason drill. Yet during games, Denmon often finds himself yelling at his point guard, practically begging him to shoot.

“Phil is just naturally a pass-first player,’’ Denmon said. “I’m always telling him to shoot. He says he hears me, but he doesn’t always shoot it.’’

Pressey heard the call against sixth-ranked Baylor, draining four of Missouri’s season-high 14 3-pointers in a 72-57 win that solidified both what makes the Tigers so special and what makes the Bears so exasperating.

For 25 games now, the critics and doubters have circled, railing about what Missouri isn’t. Mostly, the Tigers aren’t big and haven’t been since Laurence Bowers went down with a torn ACL before the season.

Perhaps now, with the calendar bearing down on March, with the Tigers owning a 23-2 record and not only jockeying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament but also elbowing to earn the coveted St. Louis regional top spot -- and with three wins against top-10 opponents for the first time in 22 years -- it is time to finally discuss what Mizzou is.

“When Missouri is on, there is nobody in the country as good as them offensively in the country,’’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “Nobody. Period. And they’ve been on a lot this season.’’

Drew, who could double as a presidential candidate in his endless effort to spin positive on his own flailing team, for once wasn’t trafficking in hyperbole.

Three weeks ago, Drew decided his longer and taller team would be better served if the Bears played man-to-man against Missouri. Ricardo Ratliffe went for 27 points, with his speedy guards slicing and dicing the flat-footed defenders.

This time, Drew went zone, figuring it would slow the Tigers down.

“At the end of the day, when you play Missouri, you have to give up something,’’ Drew said. “We decided to give up the 3.’’

He got that part right at least. The game was still tight, 38-37, after the under-16 timeout. In the Tigers’ next six possessions, they sank five 3-pointers.

It wasn’t tight after that. That four players scored those five 3s says everything about Missouri’s versatility.

That Pressey was one of them says even more. The sophomore can turn heads on one play and make people bang their heads on the next, a cat-quick guard who occasionally falls in love with the flair more than the finish. He was an offensive nonfactor in his previous two games, scoring just two against Kansas and five against Oklahoma.

The Tigers can and did win without him scoring, but when he does, he makes them that much better. With 12 in his pocket by the break, Pressey forced Baylor to honor his shot in the second and made the Bears pay -- by kicking the ball to Denmon, Kim English or Michael Dixon.

Asked how he would defend against his own team, Pressey wasn’t offering up any insight.

“I don’t know what I’d do,’’ he said with a smirk. “I can’t tell you what our weakness is. I’ll let you all figure that out.’’

Baylor, certainly, will be wondering for a while. In two games, the Tigers have left the Bears behind like roadkill, hitting them with two different styles yet two equally dominant wins.

And as much as this is about who the Tigers are, it is also an indictment of what Baylor is not.

Or more, what the Bears ought to be. Outside of Kentucky and North Carolina, there might not be a more NBA-loaded roster in the country. Yet in back-to-back games against their two biggest Big 12 rivals, the Bears have looked nothing shy of awful.

The Tigers and Jayhawks have outscored the Bears by an average of 12 points, scored 80.3 points and shot 53 percent. Against everyone else this season, Baylor is 15.9 points better, giving up only 60.5 points and 38 percent shooting.

The Bears have not just lost, but have been embarrassed by the Jayhawks and steamrolled by Missouri, leaving Drew to look for small slivers of a silver lining on a team that has too much talent to require so much searching.

Kansas’ Jeff Withey was the best big man on the floor last week. Steve Moore took the honors Saturday, outplaying, outworking and outhustling a big-boy lineup that includes Perry Jones III and Quincy Acy.

A game after his five-point APB showing against the Jayhawks, Jones scored four, shooting 2-of-12.

“Every night we depend on Perry Jones, so when he struggles, it hurts us,’’ Anthony Jones said. “We’re not the same team without him being Perry Jones.’’

Perry Jones is experiencing the burden of the anointed that is the reality of college basketball today. Drew is right when he says that “you are judged on your potential.’’ He’s also right that he has a fairly young team.

But Kentucky is a fairly young team with an awful lot of anointed players, and the Wildcats are toting the burden with aplomb.

