updated 1:39 a.m. ET March 8, 2005

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Just in time for the postseason, Missouri came up with a big victory.

Thomas Gardner tied his career high with 23 points, Jimmy McKinney matched his with 21 points and Linas Kleiza equaled a career best with 14 rebounds, helping the Tigers upset No. 7 Kansas 72-68 on Sunday and deny the Jayhawks the outright Big 12 title.

Missouri (15-15, 7-9) ended a four-game losing streak to its bitter border rival.

“I think everybody was ready for this,” Kleiza said. “If you want to make it a rivalry, you’ve got to be equal, you’ve got to win and you’ve got to lose.”

Kansas (22-5, 12-4) had to settle for a first-place tie with Oklahoma, and the second seed in the conference tournament. The Jayhawks also lost forward Keith Langford, who had five points in 3 minutes before re-injuring the left ankle he hurt at practice Thursday.

Langford, who was on crutches after the game, is Kansas’ second-leading scorer at 15.1 points. He was a lot more optimistic about his chances of playing in the conference tournament than coach Bill Self, who characterized the injury as “pretty severe.”

“I feel like with a week of treatment, I’ll be able to do it day in, day out,” Langford said. “I really felt that if I could have been in there, the outcome would have been totally different.”

Kansas’ first game is Friday against either Kansas State or Texas A&M.

"The word is it is not cracked or fractured," Self said of the ankle Langford hurt three minutes into Sunday's game at Missouri.

"It is a severe sprain that will allow him hopefully to rehab this week and we'll evaluate this weekend to see if he can play this weekend. He thinks he can and hopes he can. We'll see.

"But he is not lost ... not lost for the season," Self added.

Wayne Simien had 17 points and eight rebounds for Kansas. But Simien, who had 57 points and 32 rebounds in his previous two games, was hampered by extra attention after Langford hobbled off, and went more than 15 minutes between field goals in the first half.

“We didn’t have very good offense when they put everybody around Wayne, and we don’t have anybody slashing to the basket,” Self said. “Certainly, Keith is a big part of what we’re trying to do.”

The loss also could knock Kansas, which has lost four of six, out of the running for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. But Self said the players should still approach the conference tournament with confidence.

“If this loss affects us, we’re a soft group of guys,” Self said. “We should be tough enough to understand that we can play very well and not win over here.

“We should be tough enough to understand sometimes teams lose, especially this time of year.”

Missouri played one of its best games four days after losing by 18 points at Iowa State. The Tigers, who have had a disappointing season, are the eighth seed in the Big 12 tournament. Coach Quin Snyder won for only the fourth time in 11 chances against Kansas.

“I think it helps our guys in a lot of ways,” Snyder said. “I’d like for it not to be the culmination of our season.”

McKinney helped fill the void when starting freshman point guard Jason Horton was suspended Sunday on a game-to-game basis for “conduct detrimental to the team.” McKinney was 6-for-7 from the field, hit all three of his 3-pointers, and added four assists and only two turnovers.

Kansas erased a 15-point second-half deficit before Missouri clinched it at the free-throw line and with the help of two turnovers in the final 90 seconds by Jayhawks point guard Aaron Miles. Missouri had only two baskets over the final 10½ minutes, but was 7-for-10 at the line in the last 5 minutes.

“Obviously it’s a great win for our club, and in particular the way we did it,” Snyder said. “We’ve talked all year about having to have a defensive identity and I think that’s where we won the game.”

Miles and J.R. Giddens, whose 3-pointer tied it at 64 with 3:26 to go, each added 13 points for Kansas.

Self had been 7-0 against Missouri, including three victories with Kansas.

MORE FROM BIG 12 CONFERENCE

Beyond the Arc: Beware Big 12's cellar dwellers

Beyond the Arc: Beware Big 12's cellar dwellers Beyond the Arc: Missouri literally sleeps at the gym   Add Big 12 Conference headlines to your news reader: