LAWRENCE, Kan. -- There were moments of frustration for Kansas coach Bill Self, moments where hed angrily call a timeout or attend a post-game news conference and glumly bemoan another uneven performance. There never was a moment where he lost faith in his team. Now, after enduring the nations most brutal non-conference schedule, the sixth-ranked Jayhawks are proving to be exactly what the pundits thought theyd be: The Big 12s premier team, one that already has a substantial lead in the conference as the race nears its midway point. "We have grown, but were just now to the middle of the season. Thats whats so strange," Self said. "The big thing is that were playing with more energy and were starting to understand how were going to score -- not just running an offence to run an offence. Were not a tough team by any stretch, but are playing tougher than we did earlier in the season." Thats certainly been evident in the results. After a loss to fifth-ranked San Diego State ended the Jayhawks 68-game non-conference winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas has ripped off seven straight wins through arguably the toughest part of its league schedule. It began with a win at No. 23 Oklahoma, and continued with wins over four straight teams that were ranked in the Top 25 -- Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Baylor. After a blowout win at TCU, the Jayhawks beat the No. 16 Cyclones for a second time on Wednesday night. Now, theyll head to No. 25 Texas with essentially a two-game lead in the Big 12. You catch the game on TSN2 on Saturday at 12am et/9pm pt. "Im not surprised at all," junior guard Naadir Tharpe said. "I knew it was going to be a matter of time until everybody just let water run off their back and start going out there and just playing. That is what I feel like dudes are doing right now." The most important of them may be Andrew Wiggins, the highly touted freshman. After fits and starts to begin his college career, the 6-foot-8 swingman and projected lottery pick in the June draft has gone on a tear. Wiggins scored a career-high 27 points in the win over the Horned Frogs, and then bested it with 29 points against the Cyclones earlier this week. Hes averaging more than 24 points over his past three games. "I would say I feel more comfortable on the court," Wiggins said this week. "A lot of things are slowing down for me and my teammates are looking for me." Hes also starting to create his own shot, something that he was reticent to do early in the season, prompting Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg to say hes "oozing with confidence. "Thats scary," Hoiberg said. "With that athleticism, that length and that speed, the kids got it all. When hes knocking down shots, not too many better." There arent many teams better than the Jayhawks right now. Since the start of league play, the nine-time defending champions are putting up a Big 12-leading 84 points per game. Theyre just a half-point out of second place in scoring defence, and their scoring margin of 12 points per game is seven better than second-place Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks (16-4, 7-0 Big 12) also lead the league in field-goal and 3-point percentage, rebounding defence and margin, blocked shots, assists and, well, you get the idea. "They have a special group," TCU coach Trent Johnson said. "At every position, they have somebody who can score. They can attack you, so you really have to be on your toes." After the Jayhawks, Texas may be the next hottest team in the Big 12 heading into Saturdays game. The Longhorns (16-4, 5-2) have rattled off five straight wins, the last three coming against ranked teams in Iowa State, Kansas State and Baylor. The Jayhawks will represent the first time in school history that Texas will have played four consecutive Top 25 opponents. "Theyre young. Theyre not quite as young as we are, but theyre young and fast, probably as fast as any team well play," Self said. "Theyre obviously playing their tails off." J. D. Martinez Jersey . The thunderous cheers quickly changed to an appreciative chant: "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son! Headed to New York with new life, Mason sure earned this curtain call. Jackie Bradley Jr Jersey .com) - James Harden had 32 points, including a tying layup late in regulation, and the Houston Rockets scored eight of their 13 points in overtime at the foul line to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 on Friday night. http://www.theredsoxteamshop.com/Red-Sox...ky-Kids-Jersey/. Hazard lasted just 18 minutes in Tuesdays contest before being substituted with the calf problem, and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes he will be without his star winger for at least the next two weeks. Jimmie Foxx Jersey . Dalton completed his only pass and led the Bengals to a touchdown in his only drive -- one that took four minutes to finish -- and the Cincinnati Bengals ended the preseason with a 27-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night. Wade Boggs Jersey .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Three-time reigning and four-time overall champion Novak Djokovic was a predictable second-round winner Wednesday at the Australian Open. The second-seeded former world No. 1 Serb closed out the day session at Rod Laver Arena with a 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentine Leonardo Mayer. Djokovic popped 12 aces, committed only 11 unforced errors and didnt face a single break point on another scorching hot day in Melbourne. Next up for Djokovic, who has won his last 26 matches on tour, will be Uzbekistans Denis Istomin, who ousted 30th-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov by a 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 margin. Spaniard David Ferrer, Czech Tomas Berdych, Swiss Stan Wawrinka and Frenchman Richard Gasquet were also among the top-10 winners on Wednesday. The third-seeded Ferrer and seventh-seeded Berdych both dismissed Frenchmen at Hisense Arena, as Ferrer beat Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 after Berdych topped Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. Ferrer will face another Frenchman in Jeremy Chardy in the third round after the 29th-seeded Chardy downed Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5). Berdychs next opponent will be Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who moved on after Croat Ivan Dodig retired. Dzumhur fought back from two sets down and was leading 4-1 in the fourth set when the 32nd-seeded Dodig called it quits. There were eight retirements on the mens side in the first round. Meanwhile, the eighth-seeded Wawrinka downed Colombian Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 and the ninth-seeded Gasquet humbled former world No. 3 Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4. Up next for Wawrinka will be rising Canadian Vasek Pospisil, while Gasquet will encounter Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo on Friday. German Florian Mayer took out 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; 15th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini held off Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2; the 17th-seeded Robredo registered a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win against Frances Julien Benneteau; 19th-seeded South African Kevin Anderson claimed a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Austrias Dominic Thiem; 20th-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz fought back to best Spaniard Pablo Andujar 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; American Sam Querrey cruised to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 upset victory over 23rd-seeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis; and the 28th-seeded Pospisil overcame Aussie Matthew Ebden 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (11-9), 6-1.dddddddddddd Querrey fired 19 aces past Gulbis, saying he had "one of the best service days of my life" on Wednesday. One other second-round result saw Frances Edouard Roger-Vasselin notch a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The second round is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, as world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will take on 17-year-old Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, fourth-seeded three- time Aussie Open runner-up Andy Murray will tangle with Frenchman Vincent Millot, fifth-seeded former U.S. Open champ and last weeks Sydney titlist Juan Martin del Potro will face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, and sixth-seeded Swiss icon Roger Federer will be opposed by Slovenian Blaz Kavcic. Nadal is the reigning U.S. and French Open champion and captured an Aussie title in 2009, while Federer owns four Aussie titles among his mens-record 17 major championships. Also on Day 4, 10th-seeded former Aussie runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will battle Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, 11th-seeded Canadian slugger Milos Raonic will face Romanian veteran Victor Hanescu, and 25th-seeded flashy Frenchman Gael Monfils will lock horns with American Jack Sock. ' ' '