AUSTIN, Texas -- P.J. Tucker was heading to the locker room, done with media interviews, still smiling over Texas' best game of the season. But he had to get another opinion to confirm what he was thinking.
"Do you think we can still be a No. 1 seed?"
There was no need to pause here. No need to get ESPN.com's Bracketologist on the phone. A "yes" was quick to come out.
So, you see, the Texas players, like the majority of college basketball's elite at this time of the season, may try to put on a face that they don't think about seeding.
But they do. They are human. They are college students. They want to be the best and, just like everyone else in the field of 65, they're searching for a path to the Final Four.
And, after Texas dispatched Kansas 80-55 Saturday night at the Erwin Center for a one-game lead in the Big 12 regular-season title race with two games remaining, the Longhorns are very much in the race for a No. 1 seed.
Tucker wanted to know how Memphis could be ahead of the Longhorns when Texas beat the Tigers by 11 points on the road. Once again, the answer is that the Longhorns may very well get in ahead of Memphis if they continue to win. And who knows, they may be ahead of the Tigers for the last No. 1 seed even without winning the Big 12 tournament.
Regardless of who gets the final No. 1 seed (we could be jumping ahead here, but it clearly looks like Duke, Villanova and Connecticut are heading toward lock No. 1 status), Texas and Memphis may be on a collision course for an Elite Eight meeting. The win by the Horns Saturday night has numerous ramifications, one of them being that Texas is now likely headed to Dallas for the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament as either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. Memphis, of course, is likely heading to big D as well in its own pod as either a No. 1 or No. 2. The two could then be headed to either Oakland or Minneapolis for the potential 1-2 matchup in that regional final.
OK, that's the macro version of Saturday night's events. But there are plenty of micro issues to discuss as well:
• Texas has the inside track to win the Big 12 regular-season title for the first time since 1999. The Longhorns (24-4, 12-2) still have to go to Texas A&M and host No. 20 Oklahoma next week while Kansas (20-7, 11-3) finishes with Colorado and at Kansas State. Texas has, at least it appears, the harder final two games, but the Longhorns just played their most complete game of the season.
"Back in the beginning of the season when I was looking at the schedule I knew it was going to be a tough finish for us," Texas coach Rick Barnes said.
Texas will get everyone's best shot and, as Barnes said, the Aggies have a chance to make the Big Dance with a win over Texas. A&M beat Nebraska on Saturday. Beating Texas isn't the only thing the Aggies have to do, but it's certainly the most important for them to have a shot.
• Tucker, who scored 19 points, had eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals and was 7 of 8 from the free-throw line, is likely the Big 12 Player of the Year.
Why?
"Consistency," Barnes said. "I've said to this team, 'If we've got to get a basket, what would we do?' There's no question that at some point we'll put the ball in his hands."
Barnes said most coaches in the Big 12 would say that Tucker is the toughest player to match up against in the league.
Tucker, at 6-5, can handle like a point, shoot like a wing, and post like a true big man. Yet he chooses not to extend his game beyond 15-17 feet.
"He's an excellent 15-foot jump shooter," Barnes said, "and I've asked him why won't he shoot further out, and he just said, 'Why?' "
Playing within his limitations is yet another reason why Tucker has excelled. His leadership, scoring and board work was in line with the Horns' two other big men, who both played some of their best ball of the season Saturday night. Senior Brad Buckman scored 12 points and grabbed nine boards while sophomore center LaMarcus Aldridge was nearly perfect at 9-for-10 from the floor for 18 points and eight boards to go along with four blocks. On the night, Texas outrebounded Kansas 36-19.
Kansas coach Bill Self said the Longhorns worked the Jayhawks physically. Kansas' youth was evident, and Self said he was disappointed with his team's lack of toughness. All of that, though, was a credit to Texas asserting itself.
"If we allowed them to play well, talent was going to prevail, and we allowed them to play well," Self said.
• Texas found a reserve who could score. The bench had been a sore spot for the Longhorns all season. Yet with lead guard Daniel Gibson on the bench with two fouls, freshman A.J. Abrams was 4 of 4 from long range in the first half.
"We knew LaMarcus would come out and score and put up boards," Self said. "But for Abrams to come out and score the way he did, he was the best player in the first half and he made the difference."
Barnes said he told the team that he would be going to the bench early. He said he had to have someone come up and contribute. That someone ended up being Abrams early, followed by shooting big man Connor Atchley, who also knocked down a 3-pointer.
• Overall, the Longhorns clearly had the look of a potential Final Four team again. It took a while, but it finally appeared.
"We've got a chance, man, a real good chance," Tucker said. "We've got all the pieces to the puzzle, shooters, guys inside and outside. You can feel the stakes are higher. We never doubted ourselves. We just had to do it and [Saturday] we proved we could."
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.