December 15, 2012

Kansas Postgame Notes - vs. Belmont

Dec. 15, 2012

No. 9/9 KANSAS 89, Belmont 60
Postgame Notes
December 15, 2012

KANSAS STARTERS (Career/Season):

Kevin Young (6/6), Ben McLemore (9/9), Elijah Johnson (55/9), Travis Releford (51/9) and Jeff Withey (49/9). The Jayhawks improved to 6-0 with this starting five.

THE KANSAS’ WIN:

Kansas has won 60-straight games against non-conference teams in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks extend their win streak to seven games and are 6-0 at Allen Fieldhouse this season. KU has won 27-straight games at Allen Fieldhouse, which is the nation’s second-longest home-winning streak. KU now leads the series, 2-0, against Belmont. KU is now 21-0 against the current members of the Ohio Valley Conference. KU is now 687-107 (.865) all-time when playing at Allen Fieldhouse, including 150-7 (.955) under head coach Bill Self. Coach Self’s record improves to 277-54 (.837) at Kansas and 484-159 (.753) overall. KU is now 2,077-807 (.720) all-time.

TEAM NOTES:

Kansas opened the game with a 10-2 run over the first 3:04 of the contest. Leading 27-21, KU used a 9-2 run to take a 36-22 lead over a 3:44 stretch. The Jayhawks posted a first-half double-digit lead for the sixth-straight game. Kansas’ 44 first-half points marked the most by the Jayhawks since scoring 50 in the first half against Washington State. KU led for the entire game and has never relinquished the lead in its last six games. Meaning the Jayhawks have led for their last 253 minutes and 17 seconds on the court. The 41-point lead that KU held over Belmont, 87-46, at the 6:23 mark of the second half was the largest deficit the Bruins have faced all season. KU started the second half by sinking five of its first six three-point tries. The Jayhawks posted a 41-34 rebounding edge and have outrebounded seven of nine opponents this season. Seven of Kansas’ eight victories have been by 13 points or more this season. Kansas sank a season-best 10 three-point field goals. The Jayhawks also dished out a season-best 25 assists. Kansas has collected back-to-back double-digit steals efforts, after collecting 10 Saturday. For the fourth-straight game, Kansas had four players score in double figures. KU’s 89 points fell one-point shy of its season best with the 90 points scored in the last game against Colorado. Kansas held Belmont to a season-low 8-for-38 (21 percent) shooting from three, including an 1-for-8 start. Kansas has sold out its last 185 games in Allen Fieldhouse, dating back to the second game of the 2001-02 season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

Freshman Ben McLemore’s three-pointer at 19:55 in the first half opened the game’s scoring, marked the seventh time in nine games he has sank at least one trey. McLemore finished with a 4-for-5 effort behind the arc, setting a career-high for three-point makes. His four threes also ties the season high for KU, joining Releford’s four threes against Saint Louis and Elijah Johnson’s four treys versus Chattanooga. McLemore’s 4-for-5 shooting on threes was the best individual three-point field goal percentage by a KU player this season. McLemore’s dunk at the buzzer to end the first half, followed by his successive free throw after the foul, gave the freshman 11 points in the first half. It marked the eighth-straight double-digit scoring effort by McLemore. He finished with a team-best 17 points, equaling Travis Releford’s scoring output. Johnson posted four rebounds in the first 12 minutes of the game, equaling his season high. He finished with five boards to set a new season standard. Johnson dished out a career-high-tying nine assists. It is the fourth time in his career he has registered nine assists in a game. He also only had one turnover, which was his best assist-to-turnover ratio of the season. Freshman Andrew White III tossed in five first-half points and finished with a career-best 15. In his first five games played, White totaled 13 points. He now has 23 tallies over the last two contests combined. Senior Jeff Withey added to his nation’s best blocked shot total with five. He now has 50 blocks on the season. Withey also finished with 14 points, marking his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season and his fourth in the last five games. He now has 24 double-figure games in his career. Releford collected a team-high 17 points and has scored double-figures in six-straight games. He has 28 double-digit efforts in his career.