Kansas Returns Home to Face Texas Tech on ESPN's Big Monday
Jan. 29, 2006
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Kansas (13-6, 4-2) brings a three-game winning streak back home to face Texas Tech (11-9, 3-3) in an ESPN Big Monday contest. The game will actually air on ESPN2 with an 8 p.m. (Central) tip. KU is coming off a two-game road victory swing which included wins at Texas A&M 83-73 last Wednesday and at Iowa State 95-85 Saturday. Texas Tech snapped a two-game losing streak with a 92-90 overtime win against Oklahoma State Saturday in Lubbock. The Red Raiders are 3-2 in their last five games.
About Kansas
After starting the Big 12 season 1-2, KU is now 4-2 – one-half game out of second and one game from first spot. Kansas is 10-2 in its last 12 games with a seven- and three-game winning streak in that span. The Jayhawks are 13-6 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play, which includes a 3-1 league road record. Kansas averages 77.3 points and is giving up 61.9 points per contest. In conference play the Jayhawks are scoring 81.7 points and yielding 70.5. Guard Brandon Rush continues to lead the Big 12 freshmen class in scoring at 14.1 ppg – 14th overall in the conference. Rush has joined sophomore center Sasha Kaun and sophomore forward Darnell Jackson as KU’s top rebounder with all three having a 5.7 rebound average – 14th in the league. Additionally, Rush leads the team in three-pointers made with 27 and his 52.4 field goal percentage is seventh in the Big 12. Freshman Mario Chalmers is next in scoring at 9.6 ppg and he is second in the Big 12 in steals at 2.68 and seventh in assists at 3.95. Kaun is averaging 9.2 points per game and is making 56.3 percent from the field. Sophomore Russell Robinson is scoring 9.1 ppg and he ranks among the Big 12 leaders in free throw percentage (third at 81 percent), steals (ninth at 1.84), assists (12th at 3.37) and assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth at 1.83). Kansas has shot 53 percent or better in its last four games and is averaging 90 points in that span.
About Texas Tech
Once again, Kansas will be facing one of the Big 12’s leading scorers in Texas Tech junior Jarrius Jackson. The guard is second in the Big 12 in scoring at 19.5 ppg and is second in the league in free throw percentage at 82.5. Jackson leads the team with steals (37), assists (58) and three-point field goals made with 41. Sophomore Martin Zeno is next in scoring at 16.5 — eighth in the Big 12 — and his 5.5 rebounds per game are 16th in the conference. At 11-9, 3-3 in Big 12 play, Tech leads the league in three-point field goal percentage at 39.. The Red Raiders average 70.7 points and give up 68.2 points per game. Tech opened the season 5-2 and is 6-7 in its last 13 outings.
The Coaches
Kansas coach Bill Self won his 60th game at KU Saturday at Iowa State. In his third season at KU, he is 60-22. Overall, Self is in his 13th season with a 267-127 mark. In 2004-05, Self won his fifth league title as a head coach in the past seven years with the other two being second-place finishes. He won two titles at Tulsa (1999, 2000), two at Illinois (2001, 2002) and a share of the Big 12 title at Kansas in 2005. A 1985 graduate of Oklahoma State University, Self recorded his 250th career win at Kansas State on Feb. 9, 2005. His win against Colorado last season marked his seventh straight 20-win season as a head coach and eighth overall. Self is 2-4 all-time against Texas Tech.
The NCAA Division I active wins leader with 865 victories, Bob Knight is in his fifth season at Texas Tech where he has amassed a 101-53 record. Knight is 865-342 overall in his 40th season as he is only the fourth coach in NCAA Division I history to win 800 career games. Knight has guided Texas Tech to four straight postseason tourneys – three NCAAs, one NIT. A three-time national coach of the year honoree while at Indiana (1975, 1976 and 1989), Knight is the last coach to post an undefeated season while guiding the Hoosiers to a 32-0 record in 1975-76.
The Series
Kansas leads the overall series with Texas Tech 15-2, which includes an 8-0 record in Allen Fieldhouse. The series dates back to 1959 as Kansas won the first nine meetings. As members of the Big 12, KU holds an 8-2 advantage – 7-2 in regular season and 1-0 in league tournament play. Texas Tech won last year’s meeting 80-79 in double overtime in Lubbock. Like this year’s contest, last year’s battle was on ESPN’s Big Monday.
Up Next
Kansas next plays host to nationally-ranked Oklahoma on Sunday, Feb. 5. The game will tip from Allen Fieldhouse at noon and will be televised on CBS. KU will then hit to road to Nebraska on Feb. 8. Tip time from the Devaney Center is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will air on Jayhawk TV. Kansas returns home to host Iowa State Feb. 11 at 3 p.m.
