On Wednesday afternoon, few Kansas basketball fans expected the Jayhawks could win the Big 12 Tournament. The news Udoka Azubuike would skip the weekend to rest a knee strain suggested the Jayhawks had little chance doing much at Sprint Center. Fortunately, Hall of Fame coach Bill Self and this group of Jayhawks used Dok’s injury as motivation.
The Jayhawks certainly did not need to validate their regular season conference title. On the other hand, getting a revenge win over Oklahoma State Thursday was a huge confidence boost. They survived the awful semifinal against Kansas State and played one of their best games of the season Saturday to beat West Virginia.