LAWRENCE | Cue the Dennis Green tape.</p><p>In the first installment of the Sunflower Showdown &#8212; an 87-71 Jayhawks victory &#8212; Kansas and Kansas State were who we thought they were.</p><p>Kansas was the better team, and point guard Sherron Collins is a true force. His shot selection can be questionable and there is the occasional turnover. But there is not a better operator or leader in the Big 12.</p><p>From the purple perspective, K-State scrapped and turned a rout into a game but dropped to 0-2 in league play.</p><p>They both want to be something more.</p><p>Kansas wants to be the no-doubt NCAA Tournament team it always is. That happens by burying non-tournament teams like the Wildcats in your home building, and the Jayhawks set out with that intention by scoring the game&#8217;s first 18 points.</p><p>But when Kansas State cut the margin to three early in the second half, Kansas wasn&#8217;t that sure-bet team at all. The Jayhawks were on the bubble.</p><p>Still, a comfortable victory (by margin) over the rival went down easy for KU coach Bill Self. He loved the way his guys defended out of the gate, how Tyshawn Taylor may have had his best game of the season with 20 points and led the team in the second half when Collins and Cole Aldrich were on the bench in foul trouble.</p><p>&#8220;I thought we played tough,&#8221; Self said.</p><p>That&#8217;s a significant declaration as the Jayhawks continue to forge an identity. The video board trumpets the program&#8217;s accomplishments with an emphasis on Mario&#8217;s Miracle to preface the Kansas player introductions. Then five players who didn&#8217;t start last year take the floor.</p><p>They have to find their own way, and because it is Kansas the path has to end in the NCAA Tournament. Toughness won games for Self&#8217;s lesser talented teams, and the Jayhawks showed plenty of it their Big 12 opener.</p><p>Mario Little was Kansas&#8217; other big development. The junior college transfer started and confidently knocked down a few midrange jumpers. Nice decision not to redshirt.</p><p>Kansas State also flashed some personality in its comeback. This team had been a disaster offensively in the first three halves of conference play, scoring 26-27 against Oklahoma and 24 in the first half Tuesday with 29 total turnovers in the process.</p><p>Tuesday&#8217;s 24 was one point less than Michael Beasley logged in the second half of last year&#8217;s game in Lawrence.</p><p>But K-State fought back gallantly and injected life into a building lulled to sleep by Kansas&#8217; early dominance. Forward Luis Colon sparked the run with six straight points, and with the other bigs playing poorly, coach Frank Martin had no choice but to stick with Colon despite quickly collecting his fourth foul. The fifth came with 12:14 remaining as Kansas started to pull away.</p><p>&#8220;He has to learn to play with foul trouble,&#8221; Martin said.</p><p>No panic from the Wildcats, despite digging a hole in conference play. Guard Jacob Pullen had the right thought.</p><p>&#8220;North Carolina is 0-2 and nobody&#8217;s worried about them,&#8221; he said.</p><p>And Martin isn&#8217;t worried about the Wildcats. He knows K-State was dealt a difficult hand to open league play.</p><p>&#8220;We started 0-2 two years ago and finished 10-6,&#8221; he said.</p><p>True, but that team missed the NCAA Tournament, and this one likely will. It just can&#8217;t seem to get the signature victory, but Pullen&#8217;s not giving in.</p><p>&#8220;On nights when we&#8217;re clicking, when everybody is playing well I feel like we&#8217;re the best team in the Big 12,&#8221; Pullen said.</p><p>Pullen had breakout game against Kansas last year in Manhattan, and it was difficult not to think of those days Tuesday. Seven players from last year&#8217;s KU/K-State games were taken in the NBA draft, more than all but one other encounter in college hoops last season. Eight played in the Kansas-Memphis finale.</p><p>But we&#8217;ll leave the wistful moments for the history montages on the video boards. Kansas and Kansas State have plenty of work in front of them. Tuesday, they both gained on it a little.