Kansas Men's Hoops to Host UMKC in First Game of Jayhawk Invitational Sunday at 7 p.m.

Nov. 10, 2007

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No. 4 Kansas plays its first game of the Jayhawk Invitational when it plays host to UMKC Sunday at 7 p.m. Kansas will also face Washburn, Northern Arizona and Arizona in the event which runs through Nov. 25. All KU games in the Invitational will be played at Allen Fieldhouse. Besides the aforementioned, Adams State College will be playing Arizona in the Invitational. There is no bracket play in the event, just round-robin play for Kansas, UMKC, Northern Arizona and Arizona, with Washburn (vs. KU and UMKC) and Adams State College (vs. NAU and UA) also participating. A complete Jayhawk Invitational schedule is at the end of the notes.

About Kansas

Kansas opened the season with a 107-78 win against Louisiana-Monroe last Friday in Allen Fieldhouse. The victory marked the 16th win in KU’s last 17 season openers and its 35th straight season-opening victory in Allen Fieldhouse. Sophomore guard Sherron Collins led Kansas with 22 points against ULM, while senior forward Darnell Jackson scored a career-high 21 point in the victory. In all, five Jayhawks reached double figures in scoring against the Warhawks with sophomore forward Darrell Arthur and freshman guard Tyrel Reed scoring 11 each and senior guard Russell Robinson 10. Senior Rodrick Stewart led KU with a career-high eight assists, while Collins had a game-high four steals. KU’s bench outscored ULM’s bench 48-28 as the Jayhawks’ biggest lead of the game was 37 with three minutes to play. KU showed its depth in the contest as no Jayhawk played more than 26 minutes and nine of the 15 in the box score played at least 10 minutes.

About UMKC

Kansas will be UMKC’s official season opener for the 2007-08 season. The Kangaroos won their lone exhibition game, 94-51, against Harris Stowe State on Oct. 27. Junior guard Akeem Hemingway led UMKC with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting (4-for-5 form three-point range) in the exhibition contest. Senior guard/forward Brent Stephens and freshman guard Reggie Hamilton each scored 16 points, while freshman guard Nathan Balch added 15 for the game. UMKC returns seven letterwinners, including three starters, from last year’s 12-20 team that finished sixth in the Mid-Continent Conference, now called the Summit League. Junior guard Dane Brumagin is UMKC’s leading returning scorer with a 9.6 average in 2006-07.

The Series

Kansas has won all three meetings with UMKC in a series that dates back to 1992. The Jayhawks defeated the Kangaroos 108-62 in Kemper Arena in 1992 in the Golden Harvest Classic in their first meeting. KU later faced UMKC in back-to-back seasons with a 79-68 win on Dec. 28, 2001, in Allen Fieldhouse and a 100-46 victory at Kemper Arena on Jan. 4, 2003. Kansas is 13-4 against the current formation of the Summit League, formerly known as the Mid-Continent Conference.

Up Next

Kansas continues play in the Jayhawk Invitational when it hosts Washburn, Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. KU will conclude the Invitational against Northern Arizona (Nov. 21) and Arizona (Nov. 25). All four Jayhawk Invitational contests for Kansas will be played in Allen Fieldhouse. The Arizona contest is also part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series which starts this season.

Jayhawk Invitational Schedule

Nov. 11

UMKC at Kansas

Adams State at Northern Arizona

Nov. 13

Washburn at UMKC

Northern Arizona at Arizona

Nov. 15

Washburn at Kansas

Nov. 17

UMKC at Northern Arizona

Nov. 19

UMKC at Arizona

Nov. 21

Northern Arizona at Kansas

Adams State at Arizona

Nov. 25

Arizona at Kansas