KANSAS CITY, Mo. – K-State's run to the Big 12 tournament final ended on a sour note as the No. 9 Wildcats fell to top-ranked Kansas 72-64 at the Sprint Center on Saturday.

After solid shooting performances against Oklahoma State and Baylor on Thursday and Friday, K-State (26-7) fell flat offensively against the Jayhawks (32-2), who wrapped up their fourth tournament title in the last five years.

The loss drops K-State to 5-3 against ranked teams this year with all three losses coming to its in-state rival.

"It hurts," a teary-eyed Jacob Pullen said. "But we get a chance to play next week. Hopefully, get a chance to start over and we've just got to win six games and we're capable of doing it, but it hurts to lose in the championship."

K-State was led by Denis Clemente, who scored 17 points while Jamar Samuels and Pullen added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Pullen and Clemente were named to the all-tournament team following the game. Clemente passed the 1,000-point mark for his career in the contest and Pullen reached double-figures for the 33rd consecutive game.

The backcourt duo was joined on the all-tournament roster by Texas A&M's Donald Sloan and KU's Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, who was named the tournament's most valuable player.

According to head coach Frank Martin, the Jayhawks have made Collins and Aldrich their driving force all year, and for good reason.

"Kansas has a point guard that refuses to lose," Martin said. "On top of being a very good player, they've got a center that refuses to allow you to shoot layups and then puts tremendous pressure on the rim. You've got to start with those two guys, and then you've got to do everything you can to take away the other guys."

The Wildcats stumbled out of the gate in the first half as they didn't score until Wally Judge's layup with 14:45 remaining. But Judge's connection sparked an 11-3 run that gave K-State a brief 11-8 lead. KU responded with an 11-5 run of its own to take the lead for good. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half and the Jayhawks took a 31-27 lead into the locker room.

Rodney McGruder appeared to cut the halftime deficit to two with a put-back as time expired, but officials ruled the ball left his hand after the buzzer and the shot was waved off.

The start of the second half was no different than the first as K-State took over three minutes to make a shot. The Wildcats pieced together an 11-5 run, capped off by a breakaway layup by Clemente, to cut the lead to 40-38, but a 9-3 run by the Jayhawks put an end to the comeback attempt.

K-State kept the game close for the remainder of the half, but defensive lapses and missed shots doomed the Wildcats down the stretch.

"I thought we got halfway decent shots," Martin said. "We missed, I don't know, four or five point-blank. When you get an opportunity against their defense to score those easy balls, you've got to put them in the basket."

Up next for the Wildcats is the NCAA Tournament. K-State will find out its seed and first-round location when the tournament selection show airs at 5 p.m. tomorrow on CBS.