Jayhawks to host Kangaroos Tuesday in men’s basketball

Game 9
#3/3 KANSAS (7-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs.
UMKC (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
Date Tuesday, Dec. 6
Time 7 p.m. Central
Location Lawrence, Kansas
Arena Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
LIVE COVERAGE
TV Jayhawk TV / ESPN3
Video WatchESPN
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Audio KUAthletics.com/radio
Stats Live Stats
SOCIAL
Twitter @KUHoops | #kubball
Instagram @kuhoops | #kubball
Facebook /KansasBasketball
STATS KU UMKC
Points / game 85.6 79.8
Opp. Points / game 69.0 78.3
Field Goal % .515 .459
3-Point Field Goal % .408 .430
Free Throw % .598 .709
Rebounds / game 39.8 33.7
Assists / game 18.4 13.0
Turnovers / game 13.8 14.8
Steals / game 7.5 7.6
Blocks / game 5.4 2.6

Kansas notes in PDF
UMKC notes in PDF
Big 12 notes in PDF

On the Cusp
Located 43 miles from campus to campus, No. 3/3 Kansas (7-1) will host UMKC (6-3) Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., in men’s basketball. The contest will be televised on Jayhawk Television/ESPN3. Kansas has won seven-straight games after its 89-74 victory versus Stanford on Dec. 3. UMKC brings a 6-3 record to Allen Fieldhouse after the Kangaroos lost at South Dakota State, 77-68, Dec. 3.
 
Kansas head coach Bill Self’s next win will be the 600th of his career. Self is in his 24th season as a head coach with stints at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois before taking over at Kansas in 2003-04.
 
Bill Self’s Milestone Victories
Win     Date   School            Opponent      Score
1        11.26.93        Oral Roberts   Sam Houston State   78-66 
100     11.27.99        Tulsa   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   97-45 
200     2.22.03         Illinois  at Northwestern       73-61
300     2.10.07         Kansas at Missouri     92-74
400     2.13.10         Kansas Iowa State     73-69
500     2.25.13         Kansas at Iowa State 108-96 (ot)
600              Kansas
 
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas has the nation’s longest active home court winning streak of 46 games, which includes 44 in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks average 85.6 points per game and have a 16.6 scoring margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 with a 40.8 3-point field goal percentage, which is 17th nationally. It’s 51.5 percent shooting is second in the league and fifth nationally. KU averages 39.8 rebounds per contest with a 5.4 rebound margin. The Jayhawks also average 18.4 assists, 7.5 steals and 5.4 blocked shots per game.
 
Senior G Frank Mason III has scored 18 or more points in all but one game this season with five 20-point efforts and one 30-point outing. Mason is averaging 19.6 points per game, which ranks second in the Big 12. The Nov. 14 Big 12 Player of the Week, Mason also averages 5.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. Freshman G Josh Jackson is tied for the team lead with a 5.4 rebound average and is second in scoring at 14.0 points per game. He is also tied for the team lead with 14 steals and is second with nine blocked shots. Jackson was named back-to-back Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (11/21, 11/28) and was the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 CBE Hall of Fame Classic, Nov. 21-22. After his five 3-pointer effort in scoring 15 points against Stanford (12/3), junior G Devonte’ Graham averages 13.1 points and 5.4 assists per game, one dime behind Mason. He leads KU with 19 3-pointers made and is tied with Jackson for the team lead in steals with 14. Sophomore G Lagerald Vick has started the last three games and is averaging 15.3 points and shooting 81.8 percent (18-22) in that span. Included is a career-high 23 points, on 9-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range, against Long Beach State (11/29). Vick averages 10.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Like Vick, freshman C Udoka Azubuike has started the last three games for KU. He averages 4.9 points and 4.9 rebounds and leads KU with 12 blocked shots and a 63.0 field goal percentage.
 
Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made nine 3-pointers in his last three games and scores 9.4 points per game. His 18 3-pointers are one behind Graham. Sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr. has started five games this season and is tied with Jackson for the team lead with 5.4 rebounds per game. Bragg averages 7.6 points and is second on the team with a 58.1 field goal percentage. Senior C Landen Lucas had three blocked shots, eight points and five rebounds against Stanford. Lucas averages 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest and started the first five games this season. Junior F Dwight Coleby (1.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg) is also a regular off the bench.
 
ABOUT UMKC
Located in Kansas City, Missouri, with an enrollment of 16,699, UMKC is 6-3 on the season after its 77-68 road loss at South Dakota State on Dec. 3. The Kangaroos are coached by Kareem Richardson who is 42-61 in his fourth season as a head coach, all at UMKC. The Kangaroos average 79.8 points per game and have a 1.4 scoring margin. UMKC makes 10.6 3-pointers per game and shoot 43.0 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks seventh in the NCAA. The Kangaroos average 33.7 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 7.6 steals and 2.6 blocked shots per game.
 
UMKC features six seniors on its roster. Senior G LaVell Boyd leads the team with a 19.1 scoring average. He has made a team-best 28 3-pointers and he also leads the Kangaroos with 35 assists. Senior G Martez Harrison averages 16.5 points per contest and despite missing the last three games due to suspension, he leads UMKC with 14 steals. His 24 assists are second on the team. Senior F Kyle Steward is a starter who averages 7.9 points, while freshman G Isaiah Ross has six starts with a 7.6 scoring average. He is second on the team with 20 3-pointers made and a 4.4 rebound average. Senior F/C Darnell Tillman has started every game this season and leads UMKC in rebounds with a 5.3 average. Tillman scores 4.0 points per contest. Other UMKC regulars include redshirt senior G/F Broderick Newbill (5.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, one start), freshman G Xavier Bishop (5.7 ppg, seven steals), junior G Broderick Robinson (5.4 ppg, three starts), senior G/F Dashawn King (4.1 ppg, six steals) and freshman F Duane Clark (3.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg).
 
