It’s a rainy morning here in Oklahoma City, but it’s still Championship Sunday for the Big 12 Conference. Despite the weather, the Ford Center is sure to be full of loud, blue-clad KU supporters — and a bunch of other Jayhawk “fans” wearing maroon and road-cone orange. Last Saturday these teams played for the Big 12 regular season title, and now, just eight days later, they meet with the conference tournament on the line.

For Texas, this is their fourth appearance in the Big 12 tournament title game, but the Horns have yet to hoist the trophy. Kansas, meanwhile, has dominated the league since its inception in the 1996-97 season. The Jayhawks are 3-1 in Big 12 championship games, including a win over the Longhorns last year in Dallas.

Kansas is an amazingly solid team from top to bottom, despite the lack of a senior on their roster. Guard Brandon Rush, a Terrence Howard lookalike, leads the team in scoring in his sophomore year. Joining him in the backcourt is another great scorer, Mario Chalmers. The pair combined for 36 points in the win over Texas last weekend.

In the first matchup, the Jayhawks easily won the battle on the glass. As the hot Longhorn shooting began to cool, Kansas grabbed nearly every miss and limited Texas to one-and-done possessions. Big man Julian Wright is a beast on the boards for KU, as his rebounding average is the only thing higher than his socks. Wright is pulling down eight boards a game, and had thirteen against the Longhorns in the last meeting.

Sasha Kaun is the closest thing to a weak link on the Jayhawk roster, and that’s not saying very much. The big white guy could be a star on most any other team, but is really a fifth scoring option when he’s on the floor. He’s prone to point-blank misses and is painfully bad at the free throw line, but his 6-foot 11-inch frame could still easily cause problems for a much smaller Texas team.

Freshman superstars Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins are both McDonald’s All-Americans that come off the bench for Bill Self’s Jayhawks. Nothing like the luxury of a few McD’s AA’s coming in to spell your starters. Collins is a fireplug of a guard, and possibly the fastest guy I’ve seen on a court this season. He’s averaging nearly ten points a game despite averaging only 20 minutes, and is a very solid shooter from behind the arc.

Arthur — who chose the Jayhawks over the Longhorns — was picking up a ton of fouls quickly as a starter early in the year, but has really found his niche as the sixth man. He’s averaging ten points and five boards a game in only nineteen minutes, so he will without a doubt be providing double-doubles if and when he regains his starting role next season.

Russell Robinson is yet another great guard for Coach Self. He finds passing lanes that most don’t even know are there, and is averaging four and a half assists and 28 minutes per game. Besides the preternatural passing sense, I’m not sure why he’s such a favorite of the Jayhawk fans. I really hope it’s not just because they love shouting “New York!” when he’s introduced before games.

After yesterday’s win over a tired OSU squad, today the Longhorns could be the ones suffering from bonked legs. Texas has a much shorter bench than the Jayhawks, and the Longhorn starters have had to play more minutes over the last two days. But after the incredible comeback win on Friday night, I’m starting to believe that this Texas team could really fight through anything and be in a position to win at the end of every game.

The Horns are obviously not going to repeat their incredible shooting performance from the first half of last Saturday’s game. But at the same time, I don’t think they will play as poorly as they did in the start of the second half. I’m sure that Kansas will come out showing intense pressure extended out to the perimeter, as that is what threw the Horns out of their offensive rhythm. Hopefully Texas will be able to adjust a little better than they did in the second half last Saturday.

Texas also needs to improve its rebounding if it wants to fare better in this one. They need second-chance opportunities, and they can’t afford to give up easy follow-up buckets to the Jayhawks after shutting them down on defense. Without an improvement on the glass, the Longhorns won’t be able to turn this matchup into a victory.

I’m sensing another close game between the Big 12’s top two programs, but think the Jayhawks will ultimately win another conference tournament. Texas certainly has a shot in this one, though.

Don’t forget the Selection Show on CBS tonight at 5 P.M. Central. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to chime in with my thoughts until late, late tonight, as we’ve got a six hour drive back to Austin once they unveil the brackets. I’d really rather hang myself with pantyhose than go to Columbus, so if you happen to see that the Longhorns are being sent to Ohio for the first and second rounds, try not to laugh.