LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self remembers a time early in Perry Ellis’ career when the senior forward couldn’t speak in front of a crowd.

It felt like a lifetime ago on Saturday afternoon.

Ellis, the often-reserved senior forward, charmed the crimson and blue faithful at Allen Fieldhouse with an emotional farewell speech that spanned laughs and tears.

“People say I’ve been here forever, and they’re right. I got to play with Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning,” Ellis joked. “Since I supposedly have unlimited eligibility, why don’t I come back next year?”

Based on his performance Saturday, Kansas fans wouldn’t have any objections.

Ellis scored 22 points, including a hook shot over Iowa State’s Georges Niang to ice the game, and No. 1 Kansas stretched its nation-leading home winning streak to 42 games with a 85-78 victory over the No. 21 Cyclones.

“I’m proud of this team,” Self said. “I’ve been proud of teams before, but when you have lottery picks or guys like that where you know you have better players who perform at a very high level, the chances are you’ll be successful. This team I think we have terrific players, but I think this team has earned its stripes as much as any team we’ve had here.”

Devonte Graham and Wayne Seldon Jr. finished with 16 points apiece. Kansas (27-4, 15-3) has now won 33 straight home finales.

Ellis, playing in his final game at Allen Fieldhouse, spearheaded an 11-0 run in the final 4:45 by diving across the floor to save a possession. He ended it with an emphatic dunk and 16,000 fans cheering his name one last time.

“You’re just thinking about so much,” Ellis said. “All last night you’re just thinking one more. One more. This was the last go around. There was a lot of thinking, but it was great to come out with the win.”

Kansas looked poise to break the game open with 13:21 left, when Mason slipped his way through two defenders and finished at the rim. But Iowa State wouldn’t go away, responding with a 13-2 run to grab its largest — and last — lead at 63-59.

Niang led the Cyclones (21-10, 10-8) with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists. Jameel McKay added 19 points and nine rebounds.

“Anytime you get to finish your last Big 12 regular season, it’s disappointing to end it on a loss,” Niang said. “Winning in Allen Fieldhouse is something I wanted to do, so losing is real disappointing.”

Kansas also honored fellow seniors Jamari Traylor, Hunter Mickelson and Evan Manning before tipoff.

But Saturday afternoon was all about No. 34.

Ellis was a crucial part of Kansas’ four in-season tournament titles and its lone Big 12 Tournament crown. His still demeanor and consistency made him a fan-favorite. He lost just twice at Allen Fieldhouse.

All of his attributes were on display Saturday.

Ellis scored 12 first-half points and grabbed three rebounds against perhaps the only comparable player in the conference and country, Niang. Even as Ellis struggled through periods of missed shots, he was a force, grabbing rebounds or diving across the court to deny Iowa State a possession.

The teams traded buckets in quick succession throughout the opening period, with neither leading by more than seven points. Niang matched Ellis’ scoring production but foul trouble limited him to just 11 minutes. McKay stepped up in his place with 17 first-half points and seven rebounds, all while not picking up a foul or sitting out.

He, like Iowa State, was good in the second half. Kansas was simply better in crunch time.

“The reality of it is,” Self said, “I couldn’t be more confident of these guys moving forward.

FINAL CALL

Voice of the Jayhawks Bob Davis called his final game at Allen Fieldhouse. Davis’ career at Kansas spans three decades and 1,184 games. He was honored at halftime with a special ceremony.

HE HAS JOKES

“I thought he could go do standup,” Self said of Ellis’ speech. “Perry was great out there.”

TIP-INS

Iowa State: Monte Morris scored 13 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. . The loss snaps a two-game win streak over Kansas. . Niang and Naz Long have never won in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas: Selden didn’t start due to Senior Day. It was the first time in his career that he has not started. . The Jayhawks outrebounded Iowa State 39-33 after falling behind early in that department.

UP NEXT

Iowa State: Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 9-12

Kansas: Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 9-12

— Associated Press —

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Enough about winning a share of the Big 12 title: Kansas wanted the crown all to itself.

The top-ranked Jayhawks grabbed it in emphatic style Monday night, romping over No. 23 Texas 86-56, an impressive exclamation point on yet another title-winning season.

“That was definitely motivation. We didn’t want to come out flat and thinking the league was over. We wanted to come out and win it outright,” Jayhawks guard Devonte’ Graham said.

