The consensus is that the Jayhawks are Sherron Collins’ team.

The consensus might be wrong. For the second consecutive game, Kansas relied on sophomore center Cole Aldrich — not junior guard Collins — to carry it to victory. Aldrich scored eight straight points midway through the second half to separate Kansas from Iowa State in a 72-55 victory Wednesday night. Aldrich credited his teammates for getting him the ball.

“They’ve done a great job the last few games throwing the ball inside,” Aldrich said. “They see that it’s tough for other big guys around the league to guard us.”

Aldrich scored 22 points and added 11 rebounds — his 14th double-double of the season. But it was Aldrich’s timing that made the most difference against the Cyclones.

Iowa State cut the Kansas lead to 43-38, the lowest it had been since the opening minute of the game, with 12:30 to play. Then, Aldrich demanded the ball.

He made a hook shot, a one-handed dunk over Iowa State guard Diante Garrett, a 17-foot jumper and two free throws in the next three minutes. While Aldrich exploded for eight points in the stretch, Iowa State went scoreless.

It made the score 51-38 and the Cyclones never trailed by less than eight again.

“Tonight was one of those games where we knew we had to keep feeding him,” Collins said. “That’s going to continue for the rest of the year.”

Collins had his moments, too. He finished with 22 points, six assists and two steals. But nine of his points came after Aldrich’s three-minute extravaganza with the game already decided.

Ask Collins what the difference in the victory was and he’ll say Aldrich, without hesitation. Collins has noticed that Aldrich has shifted into being Kansas’ primary weapon when the game is tight. And Collins embraces it.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” Collins said. “It helps me. It takes pressure off of me.”

Against the Cyclones, Aldrich took the pressure off everyone. He energized the Jayhawks when the Cyclones started to steal momentum.

Like a bumblebee intruding on a summer picnic, Iowa State wouldn’t go away for the first 28 minutes of the game. Kansas flew out to a 24-7 lead behind two three-point shots from sophomore guard Brady Morningstar, but it didn’t deter Iowa State.

Cyclone forward Craig Brackins, who scored 20 points with 11 rebounds, willed his team back into the game. Kansas coach Bill Self took a timeout after Brackins converted on a baseline jumper to cut the Jayhawks’ lead to five.

Self saw what he feared would happen before the game — a lack of energy from his team.

“I don’t think we were as juiced as what we should be playing at home.” Self said. “I had to run them during shoot-around today. That doesn’t happen very often — our focus wasn’t quite great.”

But freshman forward Marcus Morris’ was. Self said Morris was one of the brightest spots of the game. He scored eight points with six assists and two steals.

His greatest contribution, however, came on the defensive end. Morris guarded Brackins, who scored 42 points against the Jayhawks in January, for most of the game. Although Brackins scored 20 points Wednesday, he shot only 7-for-21 from the floor. Morris contested nearly every shot Brackins attempted.

“I’m trying my hardest to turn the corner,” Marcus said. “I’m trying my hardest to contribute to the team. I don’t worry about scoring. Scoring is not important to me.”

That’s the way Self wants it. That’s the way Self got it against Iowa State.

With 44 combined points, Aldrich and Collins contributed 60 percent of the Jayhawks’ offense. Their production allowed role players like Morris to focus on defense and rebounding.

“It was Sherron and Cole’s game offensively,” Self said. “I was really happy with how they both played offensively.”

Collins deflected questions about his 22 points after the game toward Aldrich. Collins wanted to talk about how Aldrich has grown to take over games.

“That’s’ what we’ve been doing the last couple of games and he’s been producing,” Collins said. “We’ve got to keep doing that, and he’s going to keep producing.”

— — Edited by Carly Halvorson