Jayhawks Return Home to Host Texas Tech in Men’s Hoops Saturday

G15: Texas Tech at #12/13 Kansas
Date/Time Jan. 10, 2015/2 p.m. (Central)
Location Lawrence, Kansas
Arena Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series Kansas leads 27-4
Television ESPNU
Dave Armstrong (Play-by-Play)
Reid Gettys (Analyst)
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Bob Davis (Play-by-Play)
Greg Gurley (Analyst)
Bob Newton (Engineer)
Live Stats KUAthletics.com
Notes Kansas
Texas Tech
Big 12 Conference
Stats at a Glance KU TTU
Record 12-2, 1-0 10-5, 0-2
Rankings #12/13 not ranked
Points/GM 70.1 68.3
Points Allowed/GM 63.8 60.0
FG% .429 .440
Rebounds/GM 38.4 36.9
Assists/GM 13.5 12.1
Blocks/GM 4.9 4.6
Steals/GM 6.5 7.3

Kansas Returns Home to Host Texas Tech
No. 12/13 Kansas (12-2, 1-0) returns to Allen Fieldhouse for its Big 12 home opener when it plays host to Texas Tech (10-5, 0-2) Saturday, Jan. 10, at 2 p.m. on ESPNU. After its 56-55 win at Baylor (1/7), the Jayhawks are 1-0 in conference play for a mind-boggling 24th-straight year, beginning in 1991-92. Texas Tech is looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The Red Raiders fell to No. 14 West Virginia, 78-67, on Jan. 5 in Lubbock, Texas.
 
About Kansas
No. 12/13 Kansas (12-2) is looking for its fourth-straight win when it hosts Texas Tech. The Jayhawks are 7-0 in home games, 2-1 in road games and 3-1 on neutral floors this season. Kansas averages 70.1 points per game and has a +6.4 scoring margin. The Jayhawks have outrebounded 10 opponents, average 38.4 boards per contest and hold a +6.3 rebound margin. KU shoots 42.9 percent from the field and has outshot 10 opponents this season. The Jayhawks also average 13.5 assists, 6.5 steals and 4.9 blocked shots per game.
 
Junior F Perry Ellis leads KU with 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. Named the Big 12 Player of the Week (12/1), Ellis has led KU in scoring five times this season and in rebounding five times. Sophomore G Frank Mason III is just behind Ellis in scoring at 12.3 points per contest. He has 17 assists, four turnovers and five steals in his last three games. Mason is tied for the KU lead with 19 three-pointers made and leads the squad with 60 assists and 22 steals through 14 games. At 5-11, Mason pulls down 3.8 rebounds per outing. Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., is tied with Mason with 19 three-pointers made, which includes a 4-for-8 effort in scoring 16 points versus UNLV (1/4). Selden scores 9.3 points per game and is second on the team with 47 assists. Rounding out the KU starters are freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., and junior F Jamari Traylor. Oubre has two double-doubles in his last five games. After his four steals at Baylor (1/7), he has nine steals in his last four games and his 13 steals for the season are second-most for the Jayhawks. He averages 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds for the season. Traylor matched his season high with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting at Baylor to go along with five rebounds and two blocked shots. He has started the last three games, and five for the season, and is 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) from the field in his last three games. Traylor averages 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 17 blocked shots.
 
Freshman F Cliff Alexander is a mark of efficiency, averaging 8.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game. He is shooting a team-best 52.9 percent from the field and leads KU with 19 blocked shots in 2014-15. He has multiple blocked shots in two of his last three games and six contests this season. Sophomore G Brannen Greene has made 16 three-pointers this season, including a 5-for-5 effort at Georgetown (12/10) and 2-for-3 game at Baylor (1/7) where he scored 12 points. Greene has two starts and is scoring 5.5 points per game. Freshman G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk scores 4.1 points per game and has made 12 three-pointers. Mykhailiuk has started six games this season. Sophomore F Landen Lucas has started eight games this season and averages 2.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He pulled down a career-high seven boards against Kent State (12/30). Redshirt junior F Hunter Mickelson scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds against Lafayette (12/20). He has averaged 11 minutes in his last three games played and 5.9 minutes for the season. Mickelson averages 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game and has six blocked shots. Ellis, Selden, Alexander and Oubre are on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list as KU is one of only two schools, Kentucky being the other, to have four on the list.
 
