Kansas Men's Basketball Hits Road to Take on Kansas State
Feb. 8, 2005
Kansas (18-1, 8-0) concludes its two-game road trip in Manhattan, Kan., to face the Kansas State Wildcats (13-6, 3-5) Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. on ESPN Regional TV. The Jayhawks won their fifth straight Big 12 road game at Nebraska Saturday 78-65 behind a career-high tying 27 points from senior Keith Langford. KU has won four straight heading into the K-State contest. Kansas State is looking to rebound from a 70-60 loss to Colorado Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
About Kansas
Kansas remains undefeated halfway through the Big 12 season at 8-0 and is at least two games ahead of Big Monday’s winner Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. KU’s seniors combined for 61 of KU’s 78 points in the 78-65 win at Nebraska Saturday. Kansas’ 18-1 record is the best 19-game mark in school history since the 1996-97 team went 22-1. The margin of victory gave KU its fourth straight game of double-figure wins. Additionally, KU has averaged 20.5 assists during its current four-game winning streak. Named to the Midseason Wooden Award watch list, senior Wayne Simien leads KU in scoring at 18 points per game, including 19 ppg in Big 12 play. The Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year recorded his eighth double-double of the season at Nebraska with 18 points and 14 rebounds and has averaged 21.3 points in his last four games. Also named to the Midseason Wooden Award watch list is senior Keith Langford who is averaging 15.3 ppg. Langford tied his career high with 27 points in the win at Nebraska. Sophomore J.R. Giddens is next in scoring and has made multiple three-pointers in six of his last eight games and is averaging 9.9 ppg. His 4.8 rebounds per game in league play are second on the team. Senior Aaron Miles has crushed every KU and Big 12 assists record and is averaging a league-best 7.3 assists per game. He is the nation’s active leading career assists leader at 877 and is averaging 8.9 ppg. Junior Christian Moody is another starter who is averaging 6.2 ppg and is second on the team with 4.9 rpg. Moody has pulled down six or more rebounds eight times this season including the last two outings.
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
Kansas coach Bill Self is 42-10 in his second season at KU and 249-115 in his 12th season overall. Last year, KU posted a 24-9 record and finished tied for second in the Big 12 race at 12-4. KU advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, falling to Georgia Tech in overtime, 79-71. Self’s 24 victories tied Dick Harp for the most wins by a KU coach in his debut season at Kansas. Prior to KU, Self led Illinois to two Big Ten titles and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Before Illinois, he guided Tulsa to two WAC championships in 1999 and 2000 and was The Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 2000. A four-time Naismith Coach of the Year Award finalist, Self began his coaching career at KU in 1985-86 and was an assistant at his alma mater – Oklahoma State – from 1986 until 1993. His first head coaching stint was at Oral Roberts where he guided the Golden Eagles to the NIT in 1996-97, their first postseason appearance since 1983-84. Self is 3-0 against Kansas State, including 2-0 while at KU.
About Kansas State
Kansas State (13-6, 3-5) is looking to snap its longest losing streak of the season when KU comes to Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats have lost their last two outings at Oklahoma State last Wednesday (77-57) and against Colorado Saturday (70-60). Four of K-State’s losses have been by six points or less. The Wildcats are 11-3 at home this season and average 69.4 points per game while giving up 64.1 ppg. Senior Jeremiah Massey leads KSU at 17.3 ppg and 6.4 rpg. Massey is making 50 percent of his field goals and 80.8 percent of his free throws. Sophomore Fred Peete is next in scoring at 13.4 ppg. He leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game. Sophomore Cartier Martin is averaging 11.1 points and is tied with junior Marques Hayden for second in rebounds at 5.3 rpg. Hayden is averaging 6.8 ppg. Martin and sophomore Lance Harris are tied for the team-high with 30 three-point field goals made. Peete is next with 26.
Kansas State Head Coach Jim Wooldridge
Kansas State head coach Jim Wooldridge is in his fifth season at KSU with a record of 64-71. Last season Wooldridge guided K-State to a 12-4 home record which included an upset of No. 10 Texas in the regular season finale. Wooldridge is approaching his 300th career win as a head coach. He is in his 18th season overall with a 293-218 record.
Series History
Kansas leads the all-time series with Kansas State 167-88… KU has won 28 straight against KSU overall and 21 consecutive games in Manhattan… KU is 16-0 versus the Wildcats when playing in Bramlage Coliseum… KU coach Bill Self is 3-0 against the Wildcats, and Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge is 0-8 versus the Jayhawks… The last time K-State won in Manhattan was on Jan. 29, 1983, 58-57… The Jayhawks won the first-ever meeting with K-State, 54-39, on Jan. 25, 1907, in Lawrence.
Did You Know?
There are seven teams in the current rankings that Kansas has played or will play this season – No. 5 Kentucky, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 22 Villanova, No. 23 Texas, No. 24. Pacific and No. 25 Texas Tech (source: Associated Press poll). KU is currently 3-1 against those teams.
Up Next
Kansas returns home to face Colorado on Feb. 12 at 2:30 p.m. The game will air on ABC television. KU defeated Colorado 76-61 in Boulder, Colo., on Jan. 15. The Jayhawks will spend Valentine’s Day in Lubbock, Texas, when they take on Texas Tech next Monday, Feb. 14.
