Kansas University’s No. 4-ranked basketball team played itself into a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament by flopping in the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday against Missouri in Dallas.

That’s the opinion of sophomore Keith Langford, still seething over the Jayhawks’ five-point loss to MU in the conference semifinals, a loss that apparently dropped KU from contention as a top seed in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee.

“We messed ourselves up by not performing well in the Big 12 tournament,” Langford said. “I wasn’t expecting us to get a No. 1 seed because we lost to Missouri. I was fine with it, to tell you the truth.”

Langford has an argument, but the fact that Texas — a team that finished behind Kansas in the regular-season race, lost 90-87 to the Jayhawks, and exited the Big 12 tourney even earlier than KU — landed the top seed in the South Regional compared to KU’s No. 2 standing in the West, caused many nationwide to scratch their heads.

“(Texas) played just as tough of a schedule as we did,” Langford said. “They stopped Oklahoma’s winning streak at home. Texas is a really good team and they deserved it. It’s not my place to say what a team should and shouldn’t get.”

Kansas (25-7) will travel to Oklahoma City and play No. 15-seed Utah State at 8:40 p.m. on Thursday. KU gets the No. 2 spot in a star-studded, top-heavy West bracket that includes No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Illinois.

“I think we were disappointed because we wanted to be a No. 1 (seed),” senior Nick Collison said of reaction at a selection show-watching party at KU coach Roy Williams’ Alvamar home Sunday. “A lot of it was nervousness because we were the last bracket to be shown, almost a half hour from the start. We just wanted to see who we were playing and get it out of the way and get ready to go. It’s a tough thing to sit there and watch especially when you don’t get the seed you want.

“We’re in a situation to go make things happen and that’s all you can ask for.”

Utah State (24-8) earned the automatic berth in the Big West Conference by beating Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in the Big West Conference tournament championship Saturday.

The Aggies have played a few late-night games on ESPN, but Langford admits that he wasn’t tuning in.

“No I didn’t,” he said. “Those games are probably not really that interesting. I can’t really get into them.”

That being said, Langford knows little about his upcoming opponent — though he does realize the big picture.

“All I know is that we’ve got to play them,” he said. “They’re in our way.”

¢

Oklahoma, here we come: Williams on the team being able to play close to home in Oklahoma City. KU plays Utah State at 8:40 Thursday night at the Ford Center. A victory and KU would meet Memphis or Arizona State Saturday.

“I thought because of the pod system we’d go to Oklahoma or Indianapolis,” Williams said. “But like I say, I thought Duke would go somewhere other than Salt Lake City, too. I like it because our fans can see us. I like it more because it’s easier for parents to get to.”

¢

It’s for you: The phone rang in the Williams household shortly after KU’s matchup against Utah State was announced.

“Drew called,” Collison said of former Jayhawk Drew Gooden, now with the Orlando Magic. “It’s pretty obvious he’s excited for us, and would like to be playing in the tournament this year. It was nice of him to call and say he’s thinking of us.”

¢

Miles’ finger update: KU sophomore Aaron Miles had the index finger on his right hand taped Sunday.

He dislocated the finger late in Saturday’s game against Missouri.

“He said it doesn’t hurt as much as he thought it would,” said sophomore guard Michael Lee, a roommate of Miles. “He is tough. He will be able to play. The finger is straight now and he said it’s not going to stop him from playing well.”

Miles played a game of pool against Keith Langford at Williams’ house.

“He played left-handed,” Lee said. “He’s a pretty good southpaw pool player.”

— Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore contributed to this story.