Not foul trouble.

And certainly not a young, athletic St. John’s basketball team one that likes to talk a little trash and play some Big Apple mind games on the court.

“It’s overwhelming to come here and win this,” KU senior guard Kenny Gregory said after the Jayhawks’ 82-74 victory over the Red Storm in the title game. “They do talk a lot of trash.”

“Coach told us before the game they’d try to intimidate us. Cook (Omar) told me they play the best ball in New York. I said, ‘We play basketball in Ohio and Kansas, too,'” added Gregory, an Ohio native who was named tourney MVP after scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo

“I thought it all was kind of cute. He was squinting in my face. I told him, ‘I’m a senior, you can’t get in my head. A lot of ’em were doing it.”

Cook, a talented freshman point guard who had 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting, helped St. John’s cut a 12-point deficit to 75-73 with 1:48 left.

KU, however, didn’t fade in front of a pro-St. John’s crowd that was going crazy and a bunch of Red Storm players who were woofing and hollering.

Drew Gooden, KU’s other member of the all-tournament team, took a simple pass from Kirk Hinrich (career-high 11 assists) and scored a jump hook at :42.5 seconds. He then hit one of two free throws at :28, giving KU a five-point advantage all the breathing room it needed.

“It was a championship game and we had to step it up. Great players step it up in championship games and I want to be known as a great player,” said Gooden, who had a career-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds.

Gooden didn’t start for the second straight game because Nick Collison and Eric Chenowith had better defensive grades in KU’s first-round win over UCLA.

He didn’t sulk when he entered in the first half with KU down, 11-4.

Gooden scored nine points in a 21-7 KU surge that put the Jayhawks in command, 25-18. In the run he slammed an inbounds feed from Mario Kinsey a play that earned him the tourney’s slam dunk award. Gooden also hit a three-pointer from the corner off a pass from Chenowith and fed Jeff Boschee for a three. He also had a vicious block of a Cook layup.

Thanks to Gooden, who had 15 points the first half and Gregory, who had 14, KU led, 45-37 at the break.

“I talked to Drew before the game and said I was not going to start him because of the defensive grade he had,” said KU coach Roy Williams who is 8-0 at Madison Square Garden with three NIT titles and one Coaches Vs. Cancer crown.

“I said he had to be totally into the game. I took Drew out late. He made a wild play (losing ball on spin move) that made me mad. When he plays the way he can, he’s something. I thought Drew was very good; I thought Kenny was sensational.”

The Jayhawks were pretty much in control the second half, holding between an eight and 12-point lead. Then Anthony Glover hit two free throws, Kyle Cuffe had a basket and foul shot and Cook had a bucket, cutting the gap 73-71.

Williams scolded the Jayhawks during a time out with KU up two.

“I thought we were giving in, we were on our heels and not playing very smart or aggressive at that point,” Williams said. “After that we were all right.”

The Jayhawks responded, showing some toughness in winning.

Would KU have done the same, say a year ago?

“I think we would have (lost),” Chenowith said. “We didn’t want to lose. We pulled together.”

Collison agrees the Jayhawks might have picked up a loss in similar circumstances last season.

“Maybe we would have lost, to be honest,” said Collison, who scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight boards.

He had four fouls, while Chenowith and Hinrich fouled out late.

“We wouldn’t have been patient. Guys would have been jacking it up there,” Collison said.

Boschee had 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. And Kinsey tallied four points off free throws. Gooden had some fouls shooting woes late, hitting 7 of 13 free throws.

“We’d like to have had Drew hit a few more free throws, but he played well,” Williams said. “We’re very pleased with our two wins. Our team learned a lot because we were exposed to a lot of different things. Last night (against UCLA) we had to defend against outside shooting. Tonight we had to deal with inside pressure and rebounding. I was impressed with our kids because we kept making plays.”

The Jayhawks definitely showed grit.

“It was like a road game during March Madness,” Gregory said. “The team showed great composure and the guys stepped up big. It’s a great feel to show this kind of composure this early.”

And to stop the talking.

“They were saying how great New York is,” Chenowith said. “It can’t be that great. Kansas won.”