Kansas to Host USC in Men's Hoops Monday Night
Dec. 3, 2006
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No. 5/5 Kansas (6-2) returns home to face Pac-10 Conference foe Southern California. KU is looking to bounce back from a 64-57 loss at DePaul Saturday. Kansas led by as much as 14 in the second half before DePaul came back to win. USC (5-1) brings a five-game winning streak to Allen Fieldhouse. The Trojans defeated Loyola Marymount 67-50 Saturday. Tonight will match twin brothers Rodrick Stewart of Kansas and Lodrick Stewart of USC.
About Kansas
Kansas (6-2) returns from a 64-57 road loss at DePaul Saturday. KU averages 78 points per game and is giving up 59. KU is outrebounding foes 40.6 to 31.8 and has forced 24 more turnovers than its opponents this season. Freshman Darrell Arthur leads KU with a 15.1 scoring average. He also paces the team with 18 blocked shots and is second on the squad with 6.4 rebounds per contest. Sophomore Julian Wright is next on the team with a 12.8 scoring average. He leads KU in rebounding with 8.6 per outing. Sophomore Brandon Rush is next in scoring at 12.3 points per contest and third in rebounding with a 5.9 average. His 15 steals are second most on the team. Sophomore Mario Chalmers leads the team with 14 three-point field goals made to go along with his 10.8 scoring average. Junior Russell Robinson rounds out the starters. He leads KU in assists with 41 and steals with 16. He is tied with freshman Sherron Collins with a 7.3 scoring average. Junior Darnell Jackson is a top inside reserve who is scoring 7.4 points per contest.
About USC
USC (5-1) heads to Lawrence with a five-game winning streak. USC lost to South Carolina 80-74 in the season opener and has won its last four games by an average 18.8 points. The Trojans defeated Loyola Marymount 67-50 Saturday. USC is scoring 71 points per game and allowing 58.5. They are among the NCAA leaders in field goal percentage defense, allowing 31.3 percent. The Trojans are outrebounding foes 41.8 to 37.5. Junior guard/forward Nick Young leads the team in scoring with a 16.5 average. Senior guard Lodrick Stewart, twin brother of Jayhawk Rodrick Stewart, is next at 14.7 points per game. He scored a team-high 21 points on 6-9 from three-point range Saturday. Freshman forward Taj Gibson paces the team in rebounding at 9.8 per contest and in blocked shots with 11. He is averaging 11.7 points per contest. Freshman Daniel Hackett leads the team with 18 assists, while Stewart has a team-high eight steals.
The Kansas-USC Series
Kansas has won the last three meetings with USC and leads the series 7-5. The series dates back to 1935 and KU won the first three meetings. USC then claimed five of the next six match ups from 1958 to 1978. The teams last met in a home-and-home series in 1997 and 1998. KU won 74-69 in Los Angeles in 1997 and 107-78 the following year in Allen Fieldhouse. This will mark the 12th time in the 13-game series this game has been played in the month of December.
Up Next
Kansas takes a short trip to Kansas City, Mo., to face Toledo in the American Century Investments Shootout in Kemper Arena Saturday. The game will tip at noon and will be televised on ESPN2. Following final exams, KU will next play Tuesday, Dec. 19, against Winston-Salem State in Allen Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.
