Kansas and Texas combined to produce a Big 12 Tournament final worthy of a national championship game.

Heading into the final two minutes at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, a single point separated the two teams that shared the regular-season conference title. Both sides had shot better than 58 percent in the first half Sunday afternoon before locking down on the defensive end in the second. Texas committed all of four turnovers in the game. Kansas had an unheard-of 25 assists on its 26 made baskets. And the Jayhawks finally put the Longhorns away by sinking 9 of 10 free throws in the last minute and a half.

“It is pretty corny, but I told the team at halftime in front of (assistant coach) Danny (Manning), I said, ‘That is probably as good a half of basketball played in Kansas City since the ’88 championship basketball game,’” victorious Kansas coach Bill Self said afterward.

Manning, of course, was the star of the Kansas team that cut down the nets at Kemper Arena that spring after beating another modern-day Big 12 school, Oklahoma, to claim the school’s second national title.

No Big 12 program has won a national championship since. The league, officially formed in time for the 1996-97 season, has gone 11 years without one of its members claiming a title. It has had six No. 1 seeds in that time and sent five teams to the Final Four, including two each in 2002 and 2003. In was in 2003 that the Jayhawks lost to Syracuse 81-78 in the national championship game, the closest any Big 12 team has come to winning since the league came into existence.

With six teams in the field of 65 for the first time in three seasons, will this be the year the Big 12 finally breaks through? Here’s a look at each team’s NCAA Tournament prospects:

KANSAS JAYHAWKS

No. 1 seed in Midwest Regional
First round: vs. No. 16 Portland State, 11:25 a.m. CT Thursday

Kansas looks to be on a roll as it prepares to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday morning in Omaha, Neb. The Jayhawks have won seven in a row, six of them by double digits.

“You take away the first half against Nebraska in the Big 12 Tournament, going back to Iowa State, K-State, Texas Tech, A&M and then the three games this weekend, we’ve played at a pretty high level,” Self said. “Hopefully, we’re playing our best or close to our best ball going into the tournament.”

The coach has to be encouraged by the performances of junior guards Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers in the last two days of the Big 12 Tournament. Rush scored a career-high 28 as the Jayhawks beat Texas A&M, and Chalmers notched a career-high 30, including eight 3-pointers, in the win over Texas.

If Kansas has a weakness, and it’s hard to find one, it’s that it hasn’t always had a player willing to take over a game in tight situations. Rush and Chalmers might finally be stepping into that role.

Otherwise, Self’s team defends well (it held opponents to a Big 12-best 38.2 percent shooting throughout the season), can control the glass (it has outrebounded foes by an average of nearly eight per game), can light it up from outside (KU is shooting a league-high 39.8 percent from 3-point range) and is as balanced as any team in the country with four players averaging at least 11.6 points per game.

The Jayhawks are also experienced, with two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore in their starting five, and tournament-tested, having made it to the Elite Eight a year ago.

Maybe their biggest asset of all is that some of the Jayhawks lived through first-round exits against Bucknell in 2005 and Bradley in 2006. They know not to overlook anybody.

Prediction: NCAA runner-up

TEXAS LONGHORNS

No. 2 seed in South Regional
First round: vs. No. 15 Austin Peay, 2 p.m. CT Friday

For the third year in a row, Texas will open NCAA Tournament play after coming up short in the Big 12 Tournament final.

“I’m glad we’re playing Friday,” Barnes said. “We’re really not set up for three games in three days, and I thought we played our hearts out up there. It was a great three days for us. Obviously, we were disappointed we couldn’t win it, but we’ll do the same things we’ve done all year, try to get our rest right now and mentally try to get ourselves focused on what we need to do.”

Barnes’ team shouldn’t be lacking for confidence after waging such a classic battle against the Jayhawks. But then, Texas didn’t need to play in Sunday’s Big 12 championship game to go know that it could hang with anyone in the country.

No team in the NCAA Tournament can match the Longhorns’ list of signature victories. They beat No. 1 seed UCLA on the road, knocked off No. 1 seed Kansas at home and blew out No. 2 seed Tennessee on a neutral floor. They’ve beaten three teams most would say are among the five best in the country.

That should help their confidence as they try to navigate perhaps the toughest regional of all, with once-beaten Memphis as the No. 1 seed, Pac-10 runner-up Stanford as the No. 3, Big East Tournament champion Pittsburgh the No. 4 and perennial Final Four contender Michigan State the No. 5.

The good news for the Longhorns is that, should they survive the tournament’s first weekend in Little Rock, Ark., they’ll get to play in front of a lot of burnt orange in Houston.

Texas appears to have most all of the ingredients of a Final Four team. All-American D.J. Augustin is perhaps the best point guard in the country. Junior sharpshooter A.J. Abrams has showed signs of overcoming his late-season slump, scoring 24 points, including seven 3-pointers in a semifinal victory over Oklahoma and adding 13 points in the second half against Kansas. Sophomore forward Damion James provides and inside-outside threat capable of dominating the glass. Junior center Conner Atchley, one of the nation’s most improved players, anchors the defense and poses matchup problems with his ability to make jump shots at the offensive end. The Longhorns defend well, have five players capable of knocking down 3-point shots when left alone and have a coach who’s already guided one team to the tournament’s final weekend.

The only thing missing is depth, and even that has improved during the latter part of the season. Texas could get a lift if freshman forward Gary Johnson can get back on the floor after injuring his right ankle against Oklahoma State. He did not play in the last two games of the Big 12 Tournament.

“He’s doing better,” Barnes said. “It’s still a day-to-day thing, but hopefully, we’ll have him by the weekend.”