Baylor, instead, is caving under it. The Bears are, barring a miracle, all but eliminated from the Big 12 race.

And instead of picking up steam, they are picking up doubters.

That’s just the opposite of Missouri. With every passing game, the Tigers are silencing the critics, showing that while they might be unorthodox, they are no less effective.

Makes sense.

This is the Show Me State, after all.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A quick look at Missouri’s 72-57 win over Baylor ...

What it means: At this point, Missouri is playing for seed and NCAA location more than anything. The Tigers want to not only secure a top seed, but they’d like to elbow out either Kansas or Ohio State for the rights to St. Louis. Wins such as this, in which they stretch the space in the Big 12 in convincing fashion, help. In the meantime, you can start writing Baylor’s Big 12 title obit. With four league losses (sweeps at the hands of KU and Mizzou), the Bears will have to hope for some miracle mess-ups from the Jayhawks and Tigers.

How it happened: This is the riddle that teams playing Mizzou face. In its first meeting with MU in Waco, Baylor went man-to-man and got smoked in the paint by the more aggressive Tigers. This time, the Bears went zone and the Tigers drained a season-high 14 3-pointers. That is, at least partially, an indictment of Baylor, a team gifted with athleticism that inexplicably doesn’t know how to use it. But it also is the challenge Missouri poses with its unique style and lineup.

Star of the game: I’m tempted to say the 3-point line because that was the difference in this game. But if we’re looking for an individual, you have to give it to Phil Pressey. The littlest guy on the floor made all the difference, scoring a team-high 19 points, including four of those 3s. Pressey had struggled offensively in his previous two games.

For starters: Baylor, embarrassed in the paint and on the boards in the first meeting, dominated both in the first half but still trailed 33-29 at halftime. How? The Tigers negated the Bears’ 23-8 rebounding edge and 14-0 second-chance points edge with pesky defense and great 3-point shooting. Missouri forced seven BU turnovers, turning them into 12 easy points. Mix in 6-of-13 shooting from the arc, and you’ve got the Tigers’ lead. Pressey led Missouri with 12 points at the break.

Stat of the game: Mizzou is now 3-0 against teams in the AP Top 10 this season with a pair of wins against Baylor and one against Kansas a week ago. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that's more wins against top-10 teams than the Tigers had in their previous seven seasons combined. Missouri went just 2-16 against top-10 competition from 2005 through last season and was outscored by more than 10 points per game in those matchups.

What’s next: The Tigers host Oklahoma State on Wednesday and are hoping to avenge the upset loss in Stillwater. Meanwhile, Baylor returns to Waco to host Iowa State on Monday night. That’s a dangerous game for the Bears. The Cyclones are hovering on the good side of the bubble right now but certainly could use a signature win to secure their spot. And Baylor, with back-to-back humbling losses to Kansas and Missouri, is certainly ripe for picking.

For full coverage of the Michigan State-Ohio State matchup, click here.

Friday

Iona at Loyola (ESPNU, 7 p.m. ET): Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos was peeved that his squad was left out of the TV BracketBusters games. Well, this one is on TV and it’s a shot for the Greyhounds to let the rest of the country know that the more publicized Gaels aren’t the only team in the MAAC. The teams are tied atop the league. This should be the MAAC tournament final, with one of the two earning the bid in Springfield, Mass., next month.

Saturday

Louisville at West Virginia (ESPN, noon ET): The Cardinals are rolling while the Mountaineers haven’t been the same since losing to Syracuse and failing to get that goaltending call on Jan. 28. If West Virginia doesn’t stop Louisville in transition, the Mountaineers are in serious trouble. But you have to expect WVU will get this win at home.

Virginia at North Carolina (ESPN3, 1 p.m. ET): The Cavaliers can disrupt the Tar Heels and control the tempo. The key will be how the Heels respond to their disheartening loss Wednesday to Duke. UNC is the more talented team, but are the Tar Heels mentally tough enough to bounce back and beat a disciplined Cavs squad?

Miami at Florida State (ESPN3, 1 p.m. ET): The Seminoles had to take care of business against the bottom of the ACC. But they didn’t for the second time when they were stunned at Boston College on Wednesday. Miami comes in on a roll after following up its win Sunday over Duke with a victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday. This could be one of the most evenly matched ACC games -- not involving Duke or Carolina -- the rest of the conference season.

