Kansas beats West Virginia 81-70 for Big 12 title


(Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham, the Big 12 Player of the Year, finished with 18 points and 13 assists.)

The Big 12 champion Kansas Jayhawks will move into Selection Sunday with hopes for a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Kansas beat West Virginia 81-70 Saturday afternoon for the Big 12 tournament title.

The Jayhawks (27-7) also won the regular season.

Kansas entered the tournament coming off a double-digit road loss to Oklahoma State.

But the Jayhawks turned it on in the tournament, winning by double figures against Oklahoma State, Kansas State and West Virginia.

Despite a No. 9 ranking in the last Associated Press poll, coach Bill Self’s team was projected as late as Saturday afternoon as a No. 1 seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm of cbssports.com.

In the latest ratings percentage index, which factors in strength of schedule and victories over highly-ranked teams, they were sixth.

The NCAA will unveil the tournament bracket Sunday at 5 p.m. on TBS.

Saturday’s scores

(Tournament finals)

Big East — Villanova 76, Providence 66, OT

Big 12 — Kansas 81, West Virginia 70

Mountain West — San Diego State 82, New Mexico 75

MAC — Buffalo 76, Toledo 66

America East – Maryland-Baltimore County 65, Vermont 62

MEAC — North Carolina Central 71,, Hampton 63

SWAC — Texas Southern 84, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 69


(San Diego State players celebrate their 82-75 victory over New Mexico in the Mountain West title game)

Conference / NCAA automatic qualifier

Ohio Valley — Murray State (26-5)

Missouri Valley – Loyola-Chicago (28-5)

Big Ten — Michigan (28-7)

Big South — Radford (22-12)

Atlantic Sun — Lipscomb (23-9)

Southern — UNC Greensboro (27-7)

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — Iona (20-13)

West Coast Conference — Gonzaga (30-4)

Horizon — Wright State (25-9)

Northeast — LIU Brooklyn (18-16)

Colonial Athletic Association — Charleston (26-7)

Summit — South Dakota State (28-6)

Patriot League — Bucknell (25-9)

America East — Maryland-Baltimore County (24-10)

MEAC — North Carolina Central (19-15)

SWAC — Texas Southern (15-19)

Big 12 — Kansas (27-7)

Mountain West — San Diego State (22-10)

Big East — Villanova (30-4)

MAC — Buffalo (26-8)