Kansas needs OT to top Missouri men's basketball team

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- It was the best atmosphere that Kansas coach Bill Self could remember. Thomas Robinson said the Jayhawks rose to another level. Tyshawn Taylor simply smiled, shook his head in disbelief, and tried to describe his emotions.

"I'm so proud of my teammates," he said finally. "They stuck it out, man."

In the final scheduled game between Kansas and Missouri, it was only fitting the two bitter rivals would need overtime to decide it.

Robinson's three-point play in the waning moments of regulation kept their 105-year-old rivalry alive, and Taylor's foul shots with 8.3 seconds remaining gave the fourth-ranked Jayhawks a dramatic 87-86 victory over the No. 3 Tigers on Saturday.

"That couldn't have been scripted a lot better for us," said Self, whose team wrapped up a share of an unprecedented eighth straight conference championship. "I'm not the most emotional guy, but that's about as good as it gets."

Missouri, which blew a 19-point lead in the second half, never got off a winning try after Taylor's two free throws. Michael Dixon was boxed in by Robinson as he tried to get to the basket, and the buzzer eventually sounded on a series steeped in tradition.

"These guys played their hearts out. We left it on the court," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "I read everything -- we weren't supposed to be in the game. We came out and competed."

Robinson finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds for Kansas (24-5, 14-2), which sent the Tigers off to the Southeastern Conference with a bitter taste in their mouths.