Jayhawks to Host Sooners on ESPN Big Monday

Jayhawks Host Sooners on ESPN Big Monday
No. 1/2 Kansas (12-1, 1-0) continues Big 12 play when it plays host to No. 2/1 Oklahoma (12-0, 1-0) on ESPN Big Monday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m. (Central). Kansas won its unprecedented 25th consecutive league opener with a 102-74 victory against Baylor Jan. 2. Oklahoma is one of three teams in NCAA Division I that is undefeated along with SMU and South Carolina. The Sooners defeated No. 11/9 Iowa State, 87-83, Jan. 2 in Norman.
 
With top-ranked Michigan State losing last week at Iowa, this could likely have No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. In the Associated Press poll, the last time a No. 1 faced a No. 2 was on Nov. 12, 2013 when No. 2 Michigan State defeated No. 1 Kentucky, 78-74, in Chicago. There have been nine 1 vs. 2 matchups involving teams from the same conference. The last was Feb. 25, 2007 when No. 2 Ohio State defeated No. 1 Wisconsin, 49-48, in Columbus, Ohio. Two of the nine were in the Big Eight a month apart. March 10, 1990 in Big Eight tournament semifinals: No. 1 Oklahoma 95, No. 2 Kansas 77 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City and on Feb. 13, 1990 No. 2 Missouri 77, No. 1 Kansas 71, at Lawrence, Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
ABOUT KANSAS
The Jayhawks rank third in nation in scoring at 88.3 points per game. Kansas is second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.0 percent. KU is also third nationally in scoring margin at +23.3 and fifth in field goal percentage at 51.6 percent. KU pulls down an average of 37.6 rebounds per game, which helps give the Jayhawks a +5.9 rebounding margin. The Jayhawks also average 18.6 assists, which stands 13th nationally, 8.5 steals and 4.4 blocked shots per contest.
 
Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. is coming off a 24-point performance against Baylor (1/2) where he was 5-for-6 from 3-point range. Selden leads KU with a 15.5 scoring average which is fifth in the Big 12. He leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 55.4 percent and is second in the conference with 2.8 3-pointers made per game. Senior F Perry Ellis scored 17 points and had six rebounds against Baylor (1/2) and is averaging 15.2 points per game, which is sixth in the Big 12. Ellis leads KU and is 10th in the league with a 6.2 rebound average. Junior G Frank Mason III has 28 assists and six turnovers in his last five games. He scores 13.1 points per contest and averages 4.0 rebounds per outing. Mason’s 23 steals are second most on the team behind sophomore G Devonte’ Graham’s 25. Mason is tied for seventh in the Big 12 in steals per game at 1.8 and his 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio is 12th in NCAA Division I. Graham is fifth in the conference at 1.9 steals per game. He averages 10.5 points per contest and is second in the Big 12, sixth nationally, in assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.0. Senior F Hunter Mickelson (3.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, team-high 19 blocked shots) rounds out the KU starters. He is coming off a seven-point, six-rebound and three-blocked shot performance against Baylor (1/2).
 
Junior G Brannen Greene is a 3-point specialist who scores 8.9 points per game. He is 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from beyond the arc this season. Senior F Jamari Traylor (3.3 ppg, 3.7 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 4.7 rebound average. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is third on the team with 15 3-pointers made this season, helping him average 6.8 points per game. Freshman F Cheick Diallo scores an average of 6.1 points per contest, grabs 3.0 rebounds. Freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. (4.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg) rounds out the KU regulars.
 
About Oklahoma
Located in Norman, Oklahoma, with an enrollment of 30,813, No. 3/2 Oklahoma is one of three teams undefeated in NCAA Division I with SMU (13-0) and South Carolina (13-0). The Sooner are coached by Lon Kruger who is 94-49 in his fifth season at OU and 573-353 in his 30th season overall. OU is sixth nationally in scoring at 87.0 points per game. The Sooners’ +19.5 scoring margin is sixth in NCAA Division I. OU leads the nation in defensive rebounds at 32.3 and its 43.6 boards per game are sixth nationally. Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in rebounding (43.5), field goal percentage defense (37.0) and 3-point field goals made (10.1). It’s 45.3 3-point field goal percentage is third in the nation behind St. Mary’s (Calif.) at 46.0 percent and Kansas at 46.0 percent.
 
Senior G Buddy Hield leads the Big 12 and is fourth nationally in scoring at 24.7 points per game. He has four 30-point efforts this season and is third on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game. Hield leads the Big 12 with 3.3 3-pointers made per game and his 49.4 3-point field goal percentage is sixth nationally. Hield’s 90.5 free throw percentage is second in the league. Junior G Jordan Woodard is next in scoring at 13.9 points per game and he makes 2.2 3-pointers per contest. He is third in the Big 12 in free throw percentage at 89.7 percent. Senior G Isaiah Cousins scores 13.3 points per game and leads OU with 4.8 assists per contest, which is fifth in the Big 12. He pulls down 4.5 rebounds per game and has made 24 3-pointers. Senior F Ryan Spangler is one of four Big 12 student-athletes averaging a double-double with 11.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds. His 10.2 boards per contest are second in the Big 12 and 19th nationally. Spangler is third in the conference with a 60.5 field goal percentage. Sophomore F Khadeem Lattin (5.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 19 blocked shots) rounds out the OU starters. Other OU regulars include senior G Domjiyl Walker (4.8 ppg), freshman G Christian James (3.2 ppg) and junior C Akolda Manyang (4.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg) who leads OU with 21 blocked shots in 2015-16.
 
