Kansas Men's Basketball to Compete at Big 12 Tournament
March 9, 2005
Co-Big 12 Conference champion Kansas enters the 2005 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Kansas State on Friday, March 11 at 6 p.m. The tourney returns to Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., after two years in Dallas. Kansas defeated Texas A&M in its Big 12 opener, 65-60, on Jan. 5 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks swept Kansas State with a 74-65 win in Manhattan on Feb. 9 and a 72-65 victory in Lawrence on Senior Night, March 2. The Jayhawks are looking to rebound from a 72-68 loss at Missouri in their regular-season finale on Sunday.
About Kansas
Kansas has won two of its last three games heading into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament. Last Wednesday, the Jayhawks defeated Kansas State 72-65 to claim a share of their fifth Big 12 and 48th overall conference championship. KU will look to gain back some momentum after losing at Missouri 72-68 on Sunday. Named the Big 12 Player of the Year by the conference coaches on Monday, senior Wayne Simien leads KU and the Big 12 with a 19.4 scoring average and an 11.1 rebounds per game. The first-team All-Big 12 selection and Wooden Award finalist has seven double-doubles in his last nine games and has a conference-leading 14 this season. Named second-team All-Big 12 by the coaches, senior Keith Langford is next in scoring at 14.7 ppg which ranks 12th in the Big 12. Senior Aaron Miles has crushed every KU and Big 12 assists record and was named third-team All-Big 12 by the league coaches. He is averaging a league-best 7.30 assists per game which ranks in the top 10 nationally and is scoring 9.4 points per contest. Miles’ 935 assists are 11th all-time in NCAA Division I history. Sophomore J.R. Giddens is third in scoring on the team with 10.2 ppg. Giddens ranks among the Big 12 leaders in three-point field goal percentage — eighth at .343 — and three-pointers made — eighth at 2.11. Junior Christian Moody is another starter who is averaging 6.0 ppg and is second on the team with 4.7 rpg. Moody has pulled down six or more rebounds 10 times this season. Senior Michael Lee (3.9 ppg) has started the last two games for KU.
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
Kansas coach Bill Self won his fifth league title as a head coach on Wednesday. He won two titles at Tulsa, two at Illinois and a share of the 2005 Big 12 title at Kansas. Self recorded his 250th career win at Kansas State on Feb. 9. His win against Colorado on Feb. 12 marked his seventh straight 20-win season as a head coach and eighth overall. He is 46-14 in his second season at KU and 253-119 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 10-6 in conference tournaments which includes 1-1 while at Kansas.
Texas A&M Update
Texas A&M enters the Big 12 Tournament having won four of its last five games and posting a 19-8 overall, 8-8 Big 12 record. The Aggies’ last loss was at nationally ranked Oklahoma State 69-63 on March 2. A&M’s No. 7 seed is its highest ever in the Big 12 Tournament an its 8-8 league record is and eight-game improvement from last season. The eight wins were also the most in Big 12 history for the Aggies. A&M is led by junior Antoine Wright who is averaging 17.6 ppg. Sophomore Acie Law is next in scoring at 13 ppg and leads the team in assists with a 5.1 average. Freshman Joseph Jones is scoring 12.5 ppg and leads the team in rebounds with a seven per game average.
Kansas State Update
Like Texas A&M, Kansas State is also hot, having won three of its last four games. The Wildcats’ lone loss in that stretch was at Kansas last Wednesday on Senior Night, 72-65. K-State is 16-11 (6-10 in Big 12) and the 16 wins are the most under current head coach Jim Wooldridge while at KSU. Kansas State is led by senior Jeremiah Massey, who is averaging 17.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore Fred Peete is next in scoring at 13.3 ppg while sophomore Cartier Martin is at 10.4 ppg. Sophomore Lance Harris is next in scoring at 9.8 ppg and junior Marques Hayden is at 6.8 ppg and is second on the team in rebounds at 5.3 rpg. Freshman Clent Stewart leads the team in assists at four per contest.
