Just win, baby.

All season long, Kansas University’s men’s basketball team has been piddling — except for Wayne Simien, and he’s on the shelf — at the free-throw line.

Yet in Wednesday night’s nail-biting 65-60 triumph over Texas A&M, arguably the most improved team in North America, the Jayhawks made 11 of their last 13 free throws.

Most of the season, too, veteran Michael Lee has been treading water.

Yet Lee came off the bench, played 28 minutes, scored 10 points and helped hold Antoine Wright, A&M’s leading scorer, to 14 points.

On the surface, the late free-throw shooting and Lee’s bullpen performance don’t seem all that important, but the whole is still equal to the sum of its parts.

Twice now — Saturday against Georgia Tech and Wednesday against A&M, the most improved team in the Western Hemisphere — Kansas has found a way to win with Simien on the bench in street clothes.

Asked how the Jayhawks had been able to subdue the Aggies, KU coach Bill Self couldn’t put his finger on any one thing — “Guys just made plays,” he said — but Self did muse how winning seems to beget winning.

“We were 0-8 last year when we were behind in the last five minutes,” Self said, “and I think we’re 4-0 this year when we’ve been behind in the last five minutes.”

Kansas' Christian Moody, right, tries to trigger over Texas A&M's Edjuan Green. Moody was 1-for-5 on the night, while KU hit just 41.3 percent of its field-goal tries.

In the Georgia Tech game, Kansas prevailed, 70-68, in overtime even though Alex Galindo missed four free throws down the stretch. It’s doubtful the Jayhawks would have survived the Aggies if they had missed four straight charities this time.

Christian Moody, the most improved player in the North America and perhaps the Western Hemisphere, was the only KU player who misfired at the line in the last 5 1/2 minutes. Moody bricked a pair with :23.5 showing and KU leading 61-58.

Eight seconds later, the Aggies’ Acie Law drove the lane for a two-point basket to cut the deficit to 61-60, and guess who was fouled one tick later. Yep, it was Moody.

So with :14.4 on the clock and KU clinging to a one-point lead, Moody stuck a dagger in the Aggies’ hearts by stepping to the line again and drilling both attempts.

“Moody missed those two,” guard Aaron Miles said, “and he said, ‘I’m making the next two.’ We’ve got to be confident like that.”

And how about Keith Langford? Only a 54 percent free thrower going in, Langford made his last five free throws. He didn’t just make them, either. He swished them.

“I’ve been listening to my You-Can-Do-It tapes,” Langford quipped. “Every time I go to the line, I say I’m zero-for-zero.”

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When the nitty became gritty, Langford was 5-for-5 at the foul line, Miles and Lee both were 2-for-2, and Moody was 2-for-4. On the night, Kansas cashed 22 of 27 free throws. That’s 81.5 percent from a team that had been shooting 61.7 percent.

Still, the feel-good story of the night was Lee, who was The Forgotten Man in the Georgia Tech game, logging only two minutes against the Yellow Jackets with his parents in the seats.

“It bothered me,” Lee said about his lack of playing time, “but my family was with me when I was playing one minute a game when I was a freshman, and they’ll always be with me.”

Lee probably would have been destined for another two-minute stint Wednesday night if Langford hadn’t been forced to sit 15 minutes of the first half because of foul trouble and if J.R. Giddens had been able to hit the ocean from a row boat.

As it was, Lee made the most of his unexpected opportunity.

“He hasn’t had anything good happen to him in two or three weeks,” Self said. “We wouldn’t have won without Mike. He’s just been trying too hard. He’s a senior, and he wants it so bad.”

Two unexpected resources — Lee and free-throw shooting — were the critical factors in a game that ultimately was more important than the Georgia Tech game or Sunday’s trip to Kentucky, because how many Big 12 teams have ever lost at home to Texas A&M and won the league championship?