The Series
The series between Kansas and Oklahoma dates back to 1920 when both schools were members of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Kansas leads, 142-66. Since 2006, the Jayhawks have won 13 of the last 15 meetings against the Sooners. The two teams split last year’s clashes with both winning home contests. Kansas is 72-16 against Oklahoma in games played in Lawrence and 45-7 inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks have defeated the Sooners 14-straight times in Allen Fieldhouse beginning Jan. 10, 1994. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, Kansas is 21-6 against Oklahoma; 19-4 in regular-season play and 2-2 in the Big 12 Championship. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 14-5 all-time against Oklahoma, including 14-3 while at KU. Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger is 7-16 versus Kansas, 2-6 while at OU.

The most historic game in the series came during the 1998 NCAA title game, when Kansas defeated Oklahoma, 83-79, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.
 
Kansas Notables
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (88.3), field goal percentage (.516) and 3-point field goal percentage (46.0). The Jayhawks also rank in the top three in the league in scoring margin (second at +23.3), 3-point field goals made (second at 8.8), assists (second at 18.6), turnover margin (second at +4.7), rebounding defense (third at 31.7), steals (third at 8.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (second at 1.7).
• Out of its 12 victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more points in 10 of those wins. Five of those wins have been by 30 points or more.
• Kansas has outshot 12 of 13 opponents this season. The Jayhawks have also outrebounded 10 of 13 foes.
• Kansas has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range in 10 of its last 11 games.
• The KU bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in nine of 13 games this season.
• Kansas dished out 20 assists with just seven turnovers against Baylor (1/2) to mark the third straight game KU has fewer than 10 turnovers.
• KU has made seven or more three-pointers in 10 of 13 games this season. With its 11 against Baylor (1/2), KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers five times, including 15 threes vs. Northern Colorado (11/13) and Chaminade (11/23), which were one off the school record.
• In his last four games, senior F Perry Ellis is 4-for-6 from 3-point range, 21-for-22 from the free throw line and averaging 17.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. He has just missed back-to-back-to-back double-doubles with 13 points and nine rebounds against Oregon State (12/12) and 18 points, nine boards versus Montana (12/19) and nine boards vs. UC Irvine (12/29). Ellis has shot 50 percent or better in 10 games this season.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. is first the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 55.4 percent and is second in the conference in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.8. He has made three or more 3-pointers in eight games this season and has shot 50 percent or higher from beyond the arc 10 times this season.
• In the last six games, sophomore G Devonte’ Graham has a 21-3 assist-to-turnover ratio (7.0), while junior G Frank Mason III has a 33-8 assist-to-turnover ratio (4.1) for a combined 4.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. Additionally, the two have 19 steals in the last five games – Graham 11 and Mason eight.
• Mason has led KU in assists in each of the last 11 games and 12 of 13 games this season.
• Senior F Hunter Mickelson has as least one blocked shot in seven of his last eight games and has multiple swats in four of his last six contests. He had a team-high three blocked shots against Baylor (1/2).
 
In the Polls
Kansas is ranked No. 2 by the Associated Press and No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls released Dec. 28. 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 131 AP polls which is the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I behind Duke’s 163. The last time Kansas was not ranked by AP was during the 2008-09 season.
 
Under coach Bill Self, Kansas has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 217 weeks, which includes 155 weeks in the Top 10 and 88 times in the Top 5. In the coaches’ poll, under Self, Kansas has been ranked 230 times with 168 in the top 10 and 102 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.
 
Kansas vs. Ranked Teams
Including Kansas, there are five Big 12 teams ranked in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls released Dec. 28. Oklahoma will be the second-straight ranked foe KU will face as the Jayhawks defeated No. 23/21 Baylor, 102-74, Jan. 2. This season, KU is 2-1 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 and Baylor Jan. 2.
 
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.
 
If it Happens
The last time Kansas was ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press was Feb. 14, 2011, and no current Jayhawks were on the 2010-11 roster. KU held No. 1 for only one week falling at Kansas State, 84-68, on Feb. 14. In the Bill Self era, KU has been ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press 20 times overall. The Jayhawks held the No. 1 spot from the start of the 2009-10 season for nine-straight weeks.
 
Historically, Kansas is 15-9 as an Associated Press No. 1 team against ranked foes, including 5-2 under head coach Bill Self.
 
Should Oklahoma enter Monday’s game No. 2, this would be only the second time Allen Fieldhouse has hosted a No. 1 vs. No. 2 with the other on Feb. 13, 1990, when No. 2 Missouri defeated No. 1 Kansas, 77-71. That season, three Big Eight schools – Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri – held the AP No. 1 ranking for 10 weeks.
 
Kansas on ESPN Big Monday
For the 10th-straight season, the Kansas men’s basketball team will make four appearances on ESPN’s Big Monday, with its first versus Oklahoma on Jan. 4. In the Big 12 era, Kansas and Oklahoma have faced each other on ESPN’s Big Monday nine times. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97, Kansas is 54-19 all-time on ESPN’s Big Monday (31-1 at home, 23-18 on the road), including 35-11 under head coach Bill Self . Additionally, KU has won 24-straight Big Monday games in Allen Fieldhouse, which includes a 20-0 mark under Self.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Since his arrival at KU, Bill Self is 196-9 in games played at Allen Fieldhouse for a 95.6 winning percentage, which includes five undefeated home seasons. Self’s Big 12 conference titles (11) are more than his home losses while at Kansas (9). Included was a school-record 69-game home-court winning streak which led the nation for more than two seasons and ranks 11th all-time in the NCAA records book as well as a 33-game home-court winning streak that ended Feb. 2, 2013, tied for fourth-most in KU history. Kansas is 143-3 in Allen Fieldhouse in its last 146 games. Kansas is 735-109 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Up Next
Kansas will travel to Texas Tech on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. on ESPNU and then at West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. The Jayhawks return home to host TCU on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m.
 
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