Connecticut at Syracuse (1 p.m. ET): The Huskies need to show some pride and play well at Syracuse. Orange coach Jim Boeheim wasn’t at all pleased with his team’s effort Wednesday against Georgetown. UConn, meanwhile, is coming off a brutal performance Monday at Louisville. The Orange have more talent, depth and experience. UConn needs to create havoc on the defensive end to have a shot and Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi better play one of their best games to control the post.

Baylor at Missouri (ESPN3, 1:30 p.m. ET): The Bears got worked over by Kansas at home; Missouri is coming off a gritty victory at Oklahoma after beating Kansas in Columbia last Saturday. Separation has occurred in the Big 12, with Missouri and Kansas a game ahead of Baylor. The Bears had better find a way to defend. Missouri already proved it can win against a taller set. If Missouri wins, Baylor would not have beaten Mizzou or Kansas this season.

VCU at Old Dominion (2 p.m. ET): This should come as no surprise: VCU is on a roll and atop the CAA with Drexel and George Mason. ODU is a game behind after losing last week at Mason. If the Monarchs want a shot at the CAA title, they probably have to win this game. ODU gets one more shot at one of the leaders, hosting Drexel to end the season. All four are postseason teams, but only one might be in the NCAAs.

Wyoming at New Mexico (3:30 p.m. ET): The Lobos won where UNLV could not -- at Wyoming. New Mexico has quietly put together a potential MWC title season. UNM is tied with UNLV and a game behind San Diego State. This is another chance to stay in stride with the Rebels and Aztecs.

San Diego State at UNLV (4 p.m. ET): The Aztecs knocked off the Rebels in the final second Jan. 14 at Viejas Arena. Each has suffered a surprising road loss since, at Colorado State and Wyoming, respectively. Thomas & Mack will be rocking. The key will be if the Aztecs can again keep the Rebs off the backboards in key moments.

Wichita State at Creighton (ESPN2, 5 p.m. ET): The Bluejays are reeling, by their Missouri Valley standards, after losing two straight. Wichita State lost at home to Creighton on Dec. 31, and if the Shockers want to win the Valley regular-season title, they need to win this game. Don’t be surprised if this ends up being game two of three between these two Valley favorites. A meeting in St. Louis seems inevitable.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET): The Wildcats have reached the toughest part of their road schedule -- at Vandy, at Mississippi State and at Florida before the end of the regular season. The Commodores certainly have the talent, experience and some beef to deal with Kentucky. But can they finish against UK, or any elite team? Vandy isn’t going to win the SEC. But this is a huge confidence game for the NCAAs.

Xavier at Temple (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET): The Musketeers have been erratic. Temple hasn’t always been healthy. The Owls appear to be the front-runners in the A-10 -- at least at this point -- but X can upstage Temple with a victory in Philadelphia. This could be a decisive win for the Owls in their quest to win the league outright.

Here are this week’s Big 12 power rankings:

1. Missouri: The Tigers have played the two toughest teams in the league (Kansas and Baylor) and defeated them both. Guard Marcus Denmon had made just five of his previous 31 attempts from 3-point range before going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc in Saturday’s win against Kansas.

2. Kansas: The Jayhawks blew an eight-point lead with just more than 2 minutes remaining in Saturday’s loss at Missouri, but with Baylor up next on Wednesday, there’s no time to mope about the loss. Kansas is 16-2 all-time against the Bears, who it defeated by 18 points last month at Allen Fieldhouse.

3. Baylor: The Bears’ Big 12 title hopes depend largely on what happens this week. Baylor hosts Kansas on Wednesday and travels to Missouri Saturday. Baylor’s only two losses are against those two teams. The Bears' offense looked sloppy and disorganized in last week’s victories over Texas A&M (63-60) and Oklahoma State (64-60).

4. Iowa State: The Cyclones won at Oklahoma Saturday despite getting just three points from leading scorer Royce White. Fred Hoiberg's squad has won five of its past six games overall and could continue that streak this week against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.