On Dec. 13, KU head coach Bill Self announced freshman G Devonte’ Graham (5.9 ppg, seven steals) has a sprained toe and will miss four weeks due to the injury suffered at Georgetown (12/10). Graham had the walking boot removed Dec. 30. 
 
About Texas Tech
Located in Lubbock, Texas, with an enrollment of 33,111, Texas Tech is 10-5 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders are coached by Tubby Smith who is 24-23 in his second season at TTU and 535-245 in his 24th season overall. Texas Tech is 10-2 at home and 0-3 in games away from the United Spirit Arena. The Red Raiders won nine of their first 10 games in 2014-15. Texas Tech averages 68.3 points per game and has a +8.3 scoring margin. The Red Raiders are efficient on the boards averaging 36.9 rebounds per contest with a +5.2 margin. TTU averages 7.3 steals, 12.1 assists and 4.6 blocked shots per game.
 
Junior G Devaugntah Williams leads Texas Tech in scoring at 11.7 points per game. He has made a team-best 25 three-pointers and also is tops on the squad with 31 assists. His 17 steals are second on the team. Senior G Robert Turner is next in scoring at 8.9 points per game. He is second on the team with 28 assists and has made 11 three-pointers. Freshman C Norense Odiase leads TTU with 5.1 rebounds per game and in field goal percentage at 55.3 percent. His 10 blocked shots are second on the team and he scores 8.0 points per contest. Rounding out the Texas Tech starters are freshman forwards Justin Gray and Zach Smith. Gray shoots 50.7 from the field and scores 7.1 points per contest, while Smith is third in the Big 12 in blocked shots at 1.6 per game and he averages 5.2 points per outing. Smith’s 4.7 rebound average is second on the TTU team this season.
 
Redshirt junior G Toddrick Gotcher has one start and scores 7.1 points per game. Gotcher is second on the team with 16 three-pointers made this season. Sophomore G Randy Onwuasor has six starts and leads TTU with 21 steals. He averages 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Other TTU regulars include freshman G Keenan Evans (5.7 ppg, eight threes) and freshman C Isaiah Manderson (4.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 55.1 field goal percentage).
 
The Series
Kansas leads the overall series with Texas Tech 27-4 as the Jayhawks have won 10-straight in the series beginning on Jan. 16, 2010. Kansas is 14-0 against Texas Tech in games played in Lawrence with all 14 meetings held inside Allen Fieldhouse. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, Kansas is 20-4 against Texas Tech; 17-4 in regular-season match-ups and 3-0 in conference championship meetings. The first meeting between the two schools took place in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 7, 1959, an 85-71 Kansas victory. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 14-6 all-time against Texas Tech, including 13-3 while at Kansas. Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith is 2-5 versus Kansas.
 
What’s Trending

  • The NCAA is listing statistics and Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on a regular basis. As of Jan. 8, Kansas is No. 2 nationally in the RPI.
  • Kansas has outrebounded 10 of 14 opponents this season with five of those by double figures. Included are two of the last three games and three of the last five contests: 44-26 (+18) vs. Lafayette (12/20), 44-31 (+13) vs. Kent State (13/30) and 45-31 (+14) vs. UNLV (1/4).
  • Kansas leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 38.5 percent. The Jayhawks also rank in the upper half of the conference in free throw percentage (third at 71.7), rebound margin (fifth at +6.3 and blocked shots (tied for fourth at 4.9).
  • KU has averaged 17.7 assists in its last three games and its 19 dimes at Baylor were the third most this season. The Jayhawks average 13.5 assists per game in 2014-15.
  • Sophomore G Frank Mason III has 17 assists, four turnovers and five steals in his last three games. He has scored in double figures in each of KU’s last 11 contests.
  • As a starter, freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., has averaged 13.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in his last five games. He averages 7.0 ppg and 4.2 rpg for the season.
  • Junior F Perry Ellis has pulled down eight or more rebounds in two of his last three games.
  • Freshman F Cliff Alexander was 2-for-3 (66.7 percent) at Baylor (1/7) and has shot 60 percent or better in seven games this season, including three of his last five contests.
  • Junior F Jamari Traylor is 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) from the field in his last three games, including a 6-for-7 effort in scoring 13 points at Baylor (1/7). Traylor has averaged 7.0 rebounds in his last two games and pulls down 4.5 boards per contest for the season.
  • Sophomore G Brannen Greene has made 21-straight free throws dating back to last season, including 17-for-17 in 2014-15. At Baylor (1/7), Greene scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point range. It was his first multi-three game since his 5-for-5 effort at Georgetown (12/10).
  • Six Big 12 teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (Jan. 5) which is more than any other conference. Nine of the 10 Big 12 teams have been ranked at one point during the 2014-15 season.
  • At 104-22 (82.5 percent), the Big 12 is the only league nationally to have an 80 percent or better winning percentage against non-conference foes.

