The Jayhawks kept saying they wouldn’t settle for sharing the Big 12 Conference regular season championship this season.

They won’t have to. Kansas won the title outright with a 83-73 victory against Texas this afternoon.

Sherron Collins scored 21 points with seven assists. Cole Aldrich added 12 points and 10 rebounds. But beating the Longhorns took more than Kansas’ two stars.

Photo Gallery

Kansas Basketball vs. Texas

The Jayhawks win the conference title outright after defeating the Texas Longhorns 83-73 in Allen Fieldhouse.

Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar played tight defense on Texas’ A.J. Abrams all afternoon and held him to 10 points. Morningstar also made a three-point shot with 3:23 remaining to put the Jayhawks up 76-71.

Moments later, Collins tossed a pass to freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor on a fast break. Taylor slammed it down with one-hand and the Allen Fieldhouse responded with a roar louder than a Pantera concert.

Before Taylor’s dunk, the game was a seesaw affair. Texas led 44-37 at halftime after a monstrous first half from Damion James, who had 26 points and six rebounds.

But Kansas did a better job on James in the second half and got Aldrich going offensively. After the game, the Jayhawks celebrated their fifth straight Big 12 regular season championship.

They will play in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament Thursday at 11:00 a.m. after a bye on Wednesday. The winner of the Nebraska vs. Baylor game will face Kansas.

Check back to Kansan.com for a full coverage later.

Texas 44, Kansas 37 at halftime

Great individual performances have defined the Kansas vs. Texas series over the last few years.

Kevin Durant scored 32 in a defeat at Allen Fieldhouse in 2007. Mario Chalmers scored 30 in the Big 12 Championship game last season.

Another chapter might be added today as Texas’ Damion James scored 20 points in the first half to put Texas ahead of Kansas 44-37 at halftime.

Texas has played its best half of the year and James isn’t the only reason. Inside, Texas center Dexter Pittman is dominating the matchup against sophomore center Cole Aldrich.

Pittman has 10 points and two rebounds as compared to Aldrich’s two points and four rebounds. Pittman sparked an 18-6 Longhorn run to make the score 44-30.

But Kansas closed the half on a 7-0 run highlighted by a three-point shot from sophomore guard Tyrel Reed.

Kansas came back from a double-digit deficit in the first half to beat Texas last time the teams met in Allen Fieldhouse.

It’s going to take a similar performance today. Most of the load will fall on junior guard Sherron Collins, who had 11 points and three assists in the first half.