Kansas assistant head coach Norm Roberts gives a pat to the chest of Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) as he and Kansas forward KJ Adams (24) leave the game late in the second half on Saturday March 11, 2023 at T Mobile Center in Kansas City. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas City, Mo. — The harsh reality is that Saturday’s Big 12 championship game between Kansas and Texas simply didn’t matter.

Sure, there was a title on the line and ultimate bragging rights after the two teams split the regular-season series. In that case, yes, the Longhorns were definitely victorious with a 76-56 shellacking of the Jayhawks inside T-Mobile Center.

Now the real season begins, with Selection Sunday on deck. And the selection committee likely doesn’t care about the result of the latest Big 12 battle — at least not more than the 20 previous league tests that came before it.

Simply put, if the selection committee viewed Kansas as the No. 1 overall seed before Saturday, then that will likely still be the case on Sunday. If the Jayhawks were already headed to a different region, then that is where they will be. History tells us not to put too much stock in these weekend results.

But what the Big 12 title game did tell us is that the Jayhawks have no shot of repeating as defending champions without Kevin McCullar Jr. An injury forced the senior to miss his second game of the year, the first of which came against Texas Southern on Nov. 28.

“We really needed him,” KU point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. said. “He does the little things for us. He’s the best defensive player in the country.”

Box score: Texas 76, Kansas 56

Photo Gallery: Kansas basketball vs. Texas

McCullar, who had been dealing with back spasms for several days, exited early in the second half of Friday’s win over Iowa State and never returned. So it wasn’t a surprise when he didn’t dress or go through warmups on Saturday.

Norm Roberts, who served as the acting head coach for Bill Self for the third night in a row, tried his best to make up for McCullar’s absence.

Despite having a short rotation, Roberts used 20 different lineups including the last group that closed out the final 72 seconds of a 20-point loss. Eleven different rotations were used in the first half, beginning with a starting lineup that featured Joseph Yesufu for the second time this weekend.

Yesufu, who got the nod in the Big 12 quarterfinal, was once again looking to make a play right away. He scored the first basket of the game for KU on a pull-up jumper and recorded seven early points before subbing out at the 10:21 mark.

“My whole thing was to be aggressive, be me, and be who I am,” Yesufu said.

The lone bright spot for McCullar’s DNP was that some different names in KU’s rotation got extended playing time. Yesufu finished with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting, adding four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 29 minutes of action.

Bobby Pettiford cracked double-digit minutes for the first time in nearly a month, tallying three rebounds in the process. Freshman MJ Rice played about 15 minutes, recording three points and connecting on his only field goal attempt.

“Everybody was getting a run,” Rice said. “Everybody played a part. We just want to keep getting better.”

“It is definitely good for the long run,” Yesufu added. “Honestly preparing for the future, you never know who is going out. Of course, I pray nobody else is out. Just getting us ready for what’s to come.”

Of course, that’s the break-the-glass scenario.

The Jayhawks don’t plan on having a deep rotation in the NCAA Tournament, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. KU ranks 361st in the country in bench minutes, according to KenPom, just 60 spots below its ranking last year when it won the national title.

If McCullar can return to the fold, the Jayhawks won’t look as lost defensively and everyone can go back to playing in their role. And that’s the real key for Kansas heading into a much-anticipated Selection Sunday.

“We needed him a lot this game, but we gotta get him healthy,” Harris said. “So we needed to sit him and then get ready for a run in March.”

KU’s lineups for Saturday’s Big 12 championship game

First half

Starting lineup: K.J. Adams Jr., Jalen Wilson, Gradey Dick, Yesufu and Harris (20:00-12:34)

Lineup: Ernest Udeh Jr., Wilson, Yesufu, Pettiford and Harris (12:34-10:21)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Rice, Pettiford and Harris (10:21-9:14)

Lineup: Adams, Wilson, Rice, Dick and Harris (9:14-8:41)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Rice, Dick and Harris (8:41-7:46)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Dick, Yesufu and Pettiford (7:46-4:41)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Dick, Yesufu and Harris (4:41-3:34)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Rice, Dick and Harris (3:34-2:23)

Lineup: Adams, Wilson, Dick, Yesufu and Harris (2:23-1:54)

Lineup: Adams, Wilson, Pettiford, Yesufu and Harris (1:54-0:31)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Pettiford, Yesufu and Harris (0:31-0:00)

Second half

Starting lineup: Adams, Wilson, Dick, Yesufu and Harris (20:00-15:58)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Dick, Yesufu and Harris (15:58-14:04)

Lineup: Adams, Wilson, Rice, Dick and Harris (14:04-9:55)

Lineup: Adams, Wilson, Rice, Pettiford and Harris (9:55-9:03)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Dick, Yesufu and Pettiford (9:03-7:45)

Lineup: Udeh, Wilson, Dick, Yesufu and Harris (7:45-6:06)

Lineup: Adams, Wilson, Rice, Yesufu and Harris (6:06-4:33)

Lineup: Adams, Wilson, Dick, Rice and Harris (4:33-1:12)

Lineup: Udeh, Rice, Yesufu, Pettiford and Michael Jankovich (1:12-0:00)