No. 6 Kansas Takes Eight-Game Winning Streak to Iowa State Saturday

Jan. 12, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

A winning streak will end Saturday in Ames, Iowa, as No. 6 Kansas (14-2, 1-0) takes an eight-game winning streak to Iowa State (11-5, 2-0), which has won four straight. KU is coming off an 87-57 win against No. 9 Oklahoma State on Wednesday. Iowa State defeated Nebraska 71-62 in its home Big 12 opener that same night.

About Kansas
The No. 6 Jayhawks enter the weekend 14-2 (1-0 Big 12), and average 77.6 points per game while giving up 57.8. KU is shooting 49 percent from the field and holding opponents to 36.8 percent. On the boards, KU is outrebounding foes 39.2 to 32.4. During the eight-game winning streak, Kansas is outscoring foes by an average of 20.7 points per game, outshooting them 49.7 percent to 36.8 percent and averaging 8.7 blocked shots per win. Sophomore preseason All-American Brandon Rush leads the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game and 28 three-pointers made. He is second on the team with a 5.4 rebound average. Sophomore Mario Chalmers is next in scoring at 12.4 points per game and leads KU in steals with 49 and is second in assists with 58. Freshman reserve Darrell Arthur is scoring 11.6 points per game and his 33 blocked shots are tops among the Jayhawks. Sophomore forward Julian Wright is fourth in the Big 12 in rebounding at 7.9 boards per contest to go along with his 11.6 scoring average. Juniors Russell Robinson and Sasha Kaun round out the KU starters; both are scoring 6.2 points per game. Robinson leads the team in assists with 75, while Kaun is second on the squad with a 55.9 shooting percentage. Junior Darnell Jackson leads the team in shooting at 62.1 percent to go along with his 6.4 scoring average. Freshman reserve guard Sherron Collins is scoring 7.6 points per game. He is making 42.6 percent of his three-pointers.

About Iowa State
Like Kansas, Iowa State (11-5, 2-0) is riding a winning streak. The Cyclones have won four straight, including two conference victories at Missouri and versus Nebraska. The Cyclones are scoring 67.8 points per game and giving up 63.6. They are outrebounding foes 37.9 to 32.2. Junior guard Mike Taylor leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game, assists with 71 and three pointers with 44. He is making a team-best 43.6 percent from beyond the arc. Freshman forward Wesley Johnson is next in scoring at 12.1 points per contest. He leads the team in rebounding at 8.9 boards per outing and in blocked shots with 20. Sophomore center Jiri Hubalek is averaging at 9.5 points followed by sophomore Rahshon Clark at 8.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Corey McIntosh rounds out the starters with a 4.6 ppg average and is second on the team with 43 assists.

The Series
Dating back to 1908, Kansas leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 160-58, yet recent history shows the KU-ISU clashes to be much more competitive. Last year’s series sweep of Iowa State by KU was the first in three seasons. Since 1999, KU has a 9-7 edge over the Cyclones. Four of the last six meetings have been decided by seven points or less with two of those going into overtime – both in Lawrence. Including season sweeps, the visiting team has claimed at least one victory seven times in the last seven seasons – dating back to 2000. Last year, Kansas came away with a 95-85 win in Ames and an 88-75 victory in Lawrence. Iowa State holds a slight 18-16 advantage in games played in Hilton Coliseum, yet Kansas has won the last two and four of the last five in the building. KU holds a 13-7 edge against Iowa State in Big 12 league play and a 15-7 mark since the inception of the conference.

Up Next
Kansas concludes its four games in nine days when it returns home to face Border Showdown foe Missouri on ESPN’s Big Monday. Tip is set for 8 p.m. from Allen Fieldhouse. KU will then travel to Texas Tech to face the Red Raiders on Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. That contest from the United Spirit Arena will be televised by ESPN.