Iowa State vs. Kansas: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

The No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks overcame a late deficit Saturday against the No. 21 Iowa State Cyclones, as they defeated their Big 12 rivals 85-78 on Senior Day at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.

While the Jayhawks had already clinched the Big 12 title, they improved to 15-3 in the conference and 27-4 overall, while Iowa State dropped to 10-8 in the conference and 21-10 overall, as it failed to repeat its previous upset victory over Kansas.

Kansas senior forward Perry Ellis turned in a strong effort in his final home game with a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Wayne Selden Jr. and sophomore guard Devonte' Graham chipped in with 16 points apiece off the bench.

The combination of senior forwards Georges Niang and Jameel McKay kept the Cyclones in contention for most of the contest, as they scored 22 and 19 points, respectively.

Despite the defeat, Bleacher Report's CJ Moore believes Iowa State will carry some momentum into the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament:

Neither team was able to pull away from the other throughout the first half. While the Jayhawks held the lead for much of the frame, the Cyclones managed to keep things close.

As seen in this Vine, courtesy of ESPN College BBall, Iowa State guard Monte Morris knocked down a three-pointer just prior to the end of the first half to cut Kansas' lead to just 37-36 entering the locker room:

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Iowa State is giving the No. 1 team in the nation all they can handle. https://t.co/2MXLL2Lie2

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 5, 2016"

The Jayhawks could have had a much bigger lead had they hit more open shots in the first half, and Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune offered what turned out to be a prophetic analysis:

Kansas ended up making eight of 20 trifectas over the course of the contest, which was among the biggest keys to victory along with bench scoring.

The back-and-forth nature of the game was apparent for a large portion of the second half as the teams traded big shots, such as this one by Hallice Cook nearly midway through the half to cut Kansas' lead to 58-57, via Cyclone Basketball:

Iowa State seized the lead on its ensuing possession and held it for the next several minutes.

McKay was a big part of that, which prompted Reid Forgrave of FoxSports.com to touch on the importance of McKay's play in relation to how far the Cyclones can go this season:

With the Cyclones leading 71-68 at the five-minute mark, the Jayhawks proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to take a 79-71 lead with less than a minute remaining.

They closed on a 17-7 run overall and continued their impressive win streak on Senior Day in the process, per ESPN Stats & Info:

With the game in hand, Ellis left the court, embraced head coach Bill Self and received a raucous ovation from the home fans:

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After a long and eventful career, Perry Ellis and Allen Fieldhouse part ways. https://t.co/HYF46tCh4x

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 5, 2016"

A win undoubtedly would have given Iowa State a ton of confidence ahead of the Big 12 tournament, but it simply couldn't couldn't stop the deep, veteran-laden Jayhawks from coming through in the big moments.

Despite that, Forgrave feels as though the Cyclones are in a good place with the most important stretch of the season on the horizon:

Both Kansas and Iowa State are locks for the NCAA tournament, and even with a disastrous showing in the Big 12 tourney, it is tough to envision the Jayhawks being anything other than a No. 1 seed.

The Cyclones' seeding situation is far more difficult to predict, but a road win against KU undoubtedly would have helped immensely in that regard.

Iowa State figures to be on the fringes of the national Top 25 entering the Big 12 tournament, but it could conceivably get itself in the conversation for as high as the No. 4 seed if it makes a deep run.

The Cyclones played extremely well Saturday despite the late collapse, and the fact that they were still unable to come out on top speaks to the notion that Kansas may very well be the team to beat during March Madness.

Postgame Reaction

Kansas' seniors were celebrated following its big victory, which led to some emotional moments, especially between Self and Jamari Traylor.

Ellis did all he could to keep the mood light, though, by cracking jokes about the notion that he has been part of the Jayhawks for far longer than he actually has, according to Moore:

Kansas may very well be the team to beat this season, but it hasn't necessarily had great showings in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments recently, which Self acknowledged, per Jayhawk-Talk.com:

Since the Jayhawks are already Big 12 regular-season champions and look to be locked in as a No. 1 seed, though, Self believes they can enter the conference tourney without much pressure:

Self had a lot of positive things to say about his team, but he also praised the Cyclones and especially Niang, who played a fantastic game Saturday, per Dylan Montz of the Cedar Rapids Gazette:

Niang played many games against Kansas and at Allen Fieldhouse, but according to CycloneFanatic.com, he's happy to leave behind the famous "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk" chant:

While Niang and the rest of the Cyclones likely felt as though they let one slip away, they showed the ability to stick with perhaps the best team in the nation.

Even so, head coach Steve Prohm left Lawrence with somewhat of a bad taste in his mouth:

He was able to draw some positives from the loss, though, including the spectacular play of McKay:

Iowa State has a chance to do some damage down the stretch if Niang and McKay are on top of their respective games, and they certainly were against Kansas.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.