Self knows his team could see K-State again in the Big 12 tournament championship game. Who knows? A fourth meeting could come in the Final Four. Self thinks K-State is talented enough to go deep in the NCAA Tournament.

But from observing the turn of events Wednesday night, K-State is missing many of the key ingredients that are necessary to win the national championship. If the Wildcats were smart, they watched Kansas and learned.

Kansas played harder and the Jayhawks were tougher in the second half. When the Wildcats tied the game three minutes into the second half, Brady Morningstar spotted up deep in the left corner with a defender right in his face, and still buried a three-pointer.

“I hadn’t hit a shot in 17 games,” Morningstar said of his recent slump.

That seemed to make everyone feel better. While introducing Collins for his senior speech, Self said that during the recruiting process, the coaching staff found Collins to be “a hard headed, moody, stubborn, cocky pain in the butt.”

Asked about the description, Collins said, “It’s all true. I’m stubborn. I’m cocky. I think those are my best traits, you know. But I’ve learned so much from coach [Self]. And he has helped me become who I am today.”

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The stubborn streak was in full display. Collins gave himself a little pep talk at halftime. And he kept shooting. He was 4-for-6 from the field in the second half. His three-pointer with 9:45 left gave the Jayhawks a 65-55 lead and it was deafening in Allen Fieldhouse.

K-State doesn’t have that stubborn guy with the winning track record. Collins brings the Jayhawks together like a family. Tears poured from Aldrich and Morningstar as Collins gave his speech. Aldrich and Collins made a pact last spring to return and try to become the only Kansas players to win two championships.

Collins knows he can carry this Kansas team to another championship — if need be. He played a huge role in 2008. Collins also knows Self helped him reach this level of excellence by prodding, screaming and saying some things Collins didn’t want to hear.

Wednesday night, Self pulled Collins close and told him how much he loved him. Collins said he wants to return to the Fieldhouse for another speech. He knows that’s what they do in Kansas when they win a national championship.

The experts say there is no dominant team in college basketball this season. But the Jayhawks are 28-2 overall and 14-1 in the Big 12. Should that be considered dominant?

“I don’t care what anybody considers,” Self said. “I know I see a lot of warts. Maybe I’m too close to it. But I see a lot of areas where we have to tighten some things up.”

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