Jayhawks to Host Blue Demons in Men's Basketball Saturday at 1 p.m.

Dec. 7, 2007

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No. 3 Kansas hosts DePaul just prior to final exams on Saturday afternoon. The Jayhawks are 8-0 after their 85-47 win against Eastern Washington on Wednesday. Today’s game will mark the 100th consectuve sell-out in Allen Fieldhouse dating back to the second home game of the 2001-02 season. DePaul brings a 2-2 record to Allen Fieldhouse after its 85-70 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 28.

About Kansas

Kansas has won 22 of its last 23 games and is 8-0 for the 18th time in school history. KU is outscoring opponents with a +26.1 scoring margin. Sophomore forward Darrell Arthur leads the team in scoring with 14 points per game. He is second on the team with a 6.1 rebound average. Junior guard Mario Chalmers is next in scoring with 12.4 points per contest and had a 20-point effort at USC Dec. 2. He leads KU with 40 assists and 22 steals on the season, including eight assists and six steals against Eastern Washington. Senior forward Darnell Jackson has started the last three games and is scoring 11.6 points and pulling down a team-high 6.8 rebounds per outing. He scored 17 points and pulled down nine boards on Wednesday against EWU. Last Sunday, Jackson grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds at USC. Junior guard Brandon Rush is also averaging double digits in scoring with 10.3 points per game. Seniors Sasha Kaun (7.5 ppg, team-high 78.6 percent field goals and 14 blocked shots), Russell Robinson (7.1 ppg, 15 steals) and Rodrick Stewart (6.9 ppg, 28 assists) round out the KU starters. Kansas forces an average of 21 turnovers per game and averages 20.3 assists per contest.

About DePaul

DePaul will be playing its first game in the month of December when it visits Allen Fieldhouse. The Blue Demons are 2-2 with victories against Northwestern, 54-53, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 85-70. Senior guard Draelon Burns leads the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game. He also leads DePaul with 11 three-point field goals and is second on the team with 13 assists. Freshman forward Dar Tucker is next in scoring with 11 points per outing and is solid on the boards with a 5.3 rebound average. Senior forward Karron Clarke is scoring 10.8 points per contest, leads the team with four blocked shots and is second in rebounds with six per game. Freshman center Mac Koshwal leads DePaul in rebounds, pulling down eight per contest to compliment his 7.3 scoring average. Junior guard Jabari Currie has a team-high 15 assists on the season. The starter is scoring 7.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Will Walker is a top reserve with his 8.3 scoring average. DePaul is balanced, as nine players are averaging 11-plus minutes per game. The Blue Demons are scoring 73.5 points per game and giving up 73.2. They are outrebounding foes 37.8 to 35.2 per contest.

The Series

Kansas won the first seven meetings with DePaul and leads the series 7-1, yet the unranked Blue Demons upset the then-No. 5 Jayhawks, 64-57, in Chicago last season. This series dates back to 1942. Prior to last year, the last meeting with the two teams was in 2000, a 75-69 Kansas win in Chicago. The two teams actually met twice during the 2000 calendar year, as Kansas defeated DePaul, 81-77, in overtime in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on March 17, 2000, in Winston Salem, N.C.

Up Next

Kansas takes a break for final exams before playing in The Kansas City Shootout presented by Careerbuilder.com against Ohio in the SprintCenter in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 15. The game tips at 4 p.m. (Central) and will be televised on ESPN2. KU will then hit the road for a Dec. 18 contest at Georgia Tech. Tip for that game is 6 p.m. (Central) and it will be televised on ESPN.