Feb. 27, 2012: KU makes it eight in a row before reaching Final Four in New Orleans

The blue championship hats were passed out in the locker room: Big 12 champions, 2012.

Kansas’ Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor sported the new look — wearing the ball caps backwards, naturally, as they discussed the Jayhawks 70-58 triumph over Oklahoma State on Monday that gave them a title they won’t have to share.

“It’s amazing,” Taylor said. “A lot of people didn’t think we would be this good. Our goal is to always win the Big 12 championship.”

That goal has been reached eight straight years, and 2012 marks the fifth time in that stretch that KU won’t share the title.

It’s the 12th championship for Kansas in the 16-year conference history, and Taylor had the trophy to prove it. The glass bowl was handed to the Jayhawks after the game and Taylor showed it off in the hallway outside the KU locker room with adoring fans snapping photos.

The third-ranked Jayhawks, 15-2 in the Big 12 and 25-5 overall, needed one victory in its final two games to claim the outright title, a situation that was created by Saturday’s amazing overtime triumph over Missouri.

That game was so draining, the Jayhawks practiced for a total of 15 minutes on Sunday, and that was just shooting.

“We were dead, we were gassed,” Kansas coach Bill Self. “But it wasn’t a fast-paced game, there weren’t a lot of possessions.”

The pace played to Kansas’ advantage, and it didn’t hurt the Jayhawks that Oklahoma State was without its second-leading scorer, freshman Le’Bryan Nash. He missed his second straight game nursing a fractured bone in his left hand.

That put the game almost entirely in hands of 5-9 guard Keiton Page, playing his final game in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

He’s a hero to the home crowd, and now the school’s career leader in three-pointers and minutes played, and he left the game with 37.9 seconds remaining to a standing ovation and a hug from Taylor.

Page finished with 29 but the output was nearly enough and he didn’t get much help. Only four players scored for the Cowboys, who fell to 14-16 overall and 7-10 in the Big 12.

At one point, Self was so mad at Taylor’s defense on Page that Self assigned Elijah Johnson to guard Page.

But on this night, Taylor’s made up for shaky defense with terrific offense.

He scored 27, and just when it appeared the Cowboys would make a run, Taylor poured in 10 straight.

Robinson added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas’ big weapon against Oklahoma State in a 15-point victory earlier this month, Jeff Withey, played on a sore ankle and wasn’t much of a factor with six points and two rebounds.

Withey had 18 points and 20 rebounds previously against the Cowboys.

Kansas showed plenty of energy on the defensive end early. Only three Cowboys scored, as KU took a 30-22 lead at the break. The margin dropped to seven early in the second half but it never got closer, and the Jayhawks were on their way to hats and trophies in a building that hadn’t been good to them recently. KU had dropped three of its last four here.

But if the championship was expected by a team that returned one starter and lost more than half of its recruiting class entering the season, Self allowed a bit of surprise over the title.

“For this team to go 7-2 on the road in Big 12 play, that’s pretty special,” Self said. “And the two we lost we could have won.”

KU led at Missouri late, and was tied with Iowa State in the final minutes before falling.

Perhaps most satisfying, this championship came in the marathon season created by the 10-team league. Before the year, Self said he believed a 14-4 record would be good enough to win.

Kansas wound up finishing two victories better, after a regular-season-ending home victory over Texas.

This story was originally published February 28, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Feb. 27, 2012: KU makes it eight in a row before reaching Final Four in New Orleans."