Orlin Wagner / AP

Kansas State's Michael Beasley, the nation's leading rebounder and No. 4 scorer, drives past Sasha Kaun of Kansas on Wednesday. Beasley scored 25 points during the No. 22 Wildcats' 81-73 victory over No. 2 Kansas.

Walker hit a 3-pointer for a 52-45 lead, his first points since drawing his third foul and going to the bench in the first half after throwing a vicious elbow to the face of Chalmers.

Then Pullen hit a 3-pointer, Beasley rebounded Chalmers’ miss and put in a thunderous dunk on the other end off a nifty feed from Pullen that made it 57-45.

Chalmers and Russell Robinson, who had combined to average almost six steals this season and rank 1-2 in the Big 12, figured prominently in a game plan that was supposed to have the Jayhawks’ quicker, deeper back court dominate the Wildcat guards and create turnovers.

But Kansas State’s guards were more than up to the challenge. Pullen had four assists to go with 10-for-10 from the foul line. Clent Stewart, a senior guard, had 11 points and five rebounds. Together they outscored Chalmers and Robinson 31-25.

“I’m tired of people calling our guards raggedy,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “It (bothers) me when I continue to hear people say our guards are inferior to other people’s guards. They played like grown men today and we didn’t turn it over and we made plays to win.”

Kansas, which averaged only 12 turnovers while winning its first 20 games, had 10 in the first half of the rough-and-tumble 263rd meeting of the Sunflower State rivals and wound up with 16.

Sherron Collins had 12 points for the Jayhawks, who came into the game leading the nation with a scoring margin of 24.9 points.

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