Top-Ranked Jayhawks Head to West Virginia Tuesday in Men’s Hoops

KU Continues Road Swing at West Virginia
It’s a battle of the league play unbeaten teams as No. 1/1 Kansas (14-1, 3-0) heads to No. 11/10 West Virginia (14-1, 3-0) Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2 at WVU Coliseum. Kansas won its 13th-consecutive game with a 69-59 win at Texas Tech on Jan. 9. West Virginia won its seventh-straight game with a 77-60 home victory against Oklahoma State, also on Jan. 9.
 
Historically, Kansas is 3-0 in Big 12 play for the 19th time in the 20-year history of the conference. The only non-3-0 league record for KU was a 1-0 start in 2005-06. Kansas is the only league team to have posted an undefeated Big 12 record going 16-0 in 2001-02.
 
About Kansas
Ranked No. 1 for the 22nd week (Jan. 11) under head coach Bill Self, Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring at 88.4 points per game. The Jayhawks also lead the league in field goal percentage at 50.1 percent and are second in scoring margin at +22.6. KU pulls down an average of 39.4 rebounds per game, which helps give the Jayhawks a +6.5 rebounding margin. The Jayhawks also average 18.1 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.3 blocked shots per contest.
 
Senior F Perry Ellis is coming off back-to-back double-doubles of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds at Texas Tech (1/9). Earlier in the week he had season highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds against Oklahoma (1/4). Ellis is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top six in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg). His scoring average is fourth in the conference and is rebounds are sixth. Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. has four 20-point efforts this season and his 15.5 points per game are sixth in the Big 12. Selden is second in the league with 2.7 3-pointers made per game and fourth with a 50.6 3-point field goal shooting percentage. Junior G Frank Mason III is coming off his second career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds at Texas Tech (1/9). He is scoring 13.5 points per game which is tied for 12th in the Big 12 and is third in the league with a 5.5 assist average and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.5. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham had a career-high 22 points versus Oklahoma (1/4) and is scoring 10.8 points per game. Graham and Mason is tied for the team lead with 27 steals and their 1.8 average are tied for sixth in the Big 12. Senior F Hunter Mickelson rounds out the KU starters, averaging 3.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and a team-high 19 blocked shots.
 
Junior G Brannen Greene is a 3-point specialist who scores 8.3 points per game off the bench. He is 17-for-27 (63.0 percent) from beyond the arc this season. Senior F Jamari Traylor (3.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg) has started seven games in 2015-16. Junior F Landen Lucas scores 4.8 points per game and is second on the team with a 4.8 rebound average. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is third on the team with 18 3-pointers made this season, helping him average 6.5 points per game. Freshman F Cheick Diallo scores an average of 4.9 points per contest and grabs 2.6 rebounds. Freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. (4.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) rounds out the KU regulars.
 
About West Virginia
Located in Morgantown, West Virginia, with an enrollment of 32,348, No. 11/10 West Virginia is 14-1 on the season and 3-0 in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers are coach by Bob Huggins who is 189-102 in his ninth season at his alma mater and 779-313 in his 34th season overall. WVU is 7-0 at home this season. West Virginia leads the Big 12 in scoring margin at +22.6 and averages 86.0 points per game, which is third in the league. The Mountaineers also lead the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 25.4 percent, rebounding defense at 29.5, rebound margin at +11.8, steals at 11.3 and turnover margin at +6.3. WVU averages 41.3 rebounds, 17.1 assists and 2.6 blocked shots per game.
 
Junior F Devin Williams leads West Virginia in scoring at 14.5 points per game and rebounding with an 8.6 average, which is fourth in the Big 12. Sophomore G Jevon Carter is second on the team in scoring at 12.7. Carter leads the team with 49 assists and his 2.0 steals per game are fourth in the Big 12. He is tied for the team lead with 25 3-pointers made this season with senior Jaysean Paige who comes off the bench for WVU. Paige scores 12.6 points per contest and makes 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore G Daxter Miles Jr. is a starter who scores 12.1 points per game and is third in the Big 12 with a 2.1 steal average. Senior F Jonathan Holton is second on the team with a 7.3 rebound average which is fifth in the Big 12. Holton scores 9.7 points per game. Freshman F Esa Ahmad is a starter who averages 4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. Other WVU regulars include junior G Tarik Phillip (7.7 ppg), sophomore F Elijah Macon (6.4 ppg) and junior G Teyvon Myers (2.3 ppg). Phillip is tied with Carter for the team lead with 49 assists in 2015-16 and his 1.9 steals per game are fifth in the Big 12.
 
The Series
Kansas and West Virginia are meeting for the seventh time in men’s basketball with the Jayhawks owning a 4-2 series advantage, however, the Mountaineers have won two of the last three meetings with both of those in Morgantown: 92-86, on March 8, 2014 and 62-61 on Feb. 16, 2015. WVU is 2-1 against Kansas in WVU Coliseum. KU won the first three meetings: 61-56 on Jan. 28, 2013, in Morgantown; 91-56 on March 2, 2013, in Allen Fieldhouse; and 83-69 on Feb. 8, 2014, in Allen Fieldhouse. Last year’s second meeting between the Jayhawks and Mountaineers was a KU 76-69 overtime win in Allen Fieldhouse on March 3, 2015. KU head coach Bill Self is 4-2 against West Virginia, while WVU’s Bob Huggins is 2-8 all-time versus Kansas (2-4 while at WVU).
 