5. Kansas State: The Wildcats got back on the winning track by defeating Texas A&M Saturday at home. And the good times should continue when Kansas State hosts Texas Tech on Tuesday. Leading scorer Rodney McGruder has made just four of his previous 20 3-point attempts.

6. Texas: Rick Barnes’ squad hasn’t caught many breaks in conference play. Texas’ six league losses have come by an average of five points. The Longhorns had lost five of their previous six games before defeating Texas Tech on Saturday. Monday’s road game against a beat up Texas A&M squad is winnable.

7. Texas A&M: The Aggies almost defeated Baylor without Khris Middleton and Dash Harris on Wednesday, and they led Kansas State at halftime before falling 64-53 Saturday in Manhattan. Considering all of the injuries, Texas A&M deserves credit for competing as well as it has.

8. Oklahoma: The Sooners have dropped four of their previous five games heading into Monday’s contest against Missouri. All of a sudden the team that got off to a 9-1 start is 3-7 in league play. Steven Pledger and Andrew Fitzgerald are averaging a combined 31.1 points.

9. Oklahoma State: Three weeks after losing to them by 41 points, Oklahoma State nearly upset the Baylor Bears before falling 64-60 Saturday in Stillwater. Freshman Brian Williams had 23 points in the loss. On Tuesday, Oklahoma State hosts the same Iowa State squad that it lost to on a buzzer-beater Jan. 18 in Ames.

10. Texas Tech: Last week’s home game against Oklahoma State appeared to be the Red Raiders’ best chance of picking up a Big 12 win. Instead, Billy Gillispie’s team was throttled 80-63. Jordan Tolbert leads Texas Tech in scoring with 11.9 points per contest. But he’s averaging just 6.3 points in his past three games.

Here are this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings:

1. Kansas: Saturday’s 72-64 loss at Iowa State snapped a 10-game winning streak. The Jayhawks should beat Oklahoma at home Wednesday, but then face consecutive road games at Missouri on Feb. 4 and Baylor on Feb. 8. Thomas Robinson's numbers (15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds) have been down a bit in his past two games.

2. Missouri: The Tigers’ 79-72 loss on Jan. 25 at Oklahoma State was one of the more stunning results of the conference season. Two of Missouri’s past three opponents have shot 57 percent or better from the field. Saturday’s game against Kansas may mark the last time the Jayhawks and Tigers ever play at Mizzou Arena.

3. Baylor: The Bears bounced back from a tough 89-88 home loss to Missouri on Jan. 21 with back-to-back victories against Oklahoma and Texas. Perry Jones III, who has been battling an ankle injury, averaged 21.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in the two wins. The Bears’ next two games -- against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State -- are on the road.

4. Iowa State: The Cyclones still have some work to do before they can feel good about their chances of an NCAA tournament berth, but Saturday’s 72-64 victory over Kansas certainly enhances their résumé. Iowa State had lost 14 straight to the Jayhawks before Saturday and hadn’t defeated Kansas in Ames since 2004.

5. Texas: Their record may not show it, but the Longhorns are getting better. Rick Barnes’ squad gave Kansas all it could handle on Jan. 21 before beating Iowa State in Austin a few days later. Texas battled back Saturday from a double-digit deficit to tie Baylor late in the second half before the Bears pulled away for a 76-71 victory in Waco. J'Covan Brown (19.7 points) is one of the country’s most underrated players.

6. Oklahoma: Two of the Sooners’ three Big 12 victories are against Kansas State. Guard Steven Pledger scored 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting in Saturday’s 63-60 victory in Manhattan. Things will only get tougher from here, as Oklahoma’s next three games are against Kansas, Iowa State and Missouri.

7. Kansas State: Saturday’s home 63-60 loss to Oklahoma was a huge momentum-killer for a Wildcats squad that entered the game with three straight wins. The Big 12 championship appears to be falling out of Kansas State’s reach, but this is still a Top-25 caliber team when everything is clicking. A win at Iowa State on Tuesday would be huge.

8. Texas A&M: The Aggies are improving at a rapid pace. They lost by only 10 points (64-54) to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse this past week, before defeating Oklahoma State by 15 points (76-61) at home Saturday. Khris Middleton (knee) didn’t play in either game. Elston Turner is averaging 23.3 points in his past three contests.

