KU-Vandy for Maui Invite Title Wednesday

Maui Jim Maui Invitational
No. 5/7 Kansas (3-1) will face No. 19/16 Vanderbilt (5-0) in the championship game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 9 p.m. (Central) on ESPN. Kansas advanced to the finals with a 92-73 win versus host UCLA in the semifinals. Vanderbilt defeated Wake Forest, 86-64, to reach the title game.
 
Kansas is making its second-straight Maui Invitational title game appearance. KU lost to Duke, 68-61, in the 2011 Maui invite championship contest.
 
Kansas is going for its second-straight, eight-team bracket tournament title. Last year the Jayhawks won the Orlando Classic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando posting a 3-0 record over the Thanksgiving week.
 
2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational * Lahaina Civic Center * Lahaina, Hawaii
All times are Central
Monday, Nov. 23
Vanderbilt 92, St. John’s 55
Wake Forest 82, Indiana 78
KANSAS 123, Chaminade 72
UCLA 77, UNLV 75
 
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Indiana 83, St. John’s 73
UNLV 93, Chaminade 73
Vanderbilt 86, Wake Forest 64
KANSAS 92, UCLA 73
 
Wednesday, Nov. 25
St. John’s vs. Chaminade (7th-8th), 1:30 p.m., ESPNU
UNLV vs. Indiana (5th-6th), 4 p.m., ESPN2
Wake Forest vs. UCLA (3rd-4th), 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
Vanderbilt vs. KANSAS (Championship), 9 p.m., ESPN
 
About Kansas
Kansas is 2-0 in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational posting a 123-72 win versus Chaminade on Nov. 23 and a 92-73 victory over UCLA on Nov. 24. Through two games in the event, Kansas is averaging 107.5 points and shooting 59.8 percent from the field, including 48.1 percent from 3-point range. Overall, Kansas scores 99.2 points per contest and has a +25.3 scoring margin. The Jayhawks average 39.8 rebounds per game with a +7.5 rebound margin. Additionally, KU averages 22.5 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.5 blocked shots per contest.
 
Senior F Perry Ellis leads Kansas with an 18.0 scoring average after his 24-point effort against UCLA, which was his second 20-point game of the season. Ellis is second on the team with a 5.5 rebound average and is shooting 60 percent from the field. Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. leads Kansas with 13 3-pointers made through four games and has made eight treys in the two Maui contests. He is second on the team with a 15.0 scoring average. Junior G Frank Mason III leads KU with 26 assists, 14 in the Maui invite, and he is third on the team with a 13.8 scoring average. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham has a team-best nine steals to complement his 10.3 points per game. Senior F Jamari Traylor rounds out the KU starters. Traylor is third on the team with a 5.3 rebound average and scores 6.0 points per contest.
 
Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made eight 3-pointers in the Maui Invitational and is averaging 15.5 points in the event and 10.0 for the season. Mykhailiuk’s nine threes for the season are second to Selden’s team-high 13. Posting his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds vs. Chaminade (11/23), junior F Landen Lucas leads KU with 6.8 rebounds per game. Lucas scores 6.8 points per outing. Other key contributors include freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. (5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg), freshman G Lagerald Vick (4.0 ppg) and senior F Hunter Mickelson (3.3 ppg and a team-high five blocked shots).
 
About VANDERBILT
Located in Nashville, Tennessee with an enrollment of 6,738, Vanderbilt is undefeated and takes a 5-0 record into the Kansas contest. The Commodores are coached by former Kansas assistant Kevin Stallings who is 318-206 in his 16th season at Vanderbilt and 441-269 in his 22nd season overall. Vanderbilt averages 87.0 points per game and has a +28.2 scoring margin. The Commodores pull down 42.4 rebounds per contest and have a +7.2 rebound margin. They shoot 49.5 percent from the field and make 8.6 3-pointers per game at a 42.2 percent clip from beyond the arc. Vanderbilt averages 15.8 assists, 5.4 steals and 5.6 blocked shots per game.
 
Sophomore G Wade Baldwin IV is one of four Vanderbilt players averaging in double figures. He leads the team with a 14.0 scoring average and also with seven steals. His 16 assists are second on the squad as are his eight 3-pointers made. Junior C Damian Jones is next in scoring at 11.4 points per game and his 6.6 rebounds per contest are tied for second on the team as are his eight blocked shots. Sophomore F Jeff Roberson leads Vanderbilt with a 7.3 rebound average to complement his 10.8 ppg. Junior F Luke Kornet has a team-high 12 blocked shots and averages 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore G Riley LaChance has a team-best 22 assists through five games and scores 9.8 points per outing. Other Vanderbilt regulars include starter sophomore G Matthew Fisher-Davis (8.2 ppg, team-high nine threes), junior G Nolan Cressler (5.8 ppg), freshman G Camron Justice (5.2 ppg) and senior C Josh Henderson (5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg).
 