Kansas Notables
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (88.4) and field goal percentage (.501). The Jayhawks also rank in the top three in the league in scoring margin (second at +21.1), 3-point field goals made (second at 9.0), assists (second at 18.1), turnover margin (second at +3.8), rebounding defense (third at 32.9), steals (second at 8.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.6).
• Out of its 14 victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more points in 11 of those wins. Five of those wins have been by 30 points or more.
• Kansas has outshot 14 of 15 opponents this season. The Jayhawks have also outrebounded 12 of 15 foes. KU’s +16 rebound margin at Texas Tech (1/9) was its third widest of the season.
• Kansas has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range in 12 of its last 13 games. KU is 31-for-63 (49.2 percent) from beyond the arc in its last three games.
• Kansas shot 87.5 percent at the free throw line (14-for-16) at Texas Tech (1/9). The Jayhawks have shot 75 percent or better at the charity stripe for six consecutive games.
• The KU bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in 10 of 15 games this season.
• KU has made seven or more three-pointers in 12 of 15 games this season. With its 11 against Baylor (1/2) and Oklahoma (1/4), KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers six times, including 15 threes vs. Northern Colorado (11/13) and Chaminade (11/23), which were one off the school record.
• In his last six games, senior F Perry Ellis is 7-for-10 (70.0 percent) from 3-point range, 24-for-26 from the free throw line and averaging 18.5 points and 8.3 rebounds. Included are back-to-back double-doubles.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. is second the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.7 and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage at .506. He has made nine 3-pointers in his last three games with five versus Baylor (1/2), three against Oklahoma (1/4) and one at Texas Tech (1/9).
• Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is fourth in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.6, while junior Frank Mason III is fifth at 3.5 and Selden is 10th at 2.1. Kansas is the only in Big 12 school to have three ranked in the top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• In his last two games, Mason is averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest. He has led KU in assists in each of the last 13 games, including ties, and 14 of 15 games this season.
 
Kansas Milestones
• With 1,397 career points, senior F Perry Ellis is three points shy of becoming the 24th Jayhawk to reach the 1,400 point plateau. Last week, Ellis became the 16th player in KU history to reach 700 career rebounds, currently 16th at 715. Ellis is on pace to become the eighth player in KU history to rank in the top 15 in both career points and career rebounds: Danny Manning (2,951 points/1,187 rebounds), Nick Collison (2,097 points/1,143 rebounds), Raef LaFrentz (2,066 points/1,186 rebounds), Clyde Lovellette (1,979 points/839 rebounds), Dave Robisch (1,754 points/815 rebounds), Mark Randall (1,627 points/723 rebounds) and Wayne Simien (1,593 points/884 rebounds).
• Ellis is 14th on the KU all-time double-doubles list with 15.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. has scored 911 points and will most likely become the 57th Jayhawk to reach the 1,000-point plateau later this season. Selden already ranks 16th on the KU career 3-pointers made list at 128 and 17th on the 3-pointers attempted list at 333.
• Junior G Frank Mason is also approaching two milestones with 297 career assists and 95 steals.
 
Kansas vs. Ranked Teams
West Virginia will be the fifth ranked opponent Kansas will face in 2015-16 and the third in the past four games. The Jan. 4 ESPN Big Monday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 game vs. Oklahoma was the second-straight ranked foe KU faced as the Jayhawks defeated then-No. 23/21 Baylor, 102-74, Jan. 2. This season, KU is 3-1 against ranked foes; falling to then-No. 13 Michigan State, 79-73, in the Champions Classic on Nov. 17 and defeating then-No. 19/16 Vanderbilt, 70-63, in the title game of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25, Baylor Jan. 2 and OU, 109-106 in 3OT on Jan. 4.
 
In 2014-15, KU set some milestones against ranked foes. KU went 10-6 against Associated Press nationally-ranked teams at tip. The 10 wins were the most in a season for Kansas, surpassing the 9-1 record in the 1996-97 season. The 16 games versus AP-ranked foes were also the most in KU history. The previous high was 12 battles versus ranked foes in three different seasons (1994-95, 2002-03 and 2011-12). Prior to 2015-16, in each of the last five seasons, the Jayhawks have a winning record versus AP-ranked opponents, which included a 7-3 mark in 2013-14. Since the 2009-10 season, KU is 41-18 against AP-ranked teams.
 
Ellis Named to Lute Olson Award Mid-Season Watch List
On Jan. 7, senior F Perry Ellis was one of 30 men’s basketball student-athletes named to the Lute Olson Award Mid-Season Watch List by Collegeinsider.com. Last season Ellis was a Lute Olson Award finalist (1 of 25). Former KU standout Sherron Collins won the inaugural Lute Olson Award following the 2009-10 season.
 
Up Next
Kansas returns home to host TCU on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m., on ESPN and the Jayhawks will then travel to Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m., on ESPN2. KU will host Texas on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. and head to Iowa State Jan. 25 for an ESPN Big Monday battle on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.
 
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