It’s possible Big 12 Conference champion Kansas University (24-6 overall, 14-2 league) will earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“The committee always does a great job,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “I am never one to ‘politic’ for that. I would feel a lot better if we were cutting down the nets on Sunday (after Big 12 tournament).”
KU will open conference tourney play against either Texas A&M or Iowa State at noon Friday in Dallas.
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Two-stitch gash: It took two stitches to close a cut over junior Bryant Nash’s left eye in the first half.
“Bryant had the cut about the eye. He let it affect him. He wiped his eye and then shot a three. I told him, ‘When you can’t see, you shouldn’t be shooting a three-point shot,”‘ Williams said of Nash, who had three rebounds in nine minutes.
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Atonement: Miles (10 points, three assists, three turnovers, four steals in 33 minutes) atoned for a bad sequence by hitting his late three.
Williams ripped Miles for throwing a bad pass, which led to a turnover, and for not hustling back as Ricky Clemons hit one of his five threes, tying the score at 67 with 4:31 left.
Williams removed Miles from the game and tore into Miles on the bench.
“At the time out I chewed his rear end. To turn it over and not get back and show effort on Clemons’ shot … it ticked me off,” Williams said. “He gives up the basketball, and I didn’t think he had a sense of urgency on Clemons’ shot. I also told him at the timeout, ‘It’s behind you now.”‘
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Stats, facts: Lee set a career best with two three-pointers made. He was fouled on one of the threes, hitting a free throw for a four-point play the first half. … MU hit 15 of 16 free throws to KU’s 13 of 22. … Paulding has made 25 straight free throws over four games.
Hear Roy: Missouri post-game comments
Missouri game pix