Kansas City, Mo. ? Alex Galindo was a hot topic of conversation. To a lesser extent so, too, were a couple of other Kansas University freshmen — Russell Robinson and C.J. Giles.

No doubt the Jayhawks would not have been able to hold off UW-Milwaukee without the trio of yearlings.

And yet the most compelling aspect of Wednesday night’s 73-62 victory over the Brewtown Panthers in Kemper Arena was the realization that Keith Langford must be the scorer pro tem while Wayne Simien is out of the lineup with a thumb injury.

Langford was the Jayhawks’ leading scorer with 21 points and would have counted more if he could only shake his season-long inconsistency at the free-throw line. The 6-foot-4 senior made just half of his eight charity attempts, and his FT percentage dipped to a lackluster .538.

Otherwise, Langford’s overall game was dynamic. His stat line also included seven rebounds and six assists.

“I’ll be more offensive-oriented the next few games,” Langford affirmed.

Other than Langford and the trio of freshmen, the Jayhawks looked like they were treading water, just trying to stay afloat while they wait for Simien to return and throw them a lifeline.

Then again, the Jayhawks could have been afflicted with the dreaded Getaway Syndrome that has affected so many KU teams of the past. Langford mentioned it.

“It was the game before going home, and whether they say it or not,” the senior from Fort Worth, Texas, said about his teammates, “they’re thinking about it.”

KU freshman Russell Robinson (3) triggers over UWM's Adrian Tigert in the second half. Robinson finished with 12 points in 24 minutes.

KU coach Bill Self didn’t put it quite that way, but Self did concede his players were mentally and physically weary and needed a break.

“This is a tired team,” Self said. “We played tired tonight. We need to get our batteries recharged.”

Of course, you could say the Panthers were tired, too. This was their fifth straight road game, and the UW-Milwaukee players had to be just as beat as the Jayhawks.

Still, in a game in which both teams needed a pick-me-up, Kansas had the most picker-uppers — notably Galindo, who played 17 minutes after logging only 27 minutes total in KU’s first seven games.

Galindo certainly caught the Panthers by surprise.

6Sports video: Jayhawks defeat Panthers Hear Bill, players: Wisconsin-Milwaukee postgame comments Photo Gallery: KU vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Get the stats: KU vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee box score Scorecard: Grade KU’s performance against Wisconsin-Milwaukee Galindo steps up for Jayhawks Woodling: Langford key for KU to survive without Simien KU’s Simien keeps his spirits up Panthers bemoan missed shots Notebook Bio: Keith Langford Sign up for cell phone updates Sign up for e-mail updates

“I’d never seen him on tape,” said UWM Ed McCants, a senior guard who scored a career-high 26 points, mainly because he nailed half a dozen three-point attempts. “But we knew they’d have some guys come out of nowhere.”

Uh, Ed, how did you know that?

“They can do whatever they want,” the 6-3 veteran backcourt performer said. “They’re Kansas. They can run in anybody at any time.”

You know, McCants may be right. I mean, how many people would have believed that the five players on the floor at the end of Wednesday night’s game would have been four starters and Galindo?

If anyone, you would have thought it would have been the four starters and Russell Robinson, the freshman guard who sparkled late in last Saturday’s come-from-behind victory over South Carolina. But Robinson was not on the floor down the stretch this time.

When push comes to shove, though, the Jayhawks will not survive the sans-Simien stretch unscathed without Langford operating on every cylinder. And even Langford at full bore may not be enough in the Jayhawks’ next game — the eagerly awaited New Year’s Day rematch with Georgia Tech.

“Obviously, I feel good because we got the win” Langford said, “BUT … if we play like that, we’ll lose by double-figures in our next game.”

Langford may be right, but we’ll see. The Jayhawks will have the Yellow Jackets in Allen Fieldhouse, their batteries will be recharged, the freshmen will have a little more confidence and, who knows, on the first day of 2005, the KU-Georgia Tech clash may upstage the plethora of football bowl games.