Kansas Cruises at Home

In just a few unforgettable hours, Drew Gooden and his Kansas teammates became No. 1 in the country, played one of their finest games of the season and cut down the nets as Big 12 champions.

“I don’t think I could be any happier than I am today,” said Gooden, who scored 26 points and led the top-ranked Jayhawks to a 102-66 rout of Iowa State on Monday night.

“This is really wonderful.”

Kansas (24-2, 13-0 Big 12), playing its first game since replacing Duke atop the poll, got a combined 34 first-half points from its trio of post players--Gooden, Nick Collison and Wayne Simien--en route to a 49-25 halftime lead. Collison finished with 16 points and Simien with 15, giving them a combined 57.

Afterward, the Jayhawks carefully cut down part of the net -- leaving a few strings intact lest they show any disrespect to their three remaining opponents, Nebraska, Kansas State and Missouri.

Although their first Big 12 title in four years is practically a cinch, they actually clinched a tie.

Iowa State (11-16, 3-10), the two-time defending Big 12 champion, dropped to 0-9 on the road.