No. 7/7 Kansas to Host Emporia State in Men's Hoops Exhibition Action

Oct. 28, 2012

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Kansas Hosts Hornets in Exhibition Play

No. 7/7 Kansas enters the 2012-13 season playing host to Emporia State on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. (Central) in what believed to be the earliest exhibition home game in Kansas men’s basketball history, excluding foreign trips. The game will be televised on Jayhawk IMG TV and can also be seen via the internet for those who subscribe to AT&T Jayhawk All-Access through www.kuathletics.com.

This is actually the Jayhawks’ fifth exhibition contest for the 2012-13 roster. In August 2012, Kansas went 2-2 in exhibition play with two victories against the Swiss National Team and two losses to AMW France. Both foreign opponents’ rosters were made up of professional players.

Kansas is 59-9 in exhibition contests, including 27-2 under head coach Bill Self is starting his 10th season at KU. The Kansas contest is the second for Emporia State this season. The Hornets lost at Tulsa, 60-49, Oct. 27, in the debut of Tulsa head coach and KU legend Danny Manning. ESU will play an exhibition at Kansas State on Nov. 4 before opening its regular season.

About Kansas

Returning three starters off a spectacular team that advanced to the NCAA championship game has once again kept the bar high for Kansas men’s basketball. KU welcomes nine freshmen, once again making the Jayhawks one of the youngest teams in the nation for head coach Bill Self–who enters his 10th season at KU with a 269-53 record for an 83.5 winning percentage.

Returning only one starter, last season the Jayhawks went 32-7 overall and 16-2 in the Big 12 Conference race, winning their school-record eighth-straight Big 12 regular-season title, 12th overall Big 12 championship and NCAA-leading 55th conference regular-season crown. Kansas advanced to its 14th Final Four and ninth NCAA Tournament title game in 2011-12.

Three seniors comprise the returning starters in guards Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford and center Jeff Withey. Johnson is KU’s leading returning scorer averaging 10.2 points per game in 2011-12, while Releford scored 8.5 points per contest and averaged 4.2 rebounds per outing. Last season, Withey, the 2012 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, broke the Kansas and Big 12 Conference single-season blocked shots record with 140 blocks, including an NCAA Tournament-record 31 blocked shots in six games. Withey averaged 9.3 points per game and his 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocked shots per contest to make him the returning stat leader in each of those categories. Other KU regulars from last year include senior forward Kevin Young (3.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg), junior forward Justin Wesley (1.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe (0.9 ppg, 0.7 apg). Walk-on guards Niko Roberts and Christian Garrett will provide depth on the perimeter for Kansas in 2012-13. Young broke his right hand and had surgery on Oct. 26. He is expected to miss approximately 10 days.

Kansas has nine freshmen on its roster this season with two – Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor – who were NCAA partial qualifiers last season. The redshirt duo practiced with the team following the fall 2011 semester. Both know Bill Self’s system, and will have an immediate impact on the rotation and could crack into the starting lineup.

Five of the other seven freshmen on the roster are on scholarship: guards Rio Adams and Andrew White III and forwards Perry Ellis, Landen Lucas and Zach Peters. White led Kansas in scoring at 11.0 ppg in KU’s four games in Switzerland and Paris in August 2012. Ellis was second in scoring during the trip at 10.3 ppg and he made 65 percent of his field goals. Lucas averaged 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in Europe. Peters has a rotator cuff injury and has not practiced since Oct. 15. Additionally, freshmen walk-on guards Evan Manning and Tyler Self also provide depth in the backcourt. Manning has been hampered by a right ankle injury and, along with Young and Peters, will most likely not suit up against Emporia State.

About Emporia State

Located in Emporia, Kan., with an enrollment of 5,867, Emporia State lost at Tulsa 60-49 on Oct. 27, to open its 2012-13 season. The Hornets are coached by former Colorado great Shaun Vandiver who is in his second season as a head coach with a 9-18 record. ESU returns seven letterwinners, including two starters from last season’s 9-18 team. The Hornets were 5-15 in the Mid America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 2012, which finished eighth. Senior guard Chris Sights is ESU’s leading returning scorer at 10.9 ppg in in 2011-12. Senior guard Taylor Euler is the other ESU returning starter having scored 8.0 ppg last season. Freshman Terrance Moore scored a team-high 12 points at Tulsa. Moore is a former high school teammate of Kansas freshman Perry Ellis at Wichita Heights in Wichita. Freshman guard Kaleb Wright was next in scoring with nine points at Tulsa, while sophomore forward Daniel Shaw pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to go along with his five points and junior forward Gavin Brown nabbed eight boards and had a team-high three assists at Tulsa.

The Series

Kansas leads the overall series with Emporia State 13-3, including a 5-0 record in exhibition games. This series dates back to 1904. KU last faced Emporia State on Nov. 9, 2010, when the Jayhawks defeated the Hornets 90-59 in an exhibition contest in Allen Fieldhouse.

Exhibition Notables

–Kansas has scored 100-plus points in 24 exhibition games, including four of its last seven.

