IOn top of the scorer's table with his hands raised high over his head and a thousand or more fans looking up at him, Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley took on the appearance of a king following the Wildcats' win over No. 2 Kansas on Wednesday.

Those students at Michael Beasley's feet were worshipping him and the rest of the Wildcat basketball players for bringing an end to 24 years of losing to KU at Bramlage Coliseum.

They were the same students that spent Thursday and Friday on campus, congratulating and thanking the players for the upset.

This group of Wildcats weren't just kings for the night, but likely for much, much longer.

'I know it means a lot to these people in the city and around the school,' Beasley said after the game.

Now, after taking a year's worth of high fives and pats on the back in the 48 hours following the win, can the youthful Wildcats (15-4, 5-0 Big 12) come back to Earth gracefully and avoid a letdown today at Missouri?

'If we were 1-9 and won that game, then I could see where we could lose focus preparing for the next one,' coach Frank Martin said. 'But you know, we were in first place heading into that game, and our guys have been real good in maintaining focus.'

Martin emphasized that point, saying the team had a good practice on Thursday.

Though a flimsy reference point, considering the changes at K-State since it happened, the Wildcats' last win over KU in 2006 proved to be a momentum builder rather than a detriment.

Following that 59-55 win in Lawrence, K-State won its next two games over Texas A&M and Missouri.

But again, the circumstances are much different. That K-State team never competed for the Big 12 title; as Martin said, this one was, and still is, in first place.

And perhaps Martin would be more concerned if it wasn't the Tigers today.

Missouri lost standout guard Stefhon Hannah for the season after he was injured during a Columbia bar brawl last Saturday.

Coach Mike Anderson suspended four scholarship players -- Marshall Brown, Darryl Butterfield, Jason Horton and Leo Lyons -- for Wednesday's game against Nebraska for curfew violation.

The Tigers (12-9, 2-4) lost to the previously winless Huskers.

As of Friday afternoon, Anderson had yet to announce whether he would reinstate the players for today's game. Horton was arrested Friday on assault charges connected to the fight in which Hannah was injured.

'You prepare for their system and you prepare for their whole team, then you kind of move forward from there,' Martin said. 'It's easier to have to downscale once the game starts than it is to upscale once the game starts.'

It's the beginning of a three-game stretch against three of the Big 12's bottom four teams for the Wildcats.

An 8-0 start and holding down first place for at least another week is more than conceivable.

Barring a letdown, that is.

'It's kind of a responsibility we're accepting,' Martin said. 'You've got to stay focused on your opponent and focused on what you've done in the first five games to make sure that you're consistent.'

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