Perry Ellis scored 20 points and Kansas settled the question of its undisputed title in the opening minutes with a barrage of 3-pointers, a steady diet of points from Ellis, and defense that gave Texas nothing easy.

“For 20-25 minutes, that was about as well as we can play,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We talked about we don’t want to share anything.”

The Jayhawks (26-4, 14-3) made 11 3-pointers, led by 24 points at halftime and sent Texas’ sellout home crowd headed to the exits early. Ellis finished 9-of-11 from the field.

Frank Mason III added 14 points for Kansas.

Javan Felix scored 13 points for Texas (19-11, 10-7), which has never beaten a No. 1-ranked opponent in nine tries.

Kansas, which spent two weeks at No. 1 in early January, looked every bit the part this time. And in a season the Big 12 finally seemed like it could crown a new champion, the Jayhawks stormed through the second half of the league schedule with a nine-game winning streak to take it again.

Kansas has won nine of its past 10 against Texas, but came into this one expecting a much tougher fight than the Longhorns put up.

With four wins already this season over Top 10 opponents, Texas looked like a team ready to grab another. The Longhorns came in brimming with confidence as the league upstart under first-year coach Shaka Smart. And after its impressive win two days earlier over Oklahoma, Texas turned out its biggest — and rowdiest — crowd of the season.

The Jayhawks greeted it with little more than a shrug and a scoring burst at the start that overwhelmed the Longhorns from the opening tip.

Graham and Mason made three 3-pointers in a 15-0 run as Texas missed its first 14 shots. Ellis dominated Texas’ front line for 15 points in the first half. His 3-pointer put the Jayhawks up by 21 points with 4 minutes left.

Even when Texas started matching shots, that’s all the Longhorns could do. The Jayhawks shot 66 percent in the first half and consecutive 3-pointers by Wayne Selden Jr., and Brannen Greene in the final minute sent Kansas into halftime with a 47-23 lead.

“We’re not going to be like this every night, but the guys had fun,” Self said.

The Kansas swagger seemed to get bigger with every basket. Ellis weaved his way to another easy layup, Graham swished two more 3-pointers and two thunderous dunks by Jamari Traylor pushed the Jayhawks’ lead to 67-36 with just under 13 minutes to play.

“I don’t think we were overwhelmed,” Felix said. “We didn’t defend well. We missed some shots … you can’t do that against a team like that.”

TIP-INS:

Kansas: The Jayhawks rank fourth nationally in 3-point percentage and have made 10 or more 3-pointers 11 times this season.

“We were moving the ball well. We didn’t take any bad 3-point shots,” Ellis said.

Texas: The Longhorns’ offense stalled mostly because Isaiah Taylor never got started. The point guard has been the catalyst for Texas all season — he’s their leading scorer — but started 0-for-8 shooting and missed several open looks. Taylor didn’t score until making a steal and a layup with 1:26 left in the first half.

Taylor finished with five points and took only one shot in the second half.

“He missed some shots he normally makes. We got lucky,” Self said.

TEXAS TROUBLES

Texas’ last four home games have included big wins over West Virginia and Oklahoma and blowout losses to Baylor and Kansas. In the losses, Texas’ smaller, guard-oriented lineup has struggled to match up against bigger teams.

Texas’ front line of Prince Ibeh, Connor Lammert and Shaq Cleare combined for just 11 points.

“In the past when we’ve had rough games we’ve responded well,” Lammert said.

WHAT’S NEXT

Kansas hosts No. 21 Iowa State on Saturday

Texas plays at Oklahoma State on Friday

— Associated Press —

FORT WORTH, Texas – Kansas women’s basketball nearly erased a seven-point deficit to TCU with 40 seconds to play, but fell just short, as the Horned Frogs claimed the 55-52 win on Monday night inside Schollmaier Arena.

Six-unanswered points, capped off by a three-point play from sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge brought the Jayhawks (5-24, 0-18 Big 12) to within a single point with 25 seconds left in the game. After a pair of made free throws from senior guard Zahna Medley of TCU, Aldridge earned yet another and-one opportunity, this time to bring the score level. Aldridge’s free throw missed the mark, and ensuing free throws from sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle after an offensive rebound could not find the bottom of the net and TCU escaped with the victory in the regular-season finale.

