**2. 2011-2012:** Most view the steps in Allen Fieldhouse as a means of getting to their seats. For center Jeff Withey, they have much deeper significance. Coming off a scoreless game in a loss at Missouri, Withey didn’t hustle after a loose ball in practice. Coach Bill Self made him run nearly every step in the historic basketball building. All those steps added up to the biggest step forward in Withey’s basketball career. It was as if Self went into his basement, performed a surgery and Withey walked into the world with bolts sticking out his neck and a scar coloring his forehead. Withey’s totals in the next three games: 25 points, five rebounds, three blocked shots; 18 points, 20 rebounds, seven blocked shots; 18 points, 11 rebounds, nine blocked shots. Think Self knows which buttons to push, which brain cells to wash? This team that lacked offensive firepower heading into the season made it all the way to the NCAA title game, where Anthony Davis swatted away their chances of pulling off an upset. Self convinced his team that it couldn’t outscore teams and got the most out of everyone defensively. And then there was the last game of the Border War series. Tyshawn Taylor, so hyper for much of his career, so steadily led the Jayhawks back from a 19-point deficit to an 87-86 overtime victory. Thomas Robinson (28 points, 12 rebounds) blocked a shot in the final seconds of regulation. Allen Fielhouse was one wild party that day.
**Big 12 standings:**
Kansas 16-2
Missouri 14-4
Baylor 12-6
Iowa State 12-6
Kansas State 10-8
Texas 9-9
Oklahoma State 5-13
Oklahoma 5-13
Texas A&M 4-14
Texas Tech 1-17
*Check back at 4:45 for No. 1*