In the Polls
In the Jan. 5 national polls, Kansas men’s basketball is ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press and No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls. The Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the last 113 Associated Press polls dating back to the 2008-09 season, including in the top five 50 times. In the coaches’ poll, the Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the past 119 polls and in the top five on 54 occasions.
 
Versus Ranked Teams
With its 56-55 win at No. 21 Baylor on Jan. 7, under KU head coach Bill Self, since the 2003-04 season, Kansas is 57-30 against Associated Press-ranked teams, including 3-1 in 2014-15. In each of the last five seasons the Jayhawks have a winning record versus ranked foes, including a 7-3 mark in 2013-14. Since the 2009-10 season, KU is 35-13 against AP ranked teams.
 
Historic Allen Fieldhouse Celebrating 60 Years
Kansas is currently playing its 60th season in historic Allen Fieldhouse, which has been deemed the greatest place to watch a college basketball game. The Jayhawks have sold out of 218-straight games in the Fieldhouse and are 719-109 (86.8 percent) all-time in the facility. At 181-9 (95.3 percent) in 12 seasons, Bill Self has won more Big 12 titles (10) than lost home games (9) in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Dedicated on March 1, 1955, in a 77-67 win against rival Kansas State, here are some notables regarding Allen Fieldhouse:

  • Allen Fieldhouse has sold out each of its last 218 games back to the 2001-02 season.
  • Kansas won its 700th regular-season game in Allen Fieldhouse with an 80-63 victory against ULM on Nov. 18, 2013. KU is 704-168 all-time in the venue.
  • Five of the eight KU head coaches have coached in Allen Fieldhouse. Ted Owens has the most victories with 206, followed by Roy Williams (201), Bill Self (181), Larry Brown (71), Dick Harp (51) and Phog Allen (9).
  • Starting with Wilt Chamberlain in 1957, 12 of KU’s NCAA-leading 28 Consensus All-American First Team selections played in Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Kansas has led its league in home attendance each of the last 27 seasons dating back to 1986-87 and 32 times in the last 36 years.
  • KU is second all-time winningest program in NCAA Division I history with 2,138 wins and the Jayhawks won victories 1,000, 1,100, 1,200, 1,300, 1,400 and 1,900 in Allen Fieldhouse. The 1,900th all-time win also won the 2007 Big 12 regular-season title outright.
  • Kansas has won 31-straight home season finales in Allen Fieldhouse, including 30 consecutive Senior Nights. In 2006-07, Kansas did not have a senior on its roster.
  • From 2006-13 Kansas won 68-straight games against non-conference competition in Allen Fieldhouse.

Home Sweet Home
Since his arrival at KU, Bill Self is 181-9 in games played at Allen Fieldhouse for a 95.3 winning percentage, which includes four undefeated home seasons. Self’s Big 12 conference titles (10) are more than his home losses while at Kansas (9). Included was a school-record 69-game home-court winning streak which led the nation for more than two seasons and ranks 11th all-time in the NCAA records book as well as a 33-game home-court winning streak that ended Feb. 2, 2013, tied for fourth-most in KU history. Kansas is 123-3 in Allen Fieldhouse in its last 126 games. Kansas is 719-109 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Up Next
Kansas hosts Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 6 p.m., on ESPN2. Kansas will travel to Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. on ESPN. ESPN College GameDay will originate from Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 17. KU will then host Oklahoma on Monday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m., in its first of four ESPN Big Monday appearances during the 2014-15 season.
 
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