The Series
This series is tied at 2-2. The teams played a home-and-home back in the early 1970s. Vanderbilt won both battles with a 72-64 win in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 2, 1972, and an 83-72 win in Nashville on Dec. 22, 1973. Kansas won the next two meetings with both on neutral courts. On March 27, 1988, KU defeated Vanderbilt 77-64 in the Sweet 16 in Pontiac, Michigan in its 1988 NCAA National Championship season. KU next defeated Vanderbilt 89-82 in the semifinals of the Rainbow Classic on Dec. 29, 1997 in Honolulu. KU would go on to finish second in the event falling to Hawaii, 76-65.
 
Maui Invitational History
Kansas is participating in its sixth Maui Jim Maui Invitational where the Jayhawks have won the event once, 1996, and have a combined 13-6 record, 11-6 in games played in Maui. In KU’s 1988 NCAA National Championship season, the Jayhawks placed fourth in the event going 1-2. Kansas won the 1996 Maui Invitational defeating LSU, California and Virginia. Raef LaFrentz was named the MVP. In 2001, KU finished third in the event with a 2-1 record. Drew Gooden was a member of the all-tournament team and was the first Jayhawk on the Maui Invitational all-tourney list which began in 2000. KU has appeared in the invitational two times under Bill Self. In 2005, the Jayhawks placed seventh losing to Arizona and Arkansas before defeating Chaminade. In 2011, KU finished runner-up defeating Georgetown and UCLA before falling to Duke in the title game. KU would later advance to the 2012 Final Four finishing runner-up. Jayhawk Thomas Robinson was named to the 2011 Maui all-tournament team.
 
Hawaii-wise, Kansas has also played in three Rainbow Classics as well in 1986-87, 1992-93 and 1997-98. Next season, Kansas will play Indiana in the 2016 Armed Forces Classic on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at Pearl Harbor. The game will be part of a double-header with Arizona facing Michigan State.
 
UCLA Leftovers
50+ POINTS IN A HALF: Kansas started Tuesday’s game with 59 points in the first half against UCLA. The Jayhawks have now reached at least 50 points in a half five times in four games this season.
SCORING MARGIN: KU’s average scoring margin is +25.3 points this season after defeating UCLA by 19 on Tuesday. The Jayhawks are averaging 99.2 points per game and holding opponents to 74.0 points per game. 
SCORING IN TRANSITION: Kansas scored 15 fast break points, including 11 in the first half. UCLA finished with six transition points, including two in the first half.
3-POINTERS: Kansas reached double-figure 3-point field goals made for the third time in four games this season. The Jayhawks shot 10 of 23 from long range on Tuesday. Last season Kansas reached double-figure treys in six of 36 games with a season-high 12 against Lafayette (12/20/14).
ASSISTS AND TURNOVERS: Kansas totaled 19 assists and just 10 turnovers on Tuesday. No Jayhawk had more than two turnovers individually.
DEFENSE: Kansas limited UCLA’s leading scorer, Bryce Alford (17.0 ppg), to six points and one field goal (1-6 FG).
 
Junior G Frank Mason III
• Dished out seven assists with zero turnovers. Through four games this season, features a +5.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (26 to 5).
• Scored 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from 3-point range in 31 minutes.
 
Senior F Perry Ellis
• Reached 20 points for the second time this season, leading Kansas with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 shooting at the free throw line. Added six rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
• Now has 634 career rebounds, passing Jeff Withey (2010-13) for 22nd on KU’s all-time rebounds list.
• Now has 1,229 career points, passing Jacque Vaughn (1994-97; 1,207) for 35th-place on KU’s all-time scoring list.
 
Junior G Wayne Selden Jr.
• Scored 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range with three assists in 15 minutes.
• Leads Kansas with 13 3-pointers made this season (3.3 3FG per game).
 
Senior F Jamari Traylor
• Made 2 of 2 shots at the free throw line to remain perfect from the charity stripe this season (10 of 10).
• Finished with six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field in 20 minutes.
 
Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham
• Scored the first bucket of the game by making a 3-pointer. Kansas did not give up the lead for the remainder of the game.
• Led Kansas in steals (three).
• Finished with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes.
 
Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
• Reached double-figure points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. Scored 18 points against Chaminade on Monday and 13 points against UCLA on Tuesday.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas heads home for a five-game homestand when it plays host to Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. (Central). The game will be televised on Jayhawk TV/ESPN3. KU will host Harvard on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN2, Holy Cross on Dec. 9, Oregon State on Dec. 12 at Sprint Center in Kansas City and Montana on Dec. 19.

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