Kansas Men's Basketball Hits Road for ESPN Big Monday Showdown at Texas Tech
Feb. 13, 2005
Tonight’s Game
No. 3 Kansas (20-1, 10-0) takes a six-game winning streak to Texas Tech (15-6, 7-3) for an ESPN Big Monday contest on Feb. 14. Tip from United Spirit Arena is set for 8 p.m. The Jayhawks won their 20th game of the season with an 89-60 victory against Colorado on Saturday. Texas Tech had its four-game winning streak snapped at Iowa State Saturday, falling to the Cyclones 81-68.
About Kansas
No. 3 Kansas has won 20 games for the past 16 seasons dating back to the 1989-90 season. Through Saturday, KU is one of 14 teams in NCAA Division I to have won 20 games. KU’s 20-1 record is the best since the 1996-97 team went 22-1. The Jayhawks are 10-0 in league play for the first time since the 2002 team went undefeated en route to the Big 12 title. Entering Sunday KU is one of seven teams that remain undefeated in their respective league race. Named to the Midseason Wooden Award watch list, senior Wayne Simien leads KU in scoring at 18.7 points per game, including 20.1 ppg in Big 12 play. The Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year recorded his third straight and 10th double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds against Colorado on Saturday. Simien has averaged 22.2 points and 10 rebounds in his last six games. Also named to the Midseason Wooden Award watch list is senior Keith Langford who is averaging 15.1 ppg overall and 16 in Big 12 play. Langford has averaged 21.7 points in his last three games and is shooting 58.1 percent (25-for-43) in that span. Sophomore J.R. Giddens is next in scoring at 10.9 ppg and has scored in double figures in six of his last seven outings. Giddens is averaging 2.7 three-point field goals per game in his last seven contests. He has made multiple three-pointers in eight of his last 10 games. 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 892, which is 14th all-time. Miles is coming off his highest league scoring game with 17 points against Colorado, and is averaging 8.9 ppg on the season. Junior Christian Moody is another starter who is averaging 6.1 ppg and is second on the team with 4.9 rpg. Moody has pulled down six or more rebounds nine times this season, which includes seven boards against Colorado on Saturday. He also had nine points against the Buffs.
About Texas Tech
Texas Tech has won four of its last five games and seven of its last nine. Both losses were on the road at Texas (80-73) on Jan. 25 and at Iowa State (81-68) on Saturday. Tech is 10-3 in since January 1. The Red Raiders are 11-1 at home this season with the lone loss to current No. 10 Oklahoma State (76-66) on Jan. 8. Tech is averaging a Big 12-leading 82.4 points and giving up 68.7 points per game. Senior guard Ronald Ross paces the Red Raiders with a 17.1 scoring average. Ross leads the team with 30 three-point field goals made and in steals with 54. He is also second on the team with 4.8 rebounds per contest. Sophomore Jarrius Jackson is next in scoring at 15.2 ppg. Jackson leads the team in assists with 77. Freshman Martin Zeno is next in scoring at 12.9 ppg. He leads the team with 89 free throws shot this season. Senior Devonne Giles rounds out the double-figure scorers for Tech at 12.4 ppg. Giles leads the team with a 6.5 rebound average and in blocked shots with 38.
Texas Tech Head Coach Bob Knight
The NCAA Division I active wins leader with 847 victories, Bob Knight is in his fourth season at Texas Tech where he has amassed an 83-39 record. Knight is 847-328 overall in his 38th season as he is only the fourth coach in NCAA Division I history to win 800 career games. Knight has guided Texas Tech to three straight postseason tourneys – two 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 all-time series with Texas Tech 15-1… Last meeting saw the No. 20 Jayhawks defeat the Red Raiders, 96-77, in Lawrence, Kan., on Feb. 7, 2004… KU is on a six-game winning streak against TTU… Kansas coach Bill Self is 2-3 against Texas Tech, and TTU head coach Bob Knight is 4-10 all-time versus KU, and 0-4 while at Texas Tech… Texas Tech’s lone win in the series was after a 41-point performance by Rayford Young in a 90-84 win in Lubbock on Feb. 13, 1999 at Municipal Coliseum – home of Tech prior to United Spirit Arena in 1999-00… Kansas is 94-17 all-time versus schools from the state of Texas, which includes a 4-0 mark this season… The Jayhawks won the first-ever meeting with Texas Tech, 85-71, on December 7, 1959, in Lawrence, Kan.
Up Next
The Jayhawks then return home to face Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 19. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse is noon and the game will air on ABC Television. KU will then travel to Norman, Okla., for an ESPN Big Monday matchup with Oklahoma. Tip from the Lloyd Noble Center is set for 8 p.m.