Aldridge and freshman guard Kylee Kopatich each tallied 10 points on Monday night, tying for the team-high mark. Aldridge netted double figures for the 19th game of the season, while Kopatich posted her 15th double-digit scoring effort. Freshman forward Tyler Johnson led the Jayhawks in rebounds, pulling down seven boards.

Medley led the Horned Frogs (16-13, 8-10 Big 12) in scoring with a game-high 21 points. Medley shot just 4-of-12 from the field, but was perfect at the charity stripe, sinking all 10 of her attempts. Senior forward Caitlin Diaz netted 14 points on 50 percent shooting and tied freshman center Jordan Moore for a team-high seven rebounds.

Both teams struggled to find a find a rhythm in the early going. Kansas grabbed a 6-2 lead with a three-pointer from junior forward Jada Brown at the 4:20 mark. TCU went nearly eight minutes between made field goals, and two free throws from Medley kept the Horned Frogs from being shut out during the same span. TCU’s six first-quarter points marked its lowest output in the opening frame this season and the Jayhawks’ best defensive effort in the first 10 minutes, as well.

TCU’s first field goal of the second quarter did not come until the 5:35 mark, a three from Medley. The Horned Frogs slowly chipped away at Kansas’ lead for the remainder of the quarter, but the Jayhawks held strong. At the intermission, Kansas held onto a one-point advantage, 19-18.

The two teams wrestled the lead back and forth early on in the third period, with six-straight baskets resulting in a lead change. A steal and fast-break layup from freshman guard Aisia Robertson broke the streak and pushed Kansas’ advantage to three points. A 7-2 scoring run on three-consecutive field goals later in the quarter grew the Jayhawks’ lead to seven points and forced TCU head coach Raegan Pebley to call a timeout with 1:38 left in the period. The Horned Frogs locked in after, scoring the final six points of the quarter to bring the game back within one point.

Neither team put points on the scoreboard for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, before another three-ball from Medley turned the game back in TCU’s favor. The Horned Frogs put in six-unanswered points before free throws from Johnson at the 5:20 mark ended the cold spell. Just over a minute later, Johnson connected on her third field goal of the night to pull the Jayhawks to within a point.

With less than 50 seconds left in the contest, Medley sank two free throws to put TCU up by seven. Kansas continued to fight, and battled back to within one point again with five-straight points from Aldridge. The Jayhawks took three trips to the free throw line with the chance to tie the game, but missed the mark on each of them. Redshirt junior guard Timeka O’Neal launched a three-pointer just before the buzzer with the chance to force overtime, but the shot fell short, giving TCU the 55-52 win.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football head coach David Beaty filled his assistant coaching position for defensive line as he announced the addition of Michael Slater to the Jayhawk staff.

Slater joins the KU program after recently completing his fourth season at Rice, where he also coached the defensive line. In his time with the Owls, Slater saw his defensive front become a disruptive force that was instrumental in the Owls newfound success.

“Michael is a great coach and a great man,” said Beaty, who is entering his second season at the helm of the KU program. “He has consistently taken undersized and under-recruited players and developed them into top players for their team and in their conference. It is impressive to see his teaching carry over on game tape each and every week.”

In April 2015, Slater saw Christian Covington selected by the Houston Texans, becoming the third Owls defensive line product to be drafted in his combined tenure on the Owls’ staff. As a graduate assistant at Rice from 2008-10, Slater mentored future pros Cheta Ozougwu and Scott Solomon. In addition, 2014 Rice senior Zach Patt earned an invitation to the Arizona Cardinals rookie camp.

Slater’s front wall led the charge in 2014 as Rice set a school record with 39 sacks, and Patt set a single-game mark with five vs. FIU. In his four seasons at the helm of the Rice defensive front, Slater’s group combined for 84 of the Owls 103 sacks, forced 28 fumbles and recovered 18.

In his first stint with the Owls, Slater earned a Master’s of Liberal Studies degree during his three-year tenure while working with the defensive line. After his graduation in the spring of 2011, Slater spent one season as the defensive line coach at Angelo State before returning to Rice.

Slater coached at the high school level in the Houston area for 12 years, first at Alief Hastings for five seasons, before moving on to Alief Taylor for seven years. He coached the defensive line and also coordinated special teams. As the defensive line coach at Taylor, he coached future Rice player and Chicago Bear Cheta Ozougwu.

