No. 12/11 Kansas to Face Saint Louis in CBE Hall of Fame Classic Championship Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 20, 2012
EDWARD JONES CBE HALL OF FAME CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP
Kansas (3-1) will face Saint Louis (2-1) Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 8:30 p.m. (Central) in the championship game of the Edward Jones CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The KU-SLU game will be televised on ESPNU and can be heard on Jayhawk All-Access. Kansas is making its second appearance in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic title game as the Jayhawks lost to Syracuse 89-81 in overtime in the 2008 final.
ABOUT KANSAS
No. 12/11 Kansas is 2-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Edward Jones CBE Hall of Fame Classic with wins against Southeast Missouri State (74-55) on Nov. 9 and Chattanooga (69-55) on Nov. 15 and Washington State on Nov. 19. The Chattanooga victory avenged a 67-64 loss to No. 21/22 Michigan State Nov. 13 in Atlanta in the State Farm Champions Classic. Kansas averages 71.2 points per game and is giving up 54.5 for a plus-16.8 scoring margin. KU is outrebounding foes 38.8 to 33.0 and averages 7.3 steals and a Big 12-leading 8.8 blocked shots per game.
Redshirt freshman Ben McLemore leads Kansas in scoring with 14.8 points per game. He also is tied for the team lead with 12 assists and is second on the squad with 6.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Elijah Johnson has a team-high eight three-pointers made and averages 11.5 points per game. Johnson is second on the team with five steals. Senior center Jeff Withey leads the Big 12 with 4.8 blocked shots per game. He averages 11.0 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds and is shooting 52.9 percent from the field. Senior guard Travis Releford scored a team-best 17 points against Washington State (11/19) and leads Kansas with seven steals and is tied with McLemore for the team high with 12 assists. Releford is scoring 9.0 points per game. Freshman forward Perry Ellis has started two games and is scoring 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Redshirt freshman forward Jamari Traylor started against Chattanooga (11/15) and averages 4.3 points and is tied with McLemore for second on the team with six blocked shots. Senior forward Kevin Young started against Washington State and had a KU career-high 10 rebounds. He averages 3.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. Other KU regulars include sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe (5.8 ppg, 11 assists) and junior forward Justin Wesley (1.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg).
ABOUT SAINT LOUIS
Located in St. Louis, Mo., St. Louis is 2-1 on the season having defeated Texas A&M 70-49 Monday. The Billikens are coached by interim head coach Jim Crews (2-1 at SLU, 356-349 in 25th season overall) as Rick Majerus and SLU announced Nov. 16 that he would not return to the St. Louis sidelines due to health issues. SLU defeated USC Upstate in it season opener, 76-59, on Nov. 9 and lost to Santa Clara, 74-62, on Nov. 14. The Billikens average 69.3 points per game and are giving up 60.7 for a +8.7 scoring margin. They have a +6.7 rebound margin and average 31.7 boards per contest. Junior forward Dwayne Evans leads SLU with 17.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He is shooting 68.0 percent from the field. Senior forward Cody Ellis comes off the bench and is second in scoring at 12.0 ppg and rebounding at 5.3 rpg. Junior guard Jordair Jett leads the team with 15 assists and eight steals to go along with 8.3 points per contest. Junior guard Mike McCall has eight assists and is also scoring in double figures at 11.0 ppg. Junior forward Rob Loe (8.0 ppg and a team-high four three-pointers) and senior forward Cory Remekun (12.0 ppg) round out the SLU starters. Remekun’s first game played of the season was against Texas A&M on Monday. Sophomore forward Grandy Glaze (2.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg), junior forward Jake Barnett (4.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and freshman guard Keith Carter (1.5 ppg) also come off the bench for the Billikens.
THE KU-SAINT LOUIS SERIES
Kansas leads the series with Saint Louis, 12-3, in a series which dates back to 1943. The last meeting between KU and SLU was Dec. 30, 1999, a Kansas 71-60 victory at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. KU won the first three meetings in the series from 1943-52, then Saint Louis claimed the next two victories. From 1967-83, KU rolled off eight-straight wins against the Billikens. SLU won its third game in the series in 1998, a 78-64 win in St. Louis.
