No. 10 Kansas to Face Oregon State at BMO Harris Bank Kansas City Shootout Friday in Men's Hoops

Nov. 28, 2012

Kansas notes for Oregon State

BMO HARRIS BANK KANSAS CITY SHOOTOUT

Kansas (5-1) continues its long-standing tradition of playing a regular-season game in Kansas City when it faces Oregon State (4-1) in the BMO Harris Bank Kansas City Shootout, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. (Central). The game will be televised on the Jayhawk IMG Television network and available via the internet on AT&T Jayhawk All-Access for those who subscribe via www.KUAthletics.com.

The BMO Harris Bank Kansas City Shootout is part of the Kansas home ticket package. Sprint Center doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for all patrons, including KU students.

ABOUT KANSAS

Ranked No. 10 in the Nov. 26 polls, Kansas is 5-1 on the season and take a four-game winning streak into the BMO Harris Bank Kansas City Shootout. Behind the second official triple-double in school history by senior center Jeff Withey, the Jayhawks defeated San Jose State, 70-57, in Allen Fieldhouse on Nov. 26.

Coached by Bill Self, who is in his 10th season at KU with a 274-54 record for an 83.5 winning percentage, Kansas averages 71.3 points per game and is giving up 55.7 for a +15.7 scoring margin. KU is outrebounding foes 38.2 to 32.5 and averages 7.2 steals and a Big 12-leading 10.0 blocked shots per game. Withey leads Kansas in scoring at 14.2 ppg, rebounding at 8.7 rpg, field goal percentage at 56.1 percent and blocked shots per game at 6.2 bpg, which also leads the Big 12. Redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore is next in scoring with 13.8 points per game. He also is tied for second on the team with 16 assists and six steals and is third on the squad with 6.2 rebounds per contest. Senior guard Travis Releford is next in scoring at 12.0 points per game. He leads Kansas in steals (8) and in free throw percentage (89.5 percent). Senior guard Elijah Johnson has a team-high 25 assists and 12 three-pointers made to complement his 10.7 scoring average. Senior forward Kevin Young rounds out the KU starters. He is scoring 3.6 points per game and is second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per outing. Other KU regulars include freshman forward Perry Ellis (6.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg), sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe (4.7 ppg, 14 assists) and redshirt freshman forward Jamari Traylor (3.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg).

ABOUT OREGON STATE

Located in Corvallis, Ore., with an enrollment of 23,761, at press time, Oregon State is 4-1 on the season and brings a two-game winning streak after defeating Montana State 78-65 on Nov. 25. The Beavers defeated Purdue in the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Oregon State is coached by Craig Robinson who is 68-72 in his fifth season at OSU and 98-100 in his seventh season overall.

Oregon State averages 75.8 points and gives up 66.6 for a +9.2 scoring margin. The Beavers also win the rebound battles with a +7.2 margin. Additionally, OSU makes 5.8 three-point field goals and 5.6 blocks per game. Junior guard Ahmad Starks leads Oregon State in scoring at 14.6 points per contest. He leads the team with 12 three-pointers, seven steals and is tied with senior forward/center Joe Burton for the team lead with 13 assists. Burton averages 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Junior forward Devon Collier comes off the bench and is second on the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game. Junior guard Roberto Nelson scores 10.8 points per outing and is second on the team with seven three-point field goals. Rounding out the OSU starters are sophomore forward Eric Moreland (8.4 ppg, a team-best 10.4 rpg) and freshman forward Jarmal Reid (1.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg). Reid replaces senior center Angus Brandt (11.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg) who tore his ACL in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season. Sophomore guard Challe Barton (2.2 ppg, 13.6 minutes per game) is another regular who averages 13.6 minutes per contest for the Beavers.

THE KU-OREGON STATE SERIES

Kansas and Oregon State are meeting for the first time in men’s basketball. The Beavers are the second Pac-12 team KU have faced this season. The Jayhawks defeated Washington State 78-41 on Nov. 19 in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. Kansas will play its third Pac-12 team in five games when it hosts Colorado on Dec. 8. In the Bill Self-era, Kansas is 14-4 against Pac-12 schools and has won the last nine meetings against the league’s opponents. In 2010-11, KU defeated four Pac-12 teams.

KANSAS IN KANSAS CITY

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. The BMO Harris Bank Kansas City Shootout game will mark KU’s 280th game played all-time in Kansas City, and its 21st in Sprint Center. KU is 16-4 in Sprint Center including winning the 2008, 2010 and 2011 Big 12 Championships in the venue. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, Kansas went 4-0 in Sprint Center. In 2008-09, KU went 1-2 in the venue. In 2007-08, Kansas went 4-0 in the venue, including winning the Big 12 Championship en route to its NCAA National Championship. KU played 106 games in Kemper Arena with an 81-25 record. KU is 201-78 in games played in Kansas City.

MORE NOTES ON THE JAYHAWKS IN KANSAS CITY

–Kansas went 26-4 in Kemper Arena from 1997 until 2006, when it played its last game in the venue. Included in that run were Big 12 Championship titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

–Kemper Arena was the host of the 1988 NCAA Final Four when the Jayhawks won the national championship.