“In addition to being a great developer of his players, Michael has deep ties in Houston and East Texas that we look forward to calling on in recruiting,” added Beaty.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Jamari Traylor handed Kansas forward Perry Ellis a pair of navy blue scissors to take the final snips of the net, and with them the crowd in Allen Fieldhouse began to chant his name.

“It feels great,” Ellis said after celebrating the second-ranked Jayhawks’ 67-58 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday that wrapped up a share of their 12th straight Big 12 title. “You think of all the hard work and all of the hours you put in. It all pays off in the end. It’s a relief.”

Svi Mykhailiuk came off the bench to score 17 points, and Frank Mason III added 16 for the Jayhawks (25-4, 13-3), while Ellis — the stoic senior who’s been a part of four of those titles — contributed eight points and five rebounds in helping to extend one of college basketball’s remarkable streaks.

The only school to win more consecutive conference championships was UCLA, which won 13 in a row during the 1960s and `70s. The Jayhawks can win their eighth outright title during their streak with a win Monday night at No. 25 Texas or in their regular-season finale against No. 17 Iowa State.

“Sometimes winning is a relief and losing is the end of the Earth,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “This feels better than a relief. I’m really proud of our kids. They’ve really tried hard and they’ve given us what they’ve got.”

Toddrick Gotcher hit five 3s and led the Red Raiders (18-10, 8-8) with 20 points.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said. “We turned the ball over 14 times. We can’t do that against any team, let alone Kansas on the road.”

Both teams rolled out to slow starts — Texas Tech committed a shot-clock violation on its first possession — and it wasn’t until Mykhailiuk got going that the Jayhawks found any sort of rhythm.

The sophomore sharpshooter hit his fourth 3-pointer to give Kansas a 37-29 halftime lead.

“That was a big 3 by them,” Gotcher said.

The start of the second half was just as sloppy, with the Red Raiders committing three turnovers in the first couple of minutes. Kansas was able to capitalize on the miscues with Devonte Graham dishing to Wayne Selden Jr. for a quick layup during what became a 10-0 run.

Suddenly, the Red Raiders were in an 18-point hole nearing the midpoint of the half.

Texas Tech, which had won five straight games to get into NCAA Tournament contention, made one big run to get back in the game. Gotcher was the catalyst for it, getting fouled by Mykhailiuk beyond the 3-point line with 9 minutes left and making all of his free throws.

Then, moments later, Selden committed the first of three turnovers during the stretch, and Aaron Ross made a couple free throws to get within 56-46 with 7 1/2 minutes left.

But the Jayhawks, one of the most veteran teams in the league, kept their composure, and Mykhailiuk hit his final 3 with just over 4 minutes left to make it 61-50 and usher Kansas to the finish.

“He looks like a pro,” Self said of Mykhailiuk. “The way he played at K-State coming in, those were as good of looking plays that anybody’s made for us this year. Jumping up and shooting 3s in transition, confident. … We needed him and he stepped up big time.”

IT’S ELEMENTARY

Every player on the Kansas roster was in elementary school the last time the Jayhawks didn’t win at least a share of the Big 12 title. That was during Self’s first season in 2003-04.

SELF-ISH

“Everybody is selfish in their own right. Why would we want anybody else to recruit to being the Big 12 champion? I don’t know of any coach out there (who would).” — Self on the streak of Big 12 titles.

TIP-INS

Kansas: Mykhailiuk was 6 for 7 from the field and perfect on five 3-point attempts. … Selden finished with three points on 1-for-8 shooting. He missed all four of his 3-point attempts. … The Jayhawks have won nine straight games.

Texas Tech: Ross had eight points on 2-for-10 shooting. … The Red Raiders shot just 31 percent as a team. … Texas Tech has still never won in Allen Fieldhouse.

NEXT UP

Texas Tech visits No. 14 West Virginia on Wednesday.

Kansas visits No. 25 Texas on Monday.

— Associated Press —

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Brittney Martin had 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals to help No. 22 Oklahoma State beat Kansas 71-49 on Wednesday night.

The Cowgirls (20-7, 10-6 Big 12) led the entire way, building a 33-13 lead 3:20 before halftime and holding their advantage between 18 and 24 in the second half.

Martin had 14 of her points in the first half and Oklahoma State led 37-18 going into the break. The Cowgirls were 31 of 57 (54.4 percent) from the floor while holding Kansas to 19 of 52 (36.5 percent).