–Kansas has won 36-straight exhibition contests in Allen Fieldhouse.

In the Polls

Kansas enters the 2012-13 season No. 7 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ preseason polls. The AP ranking is the seventh time in the Bill Self era that the Jayhawks enter the season slotted seventh or higher, including two of the last three years: No. 1 in 2009-10 and No. 7 in 2010-11. The No. 7 AP ranking marks the 15th time since the 1992-93 season that Kansas will enter the season seventh or higher. Last season, KU entered the year No. 13 nationally in the Associated Press poll and ended at No. 6. The AP’s final poll is released prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks were ranked in the top 10 in each of the final nine AP polls of 2011-12.

Much like the AP poll, the coaches’ ranking is the seventh time in the Bill Self era that the Jayhawks enter the season slotted seventh or higher. Last season, KU entered the year No. 13 nationally in the coaches’ poll and ended up No. 2. The Jayhawks were ranked in the top 10 in each of the final 11 coaches’ polls of 2011-12.

Naismith Student Section of the Year

During the Emporia State game, the 2012 Naismith Student Section of the Year Award will be presented to KU by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The Naismith Awards Board of Selectors chose the Kansas basketball student section for the award from a field of eight finalists in the award’s first year. An original field of 80-plus entries was narrowed to eight by two rounds of public Facebook voting. Selection criteria included the student section’s name and attendance, as well as photos, video, a write-up submitted by the nominating school, as well as a weighted score based on the public vote. The contest was launched nationally Nov. 15. KU led the way into the final round of scoring with the highest vote tally throughout the first and second rounds of the public vote.

The Schedule

Kansas’ 2012-13 schedule includes four games on CBS, as well as 19 games on the ESPN family of networks, which include four Big Monday appearances and an ESPN Gameday contest against Texas on Feb. 16. The Jayhawks’ schedule will feature at least 14 games against teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and at least 15 games against schools that were in the top-100 of last season’s RPI rankings. For the second-consecutive year the Jayhawks will play as part of the Champions Classic when they go up against Michigan State in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.

Conference Success

Kansas has won or tied for each of the last eight Big 12 regular-season championships, which is a school record. KU has won 12 of the 16 Big 12 titles in the history of the conference. KU’s 55 conference titles are the most in NCAA Division I. KU has been the coaches’ preseason favorite five of the last seven seasons and 11 times overall, including 2012-13.

Home Sweet Home

Since his arrival at KU, Bill Self is 145-7 in games played at Allen Fieldhouse for a 95.4 winning percentage. Self has won more conference titles (eight) than lost home games (seven) while at Kansas. Included was a school-record 69-game home court winning streak which led the nation for more than two seasons and ranks 11th all-time in the NCAA records book. With the current 22-game win home court winning streak, which ranks fourth nationally entering this season, Kansas is 91-1 in Allen Fieldhouse in its last 92 games.

First Class Facilities

In October 2009, Allen Fieldhouse re-opened following an 18-month project valued at more than $42 million, making Kansas one of the best basketball facilities in the country. Included is a 14,000 square-foot academic support building, an 11,600 square-foot practice facility, new locker rooms, a clubhouse, players lounge and meeting rooms. At the 2011 Legends of the Phog alumni exhibition game, many former Jayhawks said the Fieldhouse facilities were better than most of the NBA venues they play in. In September 2012, Kansas added a high definition (HD) video board.

Noting Kansas Basketball

–Kansas has gone 243 games without consecutive losses, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. KU’s last two straight losses were Jan. 14 vs. Kansas State (59-57 in Allen Fieldhouse) and Jan. 16 at Missouri (89-86 overtime in Mizzou Arena), during the 2005-06 season.

–Kansas has 2,070 all-time victories, second most in NCAA Division I.

–Kansas won its 1,000th all-time conference game with the 83-50 win against Texas Tech on Feb. 18, 2012.

–Kansas has held 178 of its last 184 opponents to under 50 percent shooting.

–KU has held opponents to fewer than 100 points in 373 consecutive games. The last team to score 100 on Kansas was Texas on Feb. 11, 2002, a KU 110-103 overtime victory.

–Kansas has sold out its last 180 games in Allen Fieldhouse, dating back to the second game of the 2001-02 season.

–Over the last six seasons, including 2011-12, Kansas has averaged 32.8 victories per year with five 30-win seasons.

–Each KU senior class since 1986-87 has won at least 100 games. Tyshawn Taylor’s four-year record was 127-21.

–Every four-year player under Bill Self at KU has been part of at least one Final Four team. Former Jayhawk Conner Teahan–a senior on the 2011-12 Final Four team–was a part of two as he was also on the 2008 NCAA National Championship team.

–Kansas has won 12 of the 16 Big 12 regular-season titles (includes ties), including the last eight. Kansas’ 55 conference titles are the most in NCAA Division I. Kansas’ eight-straight league titles is a school record, surpassing the six straight set from 1922-27.

