Jayhawks to Host Grizzlies Saturday in Hoops

G10: No. 2/5 Kansas vs. Montana
Date/Time Dec. 19, 2015/1 p.m. (Central)
Location Lawrence, Kansas
Arena Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series Kansas leads 1-0
Television Jayhawk IMG TV/ESPN3
Dave Armstrong, Chris Piper
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Bob Davis (Play-by-Play)
Josh Klingler (Analyst)
Bob Newton (Engineer)
Live Stats KU live stats
Notes Kansas
Montana
Big 12 Conference
Stats at a Glance Kansas Montana
Record 8-1 4-5
Rankings #2/5
Points/GM 90.9 66.9
Points Allowed/GM 68.3 66.8
FG% .522 .431
Rebounds/GM 37.7 34.9
Assists/GM 19.1 13.0
Blocks/GM 4.2 2.4
Steals/GM 8.4 5.8

Jayhawks to Host Grizzlies
No. 2/5 Kansas (8-1) returns to the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse when it plays host to Montana (4-5), Saturday, Dec. 19, at 1 p.m. (Central) on Jayhawk Television and ESPN3. The Jayhawks are coming off a come-from-behind victory with an 82-67 win against Oregon State on Dec. 12 at the Jayhawk Shootout at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Montana snapped a two-game losing streak with a 79-59 win against Great Falls on Dec. 15. This will be the Grizzlies’ sixth road game of the season.
 
For the Montana contest, Kansas Athletics will attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the “Largest gathering of people wearing holiday sweaters.” The current record is 1,175 people and was set December 10, 2014 at Loughborough University in Loughborough, United Kingdom. More details on the attempt are elsewhere in this release.
 
About Kansas
Kansas is 8-1 on the season after defeating Pac-12 foe Oregon State, 82-67, on Dec. 12,at the Jayhawk Shootout at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. KU’s high-octane offense is one of the best in the nation, as the Jayhawks rank third in NCAA Division I in scoring at 90.0 points per game. Kansas is second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.9 percent. KU is also seventh nationally in scoring margin at +21.7. KU pulls down an average of 37.7 rebounds per game, which helps give the Jayhawks a +5.7 rebounding margin advantage over their opponents. The Jayhawks also average 19.1 assists, which stands 13th nationally, 8.4 steals and 4.2 blocked shots per contest.
 
Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. leads Kansas in scoring at 16.6 points per game after his 22 points against Oregon State (12/12). The Nov. 30 co-Big 12 Player of the Week selection, Selden leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made at 3.3 and 3-point field goal percentage at 60.0 percent, which is fifth nationally. He is fourth in the league in scoring. Senior F Perry Ellis is second on the KU team in scoring at 14.3 points per game and leads KU with 5.9 rebounds per contest. Junior G Frank Mason III is just behind Ellis in scoring at 14.1 points per game and is third in the Big 12 with 5.6 assists per outing. Mason’s 18 steals are second on the team and he is third in the league with a 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham leads the Big 12 with a 5.7 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is fourth nationally. He leads KU and is tied for third in the Big 12 with 2.2 steals per game and his 3.8 assists per contest are eighth in the league. Graham scores 10.3 points per game. Senior F Hunter Mickelson (3.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, team-high 13 blocked shots) rounds out the KU starters. Mickelson is coming off a seven-point, six-rebound game against Oregon State (12/12).
 
Junior G Brannen Greene is a 3-point specialist who scores 9.5 points per game. He is 8-for-10 (80 percent) from beyond the arc this season. Senior F Jamari Traylor (4.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg) has started seven games this season. Junior F Landen Lucas scores 5.1 points per game and is second on the team with a 5.6 rebound average. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is tied for second on the team with 13 3-pointers made this season, helping him average 8.1 points per game. Freshman F Cheick Diallo scores an average of 7.8 points a contest, grabs 3.5 rebounds and has already swatted away six shots in only four games. Other key contributors to the Kansas squad include freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. (4.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and freshman G Lagerald Vick (2.3 ppg).
 
