Kansas Rallies From 16-Point Deficit to Beat Kansas State

Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins needed big games to beat in-state rivals Kansas State on Saturday afternoon.

Aldrich had 21-points and seven rebounds and Sherron Collins added 19-points in Kansas' 85-74 victory.

K-State had come into the game riding a six game winning streak after having lost their first four conference games and were able to ride the home crowd to a quick 16-point advantage. 

I must say that I dogged on K-State's star player Denis Clemente saying he'd finish with less than 20-points.

When he had just shy of 20 at half, I was starting to get nervous.

KU played some great defense in the last eight minutes of the first half and solid defense for the whole second half, which took them back into the lead on the first possession out of the locker room after halftime.

Clemente was held to a lot quieter second half and KU was able to slowly suffocate the life out of the K-State crowd, however, K-State was able to whittle Kansas' second half lead to two points before struggling to go back ahead.

Clemente is a great player.

He reminds me a lot of D.J. Augustin, not only in skill terms but in his ability to provide the spark to his team and the home crowd with great speed and play making ability.

Credit has to be given to Kansas though in this one though.

Overcoming a 16-point first half deficit and the ability to close it to a one-point deficit just before half cannot be understated …

… Cole Aldrich's new face mask was clearly helping him see the court better on the offensive end, but he came up with some huge blocks and key rebounds on the defensive end.

Sherron Collins overcame a sputtering start to finish with 19 and he and Tyrell Reed hit some clutch three pointers which helped Kansas extend their second half lead.

One of the unsung heros though, had to be Marcus Morris. The freshman was all over the floor in the first half, and his efforts on both ends helped the Jayhawks turn that 16-point loss into one before half.

Credit to Bill Self as well: he was able to get his team turned around in the middle of the first half and was able to let his players do the work in the second half.

K-State can come away from the game with some confidence, however.

They played well for most of the game, and if they want to see tournament action come mid-March they will have to win a couple of higher profile games to secure their spot in the tournament.

Kansas ended the "Rivalry Week" from hell with a win and now has two winnable home games against Iowa State and Nebraska respectively, before they take the trip to face Oklahoma in Norman.

While the Big East and ACC will sure to be getting all of the national attention in the closing weeks of the season, the top three teams in the Big 12 will be making quite the stir.

Keep your eye on the top of the Big 12 as it will really be taking shape in the next two weeks.