People have been pointing tonight’s Big Monday showdown between Kansas and Texas since before the season began.

It was long assumed that the outcome of that 8 p.m. game in Austin, Texas, would go a long way toward deciding the Big 12 Conference title.

Now that it’s here, the game doesn’t seem as significant because the top-ranked Jayhawks (22-1, 8-0) are running away from the rest of the league, including the slumping Longhorns, who have lost four of their last six games and are 5-3 in Big 12 play.

Kansas, already 2½ games clear of Kansas State and Texas A&M in the standings, can take a commanding lead in the league race if it can continue Texas’ misery. Though KU Coach Bill Self insisted nothing would be decided by the outcome of one game.

“There’s no way it can be ended tonight,” he said during this morning’s Big 12 teleconference. “We started out 10-0 a few years ago and lost four of our last six, so no way is it ended tonight either way. There’s a lot of games left.”

He also doesn’t think things are so bad in Austin.

“Whenever you’re ranked as high as Texas has been ranked and you lose four out of six, people can start reading into things way too much,” Self said. “We won a national championship and lost three out of five in the league a couple years ago, so these things do happen.”

The Longhorns have enough ability to worry Self.

“When they’re hitting on all cylinders, obviously, their pressure defense is very good. They’re scoring off their defense, and they’re stealing extra possessions on the glass and obviously knocking down shots,” Self said.

MISSOURI UPDATE

A push to expand the NCAA Tournament from 65 to as many as 96 teams seems to be gaining steam, and Missouri Coach Mike Anderson was asked for his opinion on the idea.

“You put more teams into the tournament, it’s going to save a lot of coaches’jobs,” Anderson said, half-joking.

Turning more serious, he eventually said, “I think it could be a good thing.”

Anderson acknowledged that there were a lot of factors that would require more consideration, including, he said, the amount of additional class time players would miss because expansion could require the season to be extended up to another week.

The NCAA is in the middle of an 11-year, $6 billion deal that gives CBS exclusive broadcast rights to the NCAA Tournament. That deal runs out in 2013, but the NCAA has a chance to opt out after this season. If it does, it could pave the way for expansion.

AGGIES ON A ROLL

An overtime loss at then-No. 1 Texas on Jan. 16 could have been deflating for Texas A&M, considering it blew a 10-point second-half lead and fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play.

But the Aggies have responded by winning five of their next six to move into a tie for second place in the Big 12 standings.

“I just told the kids after we lost to Texas, ‘I think we’re a pretty good team, guys. I think if we just continue to get better, we can go on a roll,’ ” said Turgeon, who acknowledged playing four home games in that stretch has helped the Aggies rebound.

But they also figured out a way to win at Missouri on Wednesday, even though they missed 17 of 36 free throws. Free-throw shooting was actually a big reason Texas A&M knocked off Baylor on Saturday. The Aggies made 28 of 33 foul shots in the 78-71 victory.

TRIBUNE POWER POLL

1. Kansas (22-1, 8-0)
2. Kansas State (19-4, 6-3)
3. Texas A&M (17-6, 6-3)
4. Baylor (17-5, 4-4)
5. Texas (19-5, 5-3)
6. Missouri (17-6, 5-3)
7. Oklahoma (13-9, 4-4)
8. Oklahoma State (16-7, 4-5)
9. Texas Tech (15-7, 3-5)
10. Iowa State (13-10, 2-6)
11. Colorado (11-12, 2-7)
12. Nebraska (13-10, 1-7)

GAME OF THE WEEK

(1) Kansas at (9) Texas, 8 p.m. Monday (ESPN)

Reach Steve Walentik at 573-815-1788 or e-mail swalentik@columbiatribune.com.

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