About Montana
Located in Missoula, Montana, with an enrollment of 13,358, Montana is 4-5 on the season after its 79-59 home win against Great Falls on Dec. 15 in Dahlberg Arena. The Grizzlies are coached by Tommy DeCuire who is 24-18 in his second season as a head coach at Montana, his alma mater. Last year Montana won the Big Sky Conference regular-season title and advanced to the NIT. Montana is 4-0 at home and 0-5 on the road in 2015-16. Montana averages 66.9 points per game and is giving up 66.8 per contest. The Grizzlies make 5.9 3-pointers per game and average 13.0 assists and 5.8 steals per outing. They are second in the Big Sky Conference with a 64.4 free throw percentage.
 
Fifth-year senior F Martin Breunig is fifth in the Big Sky Conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game and third in the league in rebounding with an 8.8 average. His 61.5 shooting percentage is second in the Big Sky and he is second on the team with five blocked shots. Junior G Walter Wright is next in scoring at 10.6 points per game and he leads the team with 26 assists and 14 steals. Wright has made seven 3-pointers this season. Freshman G Michael Oguine scores 9.9 points per game and is also third on the team with 22 assists and a 5.1 rebound average. Oguine leads Montana with seven blocked shots. Junior G Brandon Gfeller leads the Grizzlies with 22 3-pointers made this season and is shooting a team-best 34.4 percent from beyond the arc. Gfeller is scoring 9.7 points per game. Sophomore F Fabijan Krslovic rounds out the Montana starters. He scores 5.8 points per contest and is second on the team with a 5.7 rebound average.
 
Freshman G Bobby Moorehead (5.4 ppg), junior F Jack Lopez (4.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg), redshirt freshman C Bryden Boehning (1.8 ppg) and redshirt junior G Riley Bradshaw (1.1 ppg) round out the Montana regulars. Junior G Mario Dunn, the starting point guard in 2014-15, is recovering from an off-season wrist injury and may be back for the Kansas contest.
 
The Series
Kansas is 1-0 all-time against Montana with a 68-56 win on Dec. 1, 1962 in Allen Fieldhouse. The game was the season opener for KU and the Jayhawks were led by sophomore C Geogre Unseld who recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Senior G Nolen Ellison scored 14 points for the Jayhawks who led 36-22 at halftime. Kansas is 16-0 all-time against current membership of the Big Sky Conference and is facing its second Big Sky opponent this season. KU defeated Northern Colorado, 109-72, in the season opener on Nov. 13. Kansas is 4-0 vs. Northern Arizona, 3-0 vs. North Dakota, 2-0 vs. Northern Colorado and Idaho and 1-0 vs. Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State and Portland State.
 
Kansas Notables

  • Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (90.0) and field goal percentage (.522). The Jayhawks also rank in the upper half in the league in scoring margin (fourth at +21.7), 3-point field goal percentage (second at 46.9), 3-point field goals made (second at 9.3). rebounding defense (third at 32.0), assists (second at 19.1), turnover margin (second at +4.7), steals (third at 8.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.6).
  • Kansas has outshot seven of eight opponents this season. The Jayhawks have also outrebounded six of eight foes.
  • Out of its eight victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more points in six of those wins.
  • The KU bench is averaging 30.3 points per game in 2015-16, compared to 23.4 by its opponents. KU’s bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in six of nine games this season.
  • KU has made eight or more 3-pointers in six of nine games this season. KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers four times, including 15 threes vs. Northern Colorado (11/13) and Chaminade (11/23), which were one off the school record.
  • Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game at 3.3 and 3-point field goal percentage at 60.0 percent. He has made three or more 3-pointers in seven games this season.
  • Selden has shot 50 percent or higher from beyond the arc eight times this season.
  • In the last four games, sophomore G Devonte’ Graham has a 15-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while junior G Frank Mason III has a 21-7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Combined, the two guards have posted a 36-8 assist-to-turnover ratio for 4.38, while averaging 15.5 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Additionally, the two have 21 steals in the last four games – Mason 11 and Graham 10.
  • Mason has led KU in assists in each of the last seven games and eight of nine games this season.
  • Senior F Perry Ellis has led KU in rebounds in four of the last six games. Ellis has shot 50 percent or better in six games this season. He has two 20-point efforts this season and 15 for his career.
  • Sophomore G Svi Mykhailiuk has made at least one 3-pointer in seven of nine games and multiple threes in two contests. His six threes versus Chaminade (11/23) were a career high.
  • Senior F Hunter Mickelson has multiple blocked shots in three of his last four games. He had two swats against Oregon State (12/12) to go along with seven points and six rebounds.
  • Freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. is 6-for-10 (60.0 percent) from the field in his last two games.
     
