Kansas to Host Detroit Dec. 28 in Men's Hoops
Dec. 26, 2006
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After a holiday break No. 9/10 Kansas (10-2) faces Detroit (3-8), Dec. 28, in its third game of a four-game homestand. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on Jayhawk TV. Kansas is 10-2 and looking for its fifth straight win. Detroit is 3-8 on the season and 0-1 in Horizon League play. The Titans ended a four-game losing streak with a 60-51 win against Northeastern on Dec. 22.
About Kansas
No. 9/10 Kansas has won four straight and nine of its last 10 games. In fact, KU is 25-4 (86.2 percent) in its last 29 contests. The Jayhawks have been ranked nationally all season, opening the year No. 3 and were No. 9 by Associated Press and No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls released Dec. 25. KU is scoring 78.5 points per game and giving up 58.4. Kansas has held six of its 12 opponents to under 60 points this season. Sophomore Brandon Rush has taken over the scoring lead for KU with a 13.3 points per game average. Rush also leads the team with 21 three-point field goals. Freshman Darrell Arthur is next in scoring at 13.2 points per outing and he leads the team with 27 blocked shots and is third on the team in rebounding with a 5.7 average. Sophomore forward Julian Wright is averaging 12 points per game and has a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game average. Sophomore guard Mario Chalmers leads Kansas with 31 steals and is scoring 11.5 points per game. Junior Darnell Jackson and freshman Sherron Collins come off the bench to score 7.7 and 7.1 points per game, respectively. Jackson is second on the team with a 5.8 rebound average. Junior Russell Robinson rounds out the starting lineup. He is scoring 6.8 points per game and leads the team with 63 assists and has 23 steals.
About Detroit
For the second straight game, Kansas will be facing a player who ranks in the NCAA top four in a statistical category. Last game, Boston College’s Sean Williams led the NCAA in blocked shots and had seven blocks against KU. Detroit senior Ryvon Covile is fourth nationally in rebounding with an 11.4 average. Covile pulled down 16 rebounds in UDM’s 60-51 win against Northeastern Dec. 22. Junior guard Brandon Cotton leads Detroit in scoring with 15.7 points per game. Covile is next at 15.5 points per game and also leads the team in rebounds, blocked shots with 20 and steals with 12. Junior guard Jon Goode is next in scoring at 9.5 points per game and he leads the team with 19 three-point field goals. Junior guard Brandon Bell leads UDM with 24 assists through 11 games.
The Series
Kansas has won both meetings with Detroit in men’s basketball. The Jayhawks defeated the Titans 86-64 on Dec. 1, 1984, in Lawrence and 60-51 on Jan. 6, 1986, in Detroit. On staff in the second meeting was KU volunteer assistant coach Bill Self.
Up Next
Kansas closes out its home non-conference schedule when it plays host to Rhode Island Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Jayhawk TV. From there KU travels to South Carolina to close out the non-league season Jan. 7.