Prediction: Final Four

OKLAHOMA SOONERS

No. 6 seed in East Regional
First round: vs. No. 11 St. Joseph’s, 6:10 p.m. CT Friday

Jeff Capel’s team appears to be struggling as it heads to Birmingham, Ala., to begin NCAA Tournament play. Oklahoma only scored 54 points in a victory over No. 12 seed Colorado in the quarterfinals of last week’s Big 12 Tournament and was a 77-49 loser against archrival Texas in the semifinals on Saturday.

If they can’t figure out a way to get their offense untracked, it could be a short stay for the Sooners. They’re playing a St. Joseph’s squad that has four players averaging in double figures, led by 6-10 swingman Pat Calathes’ 17.8 ppg. The Owls are averaging 73.3 points (roughly five more than OU) and just upset Xavier to make it to the Atlantic 10 Tournament final.

“I know they’re well coached. Coach (Phil) Martelli’s one of the better coaches out there,” Capel said.  “We know that they’re very talented. We know how hard they play.”

The Sooners have a tough matchup of their own in freshman power forward Blake Griffin, a future lottery pick, who scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the loss to Texas. But they still look ripe for an upset unless they get greater contributions from guards Tony Crocker and Austin Johnson and senior center Longar Longar.

Prediction: One-and-done

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

No. 9 seed in West Regional
First round: vs. No. 8 BYU, 6:25 p.m. CT Thursday

A week ago, the Aggies weren’t guaranteed to be in the NCAA Tournament at all, but they beat Iowa State in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament, knocked off third-seeded Kansas State in the quarterfinals and gave second-seeded Kansas about all it could handle before losing in the semifinals.

One of the nation’s most inconsistent teams might finally be putting it together as it gets ready to play Mountain West Conference regular-season champion BYU in Anaheim, Calif.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. “We came together against Texas Tech. We came together at Baylor, and after that, our losses are to Kansas. This team’s been coming for a while, and I just think this weekend, we kind of put it all together.”

Part of their reason for rallying together might have been sophomore guard Donald Sloan, whose mother died last week. The team was scheduled to attend her funeral Tuesday in Dallas before heading to California.

Even if the Aggies can get past the Cougars, a team they have not played since 1972, they stand little chance of making it to the second weekend because they’ll likely have to meet top-seeded UCLA in the Bruins’ backyard.

Prediction: Second round

KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

No. 11 seed in Midwest Regional
First round: vs. No. 6 USC, 6:10 p.m. CT Thursday

The Wildcats are playing in perhaps the most anticipated first-round matchup of the tournament with star freshmen Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo squaring off on opposite teams. But they’re not the only first-year players who’ll play prominent roles in this games.

In addition to Beasley, Kansas State features freshman forward Bill Walker, a high-school teammate of Mayo’s, and guards Jacob Pullen, Fred Brown and Dominique Sutton among its top eight scorers.

The Trojans top six scorers include three freshmen and three sophomores.

“It’s kind of what college basketball’s become,” Wildcats’ coach Frank Martin said. “It’s become real young because all the real good players are leaving school early to go pursue professional opportunities. It’s going to be a heck of a matchup, and we’ll see which group of freshmen is more prepared to take on a challenge.”

There’s no doubt Beasley, a 6-10 power forward, has enjoyed the better individual season, which is why he keeps collecting national freshman of the year awards.

But Mayo’s Trojans have been a better team. They tied for third in the Pac-10 Conference, arguably the toughest league in the country this season, and were within three points of top-seed UCLA in the semifinals of the Pac-10 Tournament.

USC’s biggest advantage over Kansas State might be on the sidelines, where coach Tim Floyd will be coaching in his seventh NCAA Tournament. Martin, meanwhile, is only in charge for the first time.

Prediction: One-and-done

BAYLOR BEARS

No. 11 seed in West Regional
First round: vs. No. 6 Purdue, 1:50 p.m. CT Thursday

Scott Drew’s team had its confidence shaken by a double-overtime loss to Colorado, the first time in Big 12 Tournament history that a No. 12 seed has ever upset a No. 5. But you can bet the Bears barely remember that game after the rush of hearing their name announced for the final spot in the NCAA Tournament during Sunday’s Selection Show. It’s the first time Baylor’s been invited to the Tournament since 1988.

“I think Baylor got a great draw, it almost benefited them, losing to Colorado,” Turgeon said. “I’m not taking anything away from Purdue because Purdue’s had a heck of a year, and Matt Painter’s a great coach, but I think Baylor got a great draw. Baylor’s excited. It’s the first time they’ve been in it. They’re going to have a great week of practice. They’re going to be fired up. They’re going to play at an unbelievable level.”

The Bears are certainly a tough matchup for any opponent because of their depth and talent in the backcourt. Curtis Jerrells, LaceDarius Dunn, Henry Dugat, Tweety Carter and Aaron Bruce are all capable of scoring 20 points in a game and have averaged at least 8.7 this season.

Junior Kevin Rogers, a 6-foot-9 forward, gives Baylor an interior presence and keeps them from getting manhandled on the glass.

If they’re able to dictate the pace of the game and get it going up and down, the Bears are capable not only of beating freshman-laden Purdue but maybe making a run to the Sweet Sixteen. They’re one of the 12 highest-scoring teams in the country.

But it’s hard to predict such a run for the Bears because of their struggles at the other end of the floor, where they yielded a Big 12-worst 74.4 points.

Prediction: One-and-done

Steve Walentik’s Final Four predictions

Semifinals
Kansas over Louisville
UCLA over Texas

Finals
UCLA over Kansas

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