He had enough choices.

Kansas coach Bill Self could have focused on a number of positives that transpired for his team in a 78-67 victory against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

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Kansas Basketball vs. OSU

The Jayhawks defeated the Cowboys 78-67 during Kansas' 37th consecutive home win Saturday.

Option A: For the first time this season, junior guard Mario Little led the team in scoring with 13 points.

“I did?” Little asked. “About time.”

Option B: Sophomore center Cole Aldrich recorded a career-high 18 rebounds — the most by a Jayhawk since Wayne Simien had 20, four years ago against Kansas State.

“It’s tough,” Aldrich said. “It takes a lot out of you to get 18 boards.”

Option C: Junior guard Sherron Collins held Oklahoma State’s Byron Eaton to eight points on 2-for-6 shooting, preventing a repeat from last season when the Cowboys beat the Jayhawks 61-60 because of a career-high 26 points from Eaton.

“We just weren’t going to let that happen,” Collins said. “Especially not in our house.”

So, which did Self choose after the victory that improved Kansas to 8-0 in Big 12 Conference play and increased its home court winning streak to 37 games?

None of the above.

“We finished the game miserably,” Self said. “The last taste I have in my mouth is how we finished the game.”

The Jayhawks couldn’t have started much better. They stormed out to a 22-12 lead eight minutes into the game behind two three-pointers from Collins. Oklahoma State never trimmed the deficit below 10.

After freshman guard Travis Releford threw down an alley-oop from Collins — who finished with 12 points and four assists — with nine minutes remaining in the game, Kansas had its biggest lead at 64-44.

From there, the Cowboys outscored the Jayhawks by nine and made four three-pointers. That stretch irked Self because he knows that that can’t happen in tonight’s game against Missouri in Mizzou Arena at 8 p.m.

“Certainly, we’ve got to be a lot better doing that against Missouri — handling pressure and that kind of stuff,” Self said. “I thought we did OK.”

Aldrich, who had 12 points and three blocks in addition to his 18 rebounds, was exceptional from the beginning. He scored the game’s first points after posting up Oklahoma State’s Marshall Moses. At halftime, Aldrich had already grabbed 12 rebounds.

Before the second half, the scoreboard showed a pre-recorded video of Aldrich prompting the fans to make some noise. Teammates like Collins and freshman forward Marcus Morris laughed at Aldrich’s motivation attempt. Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor even walked over to Aldrich and made fun of him.

“They come up with the littlest things to tease me,” Aldrich said.

No one, however, joked about Aldrich’s performance. He powered the Jayhawks to their 20-point lead in the second half with more rebounds, a dunk and a hook shot.

Little, who finished with five rebounds and three assists to go with his 13 points, was his primary companion. Self spoke highly of one play Little and Aldrich combined to create with 13 minutes remaining.

Little dove on the floor between two Cowboys for a loose ball rebound after sophomore guard Brady Morningstar missed a three-pointer. He jostled the ball away and tossed it to Aldrich, who converted an easy dunk that made the crowd scream louder than a video ever could.

Little, who has still played limited time while recovering from a stress fracture in his lower left leg, logged 26 minutes and said he felt better than ever after the game. Self concurred.

“He’s getting better,” Self said. “He’s getting more comfortable.”

Self planned to watch game film of Missouri for the rest of the weekend to prepare for tonight’s game. And to get his mind off of the Jayhawks’ finish against the Cowboys.

“It was an efficient win,” Self said. “Until the last seven minutes or so.”

— — Edited by Jesse Trimble