KU Men's Basketball to Take on Yale Wednesday

Jan. 3, 2006

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Kansas opens 2006 Wednesday when it hosts Ivy League foe Yale at 7 p.m. on Jayhawk TV. The Jayhawks are 7-4 and take a four-game winning streak into tonight’s contest. KU has won seven or more of its first 11 games for the past 23 seasons. Yale (7-6) is nearing the end of a six-game stretch away from home. The Bulldogs bring a two-game winning streak into Lawrence after their 70-67 win at Rice on Monday.

About Kansas
Kansas concluded the 2005 calendar year by winning four straight and five of its last six games. The Jayhawks take a 7-4 record into tonight’s game. KU is outscoring its opponents 74.4 to 60.2 and holds a plus-5.4 rebounding margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 35.5 percent and blocked shots at seven per game. Kansas features three players who are averaging 10-plus points per game. Freshman Brandon Rush leads KU at 12.2 points per contest. Rush also leads the team with 15 three-point field goals this season. Sophomore center Sasha Kaun is next in scoring at 10.8 points per game and leads KU in rebounding with 6.8 per contest — good for 11th in the Big 12. Sophomore forward Darnell Jackson is scoring 10 points per outing for the Jayhawks. Sophomore center C.J. Giles leads KU with 26 blocked shots – second in the league – and his 6.7 rebounds per game are 12th in the conference. Freshman Mario Chalmers averages 2.3 steals per contest — third in the Big 12 — and senior Jeff Hawkins leads the team in assists with an average of 3.2 per outing — 14th in the league.

About Yale
Yale is 7-6 on the season after its 70-67 win at Rice on Monday. The Bulldogs concluded the 2005 calendar year by winning the consolation game of the Flint Hills Islanders Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas, with a 96-67 win against Savannah State and have won two straight. The Kansas contest will mark the fifth straight and ninth road game of the season for Yale. Junior forward Sam Kaplan leads Yale in scoring with 13 points per game. Senior center Dominick Martin is next in scoring at 12.3 points in six outings. He became eligible at the semester. Sophomore guard Eric Flato is next in scoring with a 10.5 average. Junior guard/forward Casey Hughes is scoring 8.9 points per contest and leads Yale in rebounds with an 7.9 average.

The Series
Kansas won the only meeting with Yale in men’s basketball with a 63-54 win in Lawrence on December 19, 1975. Leavenworth, Kan., sophomore Clint Johnson led the Jayhawks with 19 points and 10 rebounds. KU sophomore Ken Koenigs added 18 points and sophomore Milt Gibson had 10 points as KU overcame a 24-20 halftime deficit. Kansas is 9-0 all-time against teams from the Ivy League.

Up Next
Kansas concludes its four game home stand when it hosts nationally-ranked Kentucky to close out its non-conference schedule on Jan. 7. The game from will be televised live from Allen Fieldhouse on ESPN with an 11 a.m. (Central) start. KU will start its Big 12 title defense at Colorado on Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. (Central) and return home to play Kansas State Jan. 14 at 12:45 p.m.