THE SERIES
Kansas has won all six meetings with UMKC, with the last meeting during the 2010-11 season, a KU 99-52 win in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 5, 2011. This series dates back to 1992. The Jayhawks defeated the Kangaroos 108-62 in Kemper Arena in 1992 in the Golden Harvest Classic in their first meeting. KU later faced UMKC in back-to-back seasons with a 79-68 win on Dec. 28, 2001 in Allen Fieldhouse and a 100-46 victory at Kemper Arena on Jan. 4, 2003. 
 
KU-UMKC Ties
UMKC radio broadcaster Steven Davis was a four-year manager for Kansas men’s basketball from 2002-05. Davis, who has been calling UMKC hoops since 2008, is the son of former KU broadcaster Bob Davis, who called Kansas football and men’s basketball from 1984-2016. Both Davis men called the 2011 KU-UMKC contest from Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Stanford Leftovers
• Kansas knocked down 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point line, marking the third-straight game Kansas shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc.
• Kansas’ bench contributed 29 points, the highest output by the Jayhawk bench this season and the most since pouring in 45 against Austin Peay on March 16, 2016.
• The Jayhawks beat Stanford by 15 points, 89-74, marking the fourth-straight double-digit victory.
• Kansas turned the ball over nine times, the least in any game of the 2016-17 season.
Stanford F Reid Travis was 19-for-22 from the free throw line. Both figures marked the most by a Kansas opposing player in program history.
Senior G Frank Mason III recorded a season-low one turnover. Mason has posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3:1 in his last three outings.
• Mason scored 20 points, making it seven out of eight games this season with at least 18 points.
Junior G Devonte’ Graham shot 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from three, his third-straight game shooting 50 percent or better from the 3-point arc. Graham has hit 16 threes in his last five outings.
Freshman F Josh Jackson recorded the seventh-consecutive double-figure scoring game of his Kansas career, finishing with 13 points. Jackson racked up three steals, marking the third three-steal game of his career. He has tallied at least one steal in seven of the Jayhawks’ eight games.
Freshman F Udoka Azubuike matched his season high with three blocks in just 11 minutes of action. He’s recorded at least one rejection in seven of the Jayhawks’ eight games this year.
Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk shot 50 percent or better from behind the arc for the third-straight game. All 13 of his points came in the final 20 minutes of action, which included a 3-for-5 mark from 3-point range.
 
WHAT’S TRENDING
• Kansas has averaged 13.0 3-pointers made in its last three games and is shooting 56.5 percent from 3-point range (39-69) in that span.
• KU has 18 steals in its last two games, including 10 versus Long Beach State (11/29). KU is averaging 8.2 steals in its last five outings.
• The Jayhawks’ margin of victory has been 22.5 in their last six games.
Senior G Frank Mason III has nine 20-point games for his career, including five this season. Mason has led KU in scoring in six of eight games in 2016-17.
Junior G Devonte’ Graham has made 16 3-pointers in his last five games and is 16-for-35 (45.7 percent) from beyond the arc in that span.
Freshman G Josh Jackson is tied with sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr. for the team lead with a 5.4 rebound average. The last freshman to lead KU in rebounding was Joel Embiid (8.1 rpg) in 2014. Jackson is also tied for the team lead with 14 steals and is second with nine blocked shots.
• Since entering the starting lineup against UNC-Asheville (Nov. 25), sophomore G Lagerald Vick has shot 82 percent (18-of-22) from the field in his last three appearances.
Freshman C Udoka Azubuike has a team-best 12 blocked shots. He also leads KU with a 63.0 field goal percentage that includes 11 dunks this season.
 
Not Bad Company
Senior G Frank Mason III is 30th in KU men’s basketball history with 1,289 all-time points and 13th with 432 career assists. Mason is only the seventh Jayhawk to rank that high in both categories.
 
Name (KU seasons)    Rank/Points    Rank/Assists
Sherron Collins (2007-10)    1,888/5th      552/8th
Darnell Valentine (1978-81)  1,821/6th      609/5th
Kirk Hinrich (2000-03)         1,753/11th     668/4th
Kevin Pritchard (1987-90)    1,692/12th     499/10th
Tyshawn Taylor (2009-12)   1,580/15th     575/6th
Adonis Jordan (1990-93)      1,373/26th     568/7th
Frank Mason III (2014-pr)            1,289/30th   432/13th
 
IN THE POLLS
Kansas is currently ranked No. 3 both the Associated Press and No. 3 the USA Today Coaches’ polls, released Dec. 5. KU entered the 2016-17 season No. 3 in the AP poll and No. 2 in the coaches’ poll.
 
Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 146 AP polls dating back to the 2008-09 season, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
 
Kansas was ranked in the preseason for the 25th time in time in the 28-year history of the coaches’ poll. The No. 2 preseason ranking marked the sixth time KU has been preseason No. 2 or higher in the coaches’ poll.
 
The AP ranking marked the highest preseason rank for the Jayhawks since entering the 2009-10 season No. 1. This is the fourth-straight season KU has been ranked No. 5 or higher by the AP preseason poll. KU was No. 4 last season in the AP preseason poll and No. 5 in 2014-15 and 2013-14. It is also the seventh time in the last eight seasons that the Jayhawks have entered the season No. 7 or higher by the AP.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will host former league foe Nebraska on Dec. 10 at 2:15 p.m., on ESPN. KU will conclude its six-game homestand when it plays Davidson in the Jayhawk Shootout at Sprint Center on Dec. 17, at 6 p.m., on ESPN2. KU will then play at UNLV on Dec. 22 at 8 p.m., (Central) on the CBS Sports Network.
 
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