Kansas Men's Basketball to Host Emporia State Tuesday in Exhibition

Nov. 7, 2010

Kansas notes for Emporia State in PDF Format

Exhibition Continues

Nationally ranked No. 7, Kansas men’s basketball continues its exhibition season playing host to Emporia State on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Jayhawk TV and can also be seen via the internet for those who subscribe to Jayhawk All-Access via www.kuathletics.com. Kansas defeated Washburn 92-62 in its first exhibition contest on Nov. 2. Emporia State won its first exhibition game defeating Livin The Dream 99-81 on Nov. 4.

About Kansas

Kansas opened up the exhibition season with a 92-62 victory against Washburn on Nov. 2. Junior forward Marcus Morris led all scorers with what would have been a career-high 28 points on 8-of-10 shooting and a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. He also was second on the KU squad with seven rebounds and tied for the team high with three steals. Marcus is KU’s leading returning scorer (12.8 ppg) and rebounder (6.1 rpg) from last season and is on numerous preseason All-American and All-Big 12 teams. Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting against Washburn. Taylor averaged 7.2 points last season and 3.4 assists and joins Marcus as KU’s returning starters. Junior forward Markieff Morris, twin of Marcus, led KU with eight rebounds against Washburn and scored 12 points in the victory. He averaged 6.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 2009-10. Seniors Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and Mario Little joined Taylor and Marcus Morris in the starting lineup against Washburn. Reed scored nine points, pulled down four rebounds and had three assists. He averaged 5.1 points last season and made 44 three-pointers. Morningstar, a 2008-09 starter, scored six points in the exhibition opener, while Little, a 2009-10 redshirt, had eight points against the Ichabods. Kansas enters the season No. 7 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today preseason polls. KU is the six-time defending Big 12 men’s basketball champion entering the 2010-11 season. The Jayhawks have won or tied for 10 of the 14 Big 12 regular-season titles and seven postseason titles.

About Emporia State

Emporia State won its exhibition opener with a 99-81 victory against Livin The Dream on Nov. 4. Junior forward Christian Jackson led ESU with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the game. He is a transfer to ESU from Bowie State. Also a newcomer to the ESU team, senior forward Michael Tyler had 16 points and six rebounds in ESU’s exhibition contest. Tyler transferred from Wisconsin-Milwaukee. ESU senior Matt Boswell had 13 points, while Xavier Burnette scored 11 points and Adam Holthaus 10 points in the exhibition victory. Boswell and Burnette are guards, while Holthaus is a forward who averaged 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds last season. Boswell scored 9.3 points in 2009-10 and Burnette is a transfer from Centenary. Livin The Dream’s team roster included former Jayhawk Chris Zerbe who lettered at KU in 2001-02. Zerbe had 10 points against the Hornets. Emporia State went 14-15 last season and finished 9-11 in the MIAA. The Hornets return five letterwinners from last season and Tyler is the lone starter back from 2009-10.

The Series

Kansas leads the overall series with Emporia State 17-3, including a 4-0 record in exhibition games. This series dates back to 1904 with the Hornets winning the inaugural matchup 25-13 in Emporia. KU last faced Emporia State on Nov. 11, 2008, and defeated the Hornets 103-58 in an exhibition contest in Allen Fieldhouse. This will be the fifth exhibition battle between the two schools. Prior to 2008, KU defeated ESU 120-51 in 2000, 115-70 in 2004 and 90-55 in 2006 in exhibition play and has won seven straight in the series dating back to 1992. The last ESU win over KU came Dec. 13, 1947 – 67-44 in Emporia.

Exhibition Notables

–Kansas has won 36 straight exhibition contests.

–Kansas is 54-7 all-time in exhibition contests.

–Under Bill Self, Kansas is 22-0 in exhibition games, including a 6-0 record in two Canada trips – 2004 and 2008.

–Kansas has scored 100-plus points in 23 exhibition games, including three of its last four.

Up Next

Kansas opens regular-season play when it hosts Longwood on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Jayhawk TV and can be seen on ESPN Full Court. KU will then host Valparaiso Monday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. on Jayhawk TV and ESPN Full Court. The game is the first of two home games in the Las Vegas Invitational.