The KU-A&M Series History
Kansas has won all 10 meetings with Texas A&M, which includes going 9-0 against the Aggies since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97. The series dates back to 1967 when Kansas defeated the Aggies, 78-52, at the Sunflower Double-Header in Manhattan, Kan. The Jayhawks and Aggies have never met in the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 2-2 all-time vs. the Aggies, losing both match-ups with Texas A&M prior to coming to Kansas. Texas A&M head coach Billy Gillispie fell in his first meeting with the Jayhawks 65-60 on Jan. 5.
KU-KSU Series History
Kansas leads the all-time series with Kansas State, 169-88… KU has won 30 straight against KSU overall… KU coach Bill Self is 5-0 against the Wildcats and Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge is 0-10 versus the Jayhawks… Kansas is 10-7 against Kansas State in conference tournament play, including a 4-0 mark in the Big 12 Tournament – all played in Kemper Arena… The two teams last played in the quarterfinal of the 2001 tournament when Kansas defeated K-State 94-63… KU is 2-0 against KSU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament… The last time that KSU defeated KU in a conference tournament was in the semifinal in 1993, when the Wildcats beat the Jayhawks 74-67… The last time K-State defeated KU was in Allen Fieldhouse — a 65-56 decision on Jan. 17, 1994… The Jayhawks won the first-ever meeting with K-State, 54-39, on Jan. 25, 1907, in Lawrence.
Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament
–Kansas and Oklahoma have each won the most Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournaments with three each. KU won the first three events in 1997-98-99 and is 3-1 in tourney title games.
–Kansas ranks second in Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament wins at 15-5. Oklahoma is 16-5.
–Kansas’ No. 2 seed is its highest since being No. 1 in 2002 and 2003. KU has been the No. 1 seed four times (1997, `98, `02, `03), No. 2 seed twice (2001, `05), No. 3 seed twice (1999, `04), and the No. 5 seed in 2000.
–Kansas is the only Big 12 team to have won all eight of its first games in the conference tournament. The Jayhawks are 1-0 in opening round games and 7-1 in quarterfinal contests.
–Kansas has reached the semifinals of seven of the eight Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournaments. The Jayhawks did not reach the 2000 semis.
–Oklahoma is the lone No. 2 seed to have won the Big 12 Tournament. The Sooners won the 2002 title at Kemper Arena in Dallas.
KU in KC
Kansas City has been a second home of sorts for Kansas over the years. KU’s first ever game — a 16-5 loss to Kansas City YMCA on Feb. 3, 1899 — was played in Kansas City. Friday’s game in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament will mark KU’s 256th game all-time in Kansas City, and its 101st all-time in Kemper Arena. KU is 182-73 record in Kansas City, including a mark of 78-23 in Kemper Arena. After a 73-62 win against UW-Milwaukee on Dec. 22, KU has won 24 straight regular-season games in Kansas City.
More Notes on the Jayhawks in Kansas City
–Kansas has won 21 of its last 24 games played in Kemper Arena after the Dec. 22 win against UW-Milwaukee, 73-62, in the Yellow Book Shootout. After winning 13 consecutive games in that venue, the Jayhawks fell, 77-58, to Oklahoma State in the 2000 Big 12 Tournament. Last year KU went 3-0 in Kemper, beating Oregon in the regular season 77-67 on Dec. 13, 2004, in the Feist Shootout and Illinois Chicago (78-53) and Pacific (78-63) in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament March 19 and 21.
–Kemper Arena was the host of the 1988 NCAA Final Four when the Jayhawks went undefeated to win the national championship.
–Kansas has played at least one regular-season game in Kansas City in 15 of the last 17 seasons. The team hasn’t dropped a regular-season game in Kansas City since losing to Ohio State, 64-61, on Jan. 2, 1983.
Up Next
Following the Phillips 66 Big 12 Basketball Tournament, KU will await its fate in the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is March 13.
