Popping in the clutch

You won’t find Mario Chalmers headlining any All-American teams. But you might find the ball in his hands when the game is on the line for Kansas.

Chalmers made the shot that beat USC in December, knocking down a deep three-pointer with 20 seconds left. Last year, he buried a three with 15 seconds to go in the Big 12 title game against Texas, forcing overtime as Kansas went on to win. On Sunday, Chalmers scored a career-high 30 points -- including eight three-pointers -- in the Jayhawks’ 84-74 win over Texas in the Big 12 Conference tournament championship game.

This season at Texas, he had the final shot again, but missed an off-balance-and-guarded three as time ran out.

If Kansas needs a shot to stay alive in the NCAA tournament, expect Chalmers -- a 48% three-point shooter -- or sparkplug Sherron Collins to take it.

“I’d say those would be the two that have shown they like the ball in their hands the most, late in the game,” Kansas Coach Bill Self said.

“Mario’s like a defensive cornerback. He’s got a very short memory, which you need to play that position. He can miss five in a row, and he doesn’t remember any of the misses. That’s why it’s great to have somebody like him to take the shot.”

For Kansas, it’s great to have so many options. Forward Darrell Arthur is the leading scorer. Guard Brandon Rush isn’t far behind. Then there’s Chalmers, forward Darnell Jackson, sixth man Collins -- finally at full strength after a season of nagging injuries -- and guard Russell Robinson.

“Sometimes the go-to guy is Mario. Sometimes the go-to guy is just whoever’s been hot, whoever has the hot hand,” Collins said. “That just shows how balanced our team is. This team really doesn’t care who gets what awards or what accolades. We just want to win.”

They got as far as the Elite Eight last season as the top-seeded team in the West before losing to second-seeded UCLA.

That put a little distance between the Jayhawks and their recent tournament failures, a first-round loss to Bradley in 2006 on the heels of a first-round loss to Bucknell in 2005.

“A lot of people weren’t on that team that lost in the first round to Bucknell,” said Chalmers, a 6-foot-1 junior guard who averages 11 points a game, leads the team in steals and assists and is one of the Jayhawks’ top defenders.

“Bradley was a tough loss for us. But last year we had a lot of success, getting to the Elite Eight.

“We have all the pieces. Everybody plays together. We have an inside game, an outside game. Nobody wants to be selfish. Everybody wants to share the ball and has the same goal.”

That would be a national championship, any way the Jayhawks can manage one.

“Nobody really cares who takes the shot,” Chalmers said.

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com