The players were still wearing their Big 12 Champions T-shirts. The net they cut down was still dangling from Sherron Collins’ neck.

The Kansas locker room was in celebration mode after the Jayhawks won the Big 12 Conference championship outright after an 83-73 victory against Texas on Saturday. But Kansas coach Bill Self had a serious message to deliver to his team.

“You can’t take a good year away from this team,” Self told the Jayhawks. “But in order for it to be a great year or a special year, we’ve got to play really well from this point forward.”

That begins at 11:30 this morning when Kansas takes on Baylor in a Big 12 tournament quarterfinal at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The winner will advance to the semifinals and play the winner of the quarterfinal between Kansas State and Texas at 6 p.m. Friday.

For Baylor, the Big 12 tournament is a fight for survival. The Bears, who finished ninth in the Big 12, will not make the NCAA tournament unless they can rally and win three more games in Oklahoma City. Kansas’ motivation is less urgent.

“For us personally, we’re going down there to try to have a successful weekend,” Self said, “get better and prepare for the NCAA tournament.”

Kansas is also hoping to boost its résumé for the NCAA tournament selection committee. In order to increase its chances at the “special year” Self talked about, Kansas wants two things: The highest possible NCAA tournament seed and a sub-regional assignment to play in Kansas City, Mo., at the Sprint Center.

Kansas City is one of eight host cities — Minneapolis, Dayton, Ohio, Boise, Idaho, Portland, Philadelphia, Greensboro, N.C., and Miami are the others — for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Forget that Kansas went only 1-2 at Sprint Center this season — Collins, a junior guard, says the building still presents an advantage.

“It’s our backyard. I think we’d have a majority of fans there,” Collins said. “It would just be another great atmosphere for us. It won’t feel like a road game or a tourney game. It would probably feel like a home game.”

Teams with a top-four seed receive geographical consideration for the NCAA tournament. The problem is a site can only host two top-seeded teams, and one spot in Kansas City appears to be accounted for.

Memphis, the No. 4 team in the nation, will most likely wind up in Kansas City because it’s the first-round location closest to its campus. That leaves one spot at Sprint Center for either Kansas or Oklahoma.

Whichever team has more success in the Big 12 tournament between the Sooners and the Jayhawks will likely be awarded the final slot.

“We hurt ourselves against Texas Tech to call it like it is,” Self said. “From the national or seeding standpoint, we may have dropped a line or something if it came out now. We need to go have a really good Big 12 tournament to give us the best chance to get to Kansas City.”

According to bracket projections, Self is correct about last week’s 85-64 defeat to Texas Tech costing the Jayhawks. Before the game, Kansas still had an outside chance at a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Now, CBSSports.com projects the Jayhawks as a No. 3 seed, playing in Minneapolis. ESPN.com’s bracketology has Kansas receiving its desired position, a No. 2 seed in Kansas City.

Kansas is also set on earning a No. 2 seed in addition to landing close to home. Self remembers first-round losses as a No. 3 seed and a No. 4 seed in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Anything higher than a No. 2 seed would be a letdown.

“You’ve got to get a good seed in the tourney,” Collins said. “I know how tough it is to be one of those lower seeds and you run into a good team real early and things happen.”

As fun as it is to discuss NCAA tournament scenarios, sophomore center Cole Aldrich is focused. He said he knew if the Jayhawks faltered in the Big 12 tournament, Self’s idea of a “special year” would be harder to accomplish.

“We’re going to start playing our best ball here in the next three games and bringing it in the tournament,” Aldrich said. “These next possibly nine games are where everything is meant.”

— — Edited by Andrew Wiebe