Bill Self had a simple -- yet impassioned -- message for his No. 1-ranked Kansas University basketball team at the final full timeout on Friday night as his Jayhawks trailed unheralded, upset-minded Vermont by a basket. "I said, ‘Let's see how tough all of us are,''' Self told his troops with 3:55 left with cold-shooting KU down, 58-56. "‘We're going to be behind again this year. We're going to be behind at home again this year.''' Behind but not buried on a night KU hit a chilly 38.2 percent of its shots, the Jayhawks stormed out of the final huddle to go on a 12-3 run and finally put away the pesky Catamounts, 68-61, on Opening Night.

Maybe there will be a new No. 1 in college basketball again next week. Kansas University's hoops team, the same team that looked so ordinary in a seven-point victory over Vermont on Friday that the pollsters dropped KU from No. 1 to 2, gained a batch of style points Tuesday night, whipping Saint Joseph's, 91-51, in front of a 16,300 fans and an ESPN2 audience. There was a little buzz in the locker room about that," KU senior Wayne Simien said of the Jayhawks dropping. "We were definitely surprised. We used it as a motivation for this game." Simien looked mighty motivated, collecting 14 points and 11 boards the first half in helping KU to a 50-19 lead over a team that didn't lose a regular-season game last year.

Finally, Kansas University's basketball players can forget about last year's humbling, shocking loss to the University of Nevada in Reno. "I wish we could have won by 40, but we'll take that," KU sophomore guard J.R. Giddens said after the motivated, No. 2-ranked Jayhawks' 85-52 rout of the Wolf Pack on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse. "I figure they beat us by 14 last year, and we beat them by 33, so we're still up a little bit. It'll give them something to remember," Giddens added. It's a good Nevada team the Jayhawks whacked. Nevada took a 3-0 record into the contest.

The impostor who had been wearing Keith Langford's No. 5 jersey didn't show for Saturday's Kansas University-Pacific men's basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse. "That looked like Keith," KU coach Bill Self exclaimed after Langford, Kansas' 6-foot-4 senior guard, busted an early season funk by scoring a team-leading 21 points with a career-high seven assists and six rebounds in a hard-earned 81-70 victory over the Tigers. Langford, who had averaged 9.3 points off 9-of-24 shooting in second-ranked KU's first three games, on Saturday looked just like the guy who averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 boards a year ago and earned 2004-05 Preseason All-Big 12 mention. The lefty Saturday was running, jumping and slashing to the goal with ease.

Kansas University coach Bill Self suspected Thursday's Kansas-TCU basketball game would be a high-scoring affair. "We told our guys this would be as fun a game as we'd play this year because there'd be more possessions," Self said after watching his five starters each score in double figures in an entertaining 93-74 victory over the quick, athletic Horned Frogs at Allen Fieldhouse. "They pushed it and shot quick. We pushed it and shot quick." The No. 2-ranked Jayhawks shrugged off a slow start -- TCU led 27-23 after 121/2 minutes -- then motored the rest of the way, hitting 56.1 percent of their shots and totaling 19 assists on 37 baskets.

Kansas University's basketball fans were enthused, to say the least, at halftime of the Jayhawks' 96-51 rout of Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse. The guy whose opinion matters the most, however, was not. Coach Bill Self's face was as red as a Santa Claus suit at the break, his Jayhawks leading, 54-22. "Coach is real hot. That's probably the worst halftime chewing I've gotten when up 30 or 40," senior Wayne Simien said. "He was upset at a lot of things."

Kansas University freshman Russell Robinson admitted he was nervous as he toed the free-throw line with 13.9 seconds left in Saturday night's nailbiter against South Carolina at Allen Fieldhouse. He was knock-kneed, that is, until he peeked at his senior teammates. "They showed that confidence in me. When you've got Wayne (Simien) and Keith (Langford) looking at you like, ‘Hey, you are gonna make these,' that takes a lot of pressure off. It can't help but give you confidence," Robinson said.

Alex Galindo is off to Texas today to spend Christmas with his girlfriend and her family members. You can bet it'll be a happy holiday for Kansas University's 6-foot-7 freshman guard/forward from Puerto Rico."I'm looking forward to a little break. This game will help make it a good break for all of us," Galindo said after giving himself, his teammates, coaches and Jayhawk fans an early Christmas present, exploding for a career-high 14 points in the Jayhawks' 73-62 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday at Kemper Arena.

Kansas University's men's basketball team was knocked out of last year's NCAA Tournament by a 79-71 overtime loss to Georgia Tech. Thanks to senior Keith Langford, this year's rematch looked similar but had a better result for a Jayhawks, a 70-68 overtime victory Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. Langford scored 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers that brought KU close and tied the game late. He also had a big steal in overtime that led to KU's first lead of the game.

Rolling on the ground with the basketball barely in his possession, Aaron Miles still felt in control late in Sunday's Kansas University-Kentucky basketball showdown at Rupp Arena. "I knew I could find Mike. We've got a connection, a feel -- a Portland connection, a family connection," said Miles, KU's senior guard. Miles flipped the ball to fellow Portland, Ore., native and best buddy Michael Lee, who drained a three-pointer with :31 left, giving KU a 61-56 lead in what turned out to be a huge 65-59 Jayhawk victory. It was the shot KU coach Bill Self called the single-biggest play in No. 2-ranked KU's victory over the No. 8-ranked Wildcats.

Bill Self saw this one coming. "The whipping we took today ... I don't want to say the whipping has been coming, but it has been," Kansas University's shell-shocked coach said Saturday afternoon after his previously undefeated, No. 2-ranked Jayhawks were socked by unranked Villanova, 83-62, at Wachovia Center. "We've put a lot of Band-Aids on deficiencies lately. Villanova exposed us in all areas." The Jayhawks (14-1), who had single-digit victories in six of their past eight games, fell as hard as the relentless snow outside the building. The Wildcats (10-4) buried KU early and often with an avalanche of three-pointers.