–Kansas has won 23 or more games in each of the last 23 seasons dating back to 1988-89 and has 22 victories 27 times in the last 28 years starting in 1984-85.

–Bill Self has won 23 or more games each of his last 14 seasons as a head coach.

–Kansas is the only team in the Big 12 to have a winning series record against every conference foe.

–KU has led its league in home attendance each of the last 26 seasons dating back to 1986-87 and 31 times in the last 35 years.

–Kansas’ 2002 team is the only squad in Big 12 history to go undefeated in conference play at 16-0.

–Kansas is first in the conference in wins with a 217-41 record in Big 12 regular-season games. Texas is next at 176-82. Including the league postseason championship, Kansas is tops at 248-49, while Texas is second at 197-98.

–Kansas is the only Big 12 school to have won a regular-season championship with two different coaches (Roy Williams and Bill Self).

–Under Bill Self, Kansas is 69-4 (94.5 percent) in Big 12 home games: 8-0 in 2004, 7-1 in 2005, 7-1 in 2006, 7-1 in 2007, 8-0 in 2008, 8-0 in 2009, 8-0 in 2010, 7-1 in 2011 and 9-0 in 2012.

–Kansas leads the Big 12 with 48 all-time Academic All-Big 12 selections since the inception of the conference in 1996-97. KU has 37 Academic All-Big 12 First Team selections and 11 second team selections. KU’s 37 first-team selections are 16 more than Texas and Kansas State’s 21 each.

–In the Bill Self era, Kansas has had 25 Academic All-Big 12 selections, which is best in the Big 12, for an average of almost three per year (2.8 average). This includes 2011-12.

–Kansas has won 10 or more league games for the last 18 seasons and 50 times overall, including 2011-12.

–In December 2010, KU alum David Booth bought the original rules of basketball by the inventor of the game and KU’s first coach James Naismith. Booth plans to bring the rules to Lawrence and Allen Fieldhouse.

–Kansas’ school-record 69-game home court winning streak, from 2007-11, led the nation for more than two seasons and ranks 11th all-time in the NCAA records book.

Jayhawk All-Access

Jayhawk fans can watch Kansas’ two exhibition games against Emporia State (Oct. 30) and Washburn (Nov. 5) on AT&T Jayhawk All-Access.

The games will also air in High Definition throughout the state of Kansas on the Jayhawk IMG Television Network.

This marks the ninth consecutive year that AT&T Jayhawk All-Access will broadcast Kansas Athletics events either with video, audio or both. Fans who subscribe now to Jayhawk All-Access will see, among other events:

– KU’s two men’s basketball exhibition contests,

– Football Coach Charlie Weis’ post-game press conferences after home games,

– Football Coach Charlie Weis’ weekly press conferences,

– NEW THIS YEAR: Men’s basketball Coach Bill Self’s post-game press conferences after home games,

– NEW THIS YEAR: Men’s basketball Coach Bill Self’s weekly press conferences,

– NEW THIS YEAR: Live video stream of “Hawk Talk,” the football and men’s basketball coaches’ radio shows, live from the Salty Iguana in Lawrence,

– NEW THIS YEAR: Live video stream of home soccer matches

– Home volleyball matches,

– Home women’s basketball games,

– Most home baseball games,

– The Kansas Relays.

Fans who subscribe may also listen to:

– The complete radio broadcasts of KU football and men’s basketball contests, including pre- and post-game shows and post-game interviews with the coaches, and

– Rock Chalk Sports Talk, a weekly hour-long radio show highlighting Kansas Athletics.

Kansas fans can subscribe to AT&T Jayhawk All-Access by going to www.KUAthletics.com and clicking on the AT&T Jayhawk All-Access button on the right. Jayhawk All-Access subscriptions are only $9.95 per month or $79.95 for the entire year.

Up Next

Kansas continues exhibition play when it hosts defending MIAA champion Washburn on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. The Washburn contest will be televised on the Jayhawk IMG Television Network and available to those who subscribe to Jayhawk All-Access. Kansas will open regular-season play when it hosts Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 9 in the opening round of the CBE Classic. Tip time will be 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the Jayhawk IMG Television Network.

Kansas 2012-13 Headlines (go to kuathletics.com for full stories)

–Kansas Men’s Basketball No. 7 in Associated Press Preseason Poll

–Kansas to Face Georgetown in Men’s Basketball Annually for Next Four Seasons

–Kansas Men’s Basketball Hosts Annual Ladies Night Out

–Kansas Men’s Hoops No. 7 in 2012-13 ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Preseason Poll

–Kansas and KU Alums to be Featured on ESPN’s 30 for 30, Oct. 16

–Kansas Unanimous Choice to Win Big 12 Men’s Basketball Title

–Kansas’s Bill Self Named 2013 John R. Wooden Award

–Bill Self Participates in Coaches vs. Cancer Season Tip-Off

–Withey and Johnson Named to Preseason All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Team

–Self, KU Agree on Contract Through 2021-22 Season

–New HD Video Board Added to Allen Fieldhouse