    In the Polls
    Kansas is ranked No. 2 by the Associated Press and No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls released Dec. 14. Being ranked No. 2 on Dec. 7 marked the highest AP ranking for KU since it was No. 2 early in the 2013-14 season. KU has been ranked in each of the last 129 AP polls which is the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I behind Duke’s 161. The last time Kansas was not ranked by AP was during the 2008-09 season.
     
    Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 215 weeks, which includes 153 weeks in the Top 10 and 86 times in the Top 5. In the coaches’ poll, under Self, Kansas has been ranked 228 times with 166 in the top 10 and 100 in the top five.
     
    Kansas entered the 2015-16 season ranked No. 4 by AP and No. 5 in the coaches’ polls. This season’s AP poll is the highest ranking for the Jayhawks since 2009-10 when they entered the season No. 1 in the country. The preseason ranking is the 10th time in the Bill Self era that the Jayhawks enter the season slotted seventh or higher, including each of the last four seasons – No. 5 in 2015-16 and 2014-15, No. 6 in 2013-14, and No. 7 in 2012-13.
     
    Last season, KU entered the year No. 5 nationally in the coaches’ poll and ended up No. 17. The Jayhawks were ranked in the top 10 in 12 times during the 2014-15 season.
     
    Grab Your Sweater and Be a Part of History Dec. 19
    Kansas Athletics will attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the “largest gathering of people wearing holiday sweaters.” at the men’s basketball game against Montana on Dec. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (Central).
     
    The current record is 1,175 people and was set December 10, 2014 at Loughborough University in Loughborough, United Kingdom. In preparation for the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® record attempt, Kansas Athletics has designed a special Kansas Basketball holiday sweater for the occasion. The sweaters are available to purchase at several retailers throughout the state and online.
     
    A holiday sweater is defined by having long sleeves and at least one holiday themed item on it (i.e. reindeer, trees, snowman, peppermint candies, lights, etc.). Fans are encouraged to wear their “ugly” holiday sweaters to the Dec. 19 game and help Kansas Athletics make history, while also getting into the holiday spirit.
     
    Rules for participation in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® record attempt are as follows:
  • Wear your store bought or homemade ugly holiday sweater to the game
  • Get an “Official Participation” ticket from a staff member as you enter (1 per person).
  • Hold onto your ticket, don’t lose it.
  • The Official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® attempt: 1st half 15:00-10:00 minute mark
  • During these 5 minutes if you are wearing a sweater you must remain in your seat with your sweater on. (If you leave or take your sweater off you will be disqualified from the attempt).
  • At the end of the 5 minutes, stewards will be asking you to rip off the ticket stub from your “Official Participation” ticket and pass it to the aisle.
     
    UP NEXT
    Kansas will travel to San Diego State to face the Aztecs on Dec. 22, with tip-off slated for 10 p.m. (Central). The game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. Kansas will come back home for its final game of the 2015 calendar year, as the Jayhawks host UC Irvine on Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. (Central), on ESPNU. KU, 11-time defending Big 12 regular-season champion, will then open conference play when it hosts Baylor on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 3 p.m., on CBS.
     
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