“I’ve got it folded up right now behind that door. I’m taking it back to Lawrence,” said Kinsey, who scored four points and had four assists in 17 minutes.

Kinsey played a big part in the victory, filling in for Kirk Hinrich, who was sensational with a career-high 11 assists despite foul trouble.

“This was more than I could ever expect. The first two games of my college career we win a championship,” said Kinsey, a freshman football quarterback/basketball point guard from Waco, Texas. “I played a lot and contributed a lot. It’s always fun to win championships.”

He wasn’t wowed by St. John’s point Omar Cook, who spent much of the night talking trash.

“He’d say some things to me, maybe I’d whisper something in his ear,” Kinsey said.

Hinrich scored five points in his 30 minutes, spending most of his time feeding the basketball to teammates for easy hoops.

KU hit 56.9 percent of its shots to St. John’s 38 percent.

“This was a great way to start the season we beat two very good teams. To win it like this you’ve got to be happy,” Hinrich said.

He picked up two early fouls and finished with four. He’s had a tough time so far getting used to the refs calling the games tighter.

“I am used to using the forearm. You basically can’t use anything anymore,” Hinrich said. “They are calling the game pretty tight.”

KU had 22 fouls, while St. John’s had 25.

“They want teams to score more and I think that will happen this year,” Hinrich said.

The Jayhawk, who saw a 12-point lead dip to two late, never panicked.

“It was huge for us,” KU center Eric Chenowith said. “We showed a lot of adversity with guys in foul trouble. We showed great team camaraderie in New York.”

All-tourney team: Kenny Gregory (MVP), Drew Gooden, KU; Omar Cook, St. John’s; Keith Bogans, Kentucky; Earl Watson, UCLA.

Mayor of New York: Roy Williams is 8-0 at Madison Square Garden, winning six Preseason NIT games and two Coaches Vs. Cancer games. “It’s been a good run for us in New York,” he said.

Crider still favoring Washburn: Kansas junior John Crider met with Washburn coach Bob Chipman for about an hour on Friday afternoon in Topeka, Washburn sports information director Gene Cassell confirmed.

The meeting went well, according to a friend of the Crider family.

Barring some unforeseen circumstance, Crider, who did not make the trip with the Jayhawks to New York, is expected soon to become a member of the Ichabods.

The matter won’t be settled until Crider speaks with Williams. Both KU and Washburn officials said it was not a done deal yet.

Crider, by the way, has a thigh injury that figures to keep him out a while wherever he plays.

Tough assignments: In his last three games that counted in the standings, KU point guard Kirk Hinrich has been matched against St. John’s sensation Omar Cook, UCLA’s Earl Watson and Duke’s Jason Williams. Add to that exhibition point guard Ed Cota, formerly of North Carolina.

Facts: KU improved to 8-5 in the all-time series. …The two teams met in the 1952 NCAA title game, KU prevailing, 80-63. … KU improved to 21-21 against schools from the Big East Conference. … Roy Williams is 2-0 versus St. John’s. … KU has won 31 straight games in November. KU’s last loss before December came on Nov. 23, 1990 a 70-68 loss at Arizona State.