–With the Nov. 30 contest against Oregon State, Kansas will have played at least one regular-season game in Kansas City in 23 of the last 25 seasons, including every year Sprint Center has existed.

KANSAS TEAM NOTABLES

–Kansas leads NCAA Division I in blocked shots at 10.0 per game. The Jayhawks rank in the upper half of the Big 12 in blocked shots (first at 10.0), assists (fourth at 14.7), scoring defense (third at 55.7), free throw percentage (third at 75.4), field goal percentage defense (second at 34.3), scoring margin (fourth at +15.7), turnover margin (fourth at +2.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.2)

–Kansas set a school record with 16 blocked shots against San Jose State (11/26).

–KU has outrebounded four of six opponents this season.

WHO’S HOT

–Senior Jeff Withey became the second official player in school history to record a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocked shots against San Jose State (11/26). The All-American candidate’s 12 blocked shots set a school and Big 12 single-game record. Withey broke his own record of 10 blocked shots versus North Carolina State in last season’s NCAA Tournament and Cole Aldrich’s 10 vs. Dayton in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Withey has led KU in scoring in each of the last two games and in rebounding in four of six contests. He leads the nation in blocked shots at 6.2 per game. He is among the Big 12 leaders in scoring (10th at 14.2), rebounding (sixth at 8.7), field goal percentage (fourth at 56.1) and free throw percentage (14th at 61.8).

–Senior Travis Releford is 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) from the field in his last three games, including 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Named Big 12 Player of the Week Monday, Releford leads the team and is second in the Big 12 with an 89.5 free throw percentage. He also ranks among the conference leaders in scoring (tied for 14th at 12.0), steals (14th at 1.3) and assists (tied for 13th at 2.7).

–Senior Elijah Johnson has led the team in assists in each of the last three games, including career-high-tying nine against Saint Louis (11/20). Johnson is tied for fifth in the Big 12 in assists (4.2). He also ranks among the Big 12 leaders in three-point field goal percentage (sixth at 38.7), three-pointers made (tied for sixth at 2.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (sixth at 1.6).

–Freshman Ben McLemore is second among Big 12 freshmen in scoring at 13.8 points per game, which ranks 11th overall in the conference. At this pace, McLemore’s 13.8 scoring average would rank third on KU’s freshmen scoring average list behind Danny Manning’s 14.6 ppg in 1984-85 and Kerry Boagni’s 14.1 ppg in 1982-83. McLemore’s 6.2 rebound average would be seventh on the KU freshman list with the record being Manning at 7.6 rpg in 1984-85.

–Senior Kevin Young has started each of the last three games and has 26 rebounds in his last three games with 10 versus Washington State (11/19) and eight each against Saint Louis (11/20) and San Jose State (11/26). Young has made his last eight free throws and is 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) from the line this season. KU’s second leading rebounder, Young ranks tied for 13th in the Big 12 with 6.6 rpg.

IN THE POLLS

Kansas is ranked No. 10 in both the Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll released Nov. 26. Dating back to the final three polls of the 2008-09 season, this marks the 61st-straight poll in which the Jayhawks have been ranked in the AP poll, which includes 51 times in the Top 10. In the coaches’ poll, Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 66 polls, including 53 times in the Top 10.

WITHEY’S TRIPLE-DOUBLE

Jeff Withey recorded the second official triple-double in school history against San Jose State but it was actually his second in a Kansas uniform. Withey also had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots against Pittsburg State (11/2/11) during the 2011 exhibition season.

Cole Aldrich’s triple-double against Dayton (13 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocked shots) on March 22, 2009, was formally the first recorded in Kansas men’s basketball history as blocked shots, assists and steals were not recorded at Kansas until the 1970s (and the NCAA until the 1980s). Lawrence Journal-World reporter Bill Mayer provided Kansas with two instances in which Jayhawk legend Wilt Chamberlain recorded triple-doubles. Additionally, the NCAA Final Four record book shows that KU great B.H. Born had an unofficial triple-double against Indiana in the 1953 NCAA Tournament. Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson is the only KU opponent to record a triple-double versus the Jayhawks in 1979 (12 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists).

KANSAS TRIPLE-DOUBLES

Jeff Withey vs. San Jose State (11-26-12) – 16 points, 12 rebounds, 12 blocked shots (at Allen Fieldhouse)

Cole Aldrich vs. Dayton (3-22-09) – 13 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocked shots (NCAA Tournament, Minneapolis, Minn.)

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Colorado (3-9-57) – 40 points, 13 rebounds, 12 blocked shots (at Allen Fieldhouse)

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Marquette (12-8-56) – 39 points, 22 rebounds, 14 blocked shots (at Allen Fieldhouse)

B.H. Born vs. Indiana (3-18-53) – 26 points, 15 rebounds, 13 blocked shots (NCAA Tournament championship game, Kansas City, Mo.)

UP NEXT

Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse for a three-game home stand starting with former Big Seven, Big Eight and Big 12 foe Colorado on Saturday, Dec. 8, at 1 p.m. on ESPN2. KU will then host Belmont on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m. on ESPNU and Richmond on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.