Saturday night, the Jayhawks showed for the fourth time in 2007-08 they can win nail-biters as well.

The same KU squad that defeated Arizona, 76-72 in overtime at Allen Fieldhouse, and won by five points at Georgia Tech and four at Southern California, survived Missouri, 76-70, Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

“I think we’ve got a nice team. I really do,” KU coach Bill Self said after a grind-it-out game that upped the Jayhawks’ record to 18-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12. “I’ve not said it publicly that I think we’re a really good team because I think there’s a lot of room for improvement, but I do like our team.”

Self likes the fact KU was able to hand MU (11-7, 1-2) its first home loss of the season in 11 games on a night shots weren’t falling. KU hit 40 percent of its shots, including four of 12 threes and 28 of 45 free throws.

“It’s nice to be able to win when you are not at your best offensively,” Self said. “Missouri had us sped up to where we didn’t execute very well.

“I think our guards are as good as any out there. I think our guards got sped up. We had a size advantage inside, (but) our bigs didn’t get as many touches in large part because their pressure on the perimeter was very good.”

It’s the most pressure KU has faced all season.

“We looked like it’s the first time we’ve seen a team that actually pressed us and got after us. Usually it’s the other way around,” Self said after KU suffered 15 turnovers to MU’s 10. “It was good for us. We needed this.”

Self realizes the Jayhawks will need some ugly wins to accomplish a major goal this season. KU is expected to move up from No. 3 to at least No. 2 in the national polls when they’re released today, but that’s not on Self’s mind.

“I know they (players) are focused on trying to put themselves in position to win a fourth straight Big 12 championship,” Self said.

“I could care less about the other stuff. We can control what we do. We can’t control the other stuff.”

Here’s a look at some of KU’s accomplishments heading into Wednesday’s 6 p.m. home game against Iowa State (Big 12 stats are current; national ratings as of Thursday):

¢ The Jayhawks rank first in the Big 12 and 10th nationally in scoring (83.3 ppg) and first nationally in field-goal percentage (51.6).

¢ KU also ranks first in the Big 12 and third nationally in assists (19.44 per game) and first in the league in blocks (6.33 per game), steals (10.72) and assist to turnover ratio (1.50).

¢ KU ranks second in the league in scoring defense (59.0 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (37.8) and third in rebounding (38.6).

¢ On the down side, KU rates 11th in the league overall in free-throw-shooting percentage (65.7). In league-only play, however, KU ranks fourth at 73.4 percent.

Individually …

¢ Darnell Jackson ranks first in the league and fifth nationally in field-goal percentage (67.2). Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson rank 1-2 in the league in steals (2.94 and 2.33 per game). Chalmers is third (4.71) and Robinson fourth in the league in assists (4.71, 4.67) and Darrell Arthur third in the league in blocks (30).

What’s more :

¢ The Jayhawks are 32-1 in their last 33 games and have won 26 straight regular-season contests.

¢ KU has won 11 straight true road games (last 2006-07 and first five of 2007-08) and is 17-1 in games away from Allen Fieldhouse in that span. The lone loss is to UCLA in the Elite Eight.

¢ KU has outshot its opponent in every game this season and has shot 50 percent or better in 14 games.

¢ Through 18 games, KU has had seven different leading scorers. Six players have led the team in rebounding and eight in steals (including ties). KU has had four different leading scorers in the last four games.