9. Oklahoma State: So much for capitalizing on momentum. Less than a week after upsetting then-No. 2 Missouri in Stillwater, the Cowboys reverted back to their old ways in Saturday’s lopsided defeat at Texas A&M. This team needs to prove it can win on the road.

10. Texas Tech: Don’t be surprised if Texas Tech doesn’t win a Big 12 game. There simply aren’t enough Division I-caliber players on the roster. Give the Red Raiders and first-year coach Billy Gillispie credit, however, for keeping things close in Saturday’s 13-point loss at Missouri. Tuesday’s home game against Oklahoma State may be Texas Tech’s best remaining opportunity for a league victory.

Shortly after he arrived on campus, Le'Bryan Nash was given a list of rules to follow as a member of the Oklahoma State basketball team. One stood out above the rest.

Never say anything negative.

“All negative talk does is bring people down,” Nash said. “We always talk positive, always try to lift each other up.”

It hasn’t been easy.

Oklahoma State entered Wednesday’s game against second-ranked Missouri toting a 9-10 record and a three-game Big 12 losing streak. Part of the problem was Nash, who appeared to be crumbling under high expectations. A consensus top-10 recruit, Nash was averaging just over 11 points while shooting 35 percent from the field.

None of that mattered against the Tigers.

In what was easily the best game of his young career, Nash scored 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting to spark Oklahoma State to a 79-72 victory over Missouri at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cowboys fans rushed the floor and mobbed Nash as he and his teammates celebrated at center court.

“This win is going to do a lot for this team -- especially me,” Nash said about 30 minutes later in a phone interview with ESPN.com. “My confidence has been up and down.

“I haven’t been consistent scoring the ball, and I’ve needed to be more consistent as far as playing hard. That was one of the hardest games I’ve ever played in my life, because I wanted to win. When I play hard, good things will happen for me and this team.”

Nash’s big game came days after he scored just four points in a 66-58 home loss to Kansas State. One week earlier he managed six points in Oklahoma State’s worst game of the season, a 41-point thumping at Baylor.

What’s baffling is that Missouri beat that same Baylor squad in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, but couldn’t beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Nash said he didn’t feel as if the Tigers took him and his teammates lightly.

“(Missouri point guard) Phil Pressey is a good friend of mine,” Nash said. “He talks to me all the time. He told me that if they didn’t play their game, they could get upset. Their coach was motivating their team to play well, because (he knew) that they could get upset. I guess they didn’t listen to him.”

Oklahoma State -- which also got 22 points from guard Brian Williams -- shot 59 percent from the field Wednesday. This is a team that hadn't shot better than 50 percent against any opponent this season. Then again, Baylor shot 57 percent against Missouri in the Tigers' 89-88 victory on Saturday.

“We knew we could score at will against them,” said Nash, who also praised Oklahoma State’s effort on the other end of the court. “On defense ... we knew they liked to get out and run, that they are a transition team that likes to get quick shots.

“We tried to make them work and take long shots. We made them run down the (shot) clock and run their offense.”

The victory brought smiles to the faces of Oklahoma State supporters, who have watched their team suffer through a brutal season marred by health issues and transfers. Third-leading scorer J.P. Olukemi suffered a season-ending knee injury in a loss to Virginia Tech on New Year’s Eve. Around that same time, veterans Reger Dowell and Fred Gulley announced that they were transferring.

That put even more pressure on Nash who, by that point, didn’t need it.

“Coming in as the highest-rated recruit in the history of the program, I knew all the hype was going to be about me,” Nash said. “It was just motivation for me. When I don’t play well and people say negative stuff, that just gives me motivation to play even harder, even better.”

Oklahoma State’s next two games -- against Texas A&M (Saturday) and Texas Tech (Tuesday) -- are both on the road.

“We’ve only got one road win all season,” Nash said. “Everyone knows we can win at Gallagher-Iba, but doing it on the road is a lot tougher. But tonight shows that if we play hard, we can win any game we play.

“I’m just going to keep my head high, keep getting better and keep playing OSU basketball.”