Kaylee Jensen added 18 points and 12 rebounds and Sydney Walton was 3 of 5 from 3-point range with 11 points.

Lauren Aldridge had 13 points and Tyler Johnson scored 11 for the Jayhawks (5-22, 0-16), who have lost 18 straight.

— Associated Press —

WACO, Texas (AP) — Landen Lucas and Wayne Selden felt the wrath of Kansas coach Bill Self at halftime, when the second-ranked Jayhawks trailed No. 19 Baylor.

“I got on them hard at halftime, probably too hard,” Self said.

They made up for it down the stretch, and got Kansas a step closer to its 12th consecutive Big 12 title with a 66-60 victory Tuesday night.

Lucas had the tiebreaking layup with 3:03 left after one of his four rebounds down the stretch. Selden, who finished with six points, had four of those in the final 2 minutes, along with two offensive rebounds in that span that led to points.

“I was struggling all night, just trying to find a way to impact the game, and it was rebounding,” Selden said. “Me and Landen, we had to get to the glass, so I just tried to crash the board, give us extra possessions.”

The go-ahead putback by Lucas came after he rebounded a missed 3 by Selden.

After Selden rebounded a missed tip-in by Lucas with 1:40 left, Kansas (24-4, 12-3) called time out. They set up a play when Devonte Graham’s lob pass to Selden resulted in a dunk.

Frank Mason III had 19 points and Perry Ellis added 15 for Kansas, which has a two-game lead over No. 14 West Virginia in the Big 12 standings with three league games remaining. Graham had 11 points and Lucas had 10 rebounds to go with his five points.

Al Freeman led Baylor (20-8, 9-6) with 17 points, including four 3-pointers. Taurean Prince had 12 points.

“I was proud of how we competed and played for about 36 minutes, and then I wish we could do that last 4 minutes over again,” Bears coach Scott Drew said. “I don’t think we executed as well as we’d like. We didn’t rebound as well as we’d like down the stretch. But I think we’ve seen marked improvement from the first time we played them.”

Baylor lost its Big 12 opener 102-74 at Kansas on Jan. 2.

After losing three straight Big 12 road games, the Jayhawks have won their last four as part of an eight-game winning streak overall. They play Texas Tech at home Saturday with a chance to guarantee at least a share of the Big 12 title.

“That’s big for us. About a month ago, a lot of people were doubting us and what-not,” Lucas said. “So to be able to come back and do it with a couple of games left is just an awesome feeling.”

There were eight ties and 17 lead changes Tuesday night.

The Bears were ahead 45-37, which would equal their largest lead, on Ish Wainright’s 3-pointer on a possession set up when he had a steal — basically taking the ball out of Jamari Traylor’s hands and getting the ball back after a couple of passes.

Kansas led for the first time in the second half when Traylor had consecutive baskets, the second with 10:16 left making it 48-47.

There were a couple more lead changes after that — a 3 by Graham that put the Jayhawks up 51-49 with 8:48 left before Baylor went back ahead on a 3 by Freeman with 8:05 left. Then there was a long gap when neither team scored.

Mason’s jumper ended a 4 1/2-minute scoring drought by the Jayhawks, and then Baylor got its first basket in nearly 4 minutes when Freeman hit another 3.

RICO FROM DEEP IN THE CORNER

Baylor led 36-33 at halftime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rico Gathers, their 6-foot-8 senior forward whose first career attempt from beyond the arc came on his 836th shot in his 135th game. He made the shot from the corner in front of the Kansas bench after a court-length pass from Wainright. Gathers was still excitedly pounding his chest going into locker room after knocking down someone who was standing at the entrance to the tunnel.

“It was a tough shot. He made it,” Lucas said. “That was just a letdown on my part by even letting him get the shot off.”

TIP-INS

Kansas: The Jayhawks made missed six of their first seven shots, but made 11 of their next 18 before halftime. They shot 50 percent (23 of 46) in the game. … Kansas has a 26-4 series lead, including 11-2 at Waco and seven straight wins overall. … The Jayhawks have reached 24 wins for the 11th consecutive season.

Baylor: Baylor is 0-16 all-time against the No. 1 or No. 2 teams, including 0-3 this season. … The Bears are 56-21 since Feb. 12, 2014, a stretch when 15 of those losses have been away from home and 14 are to ranked teams.

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.

Baylor is at TCU on Saturday.

— Associated Press —