Jayhawks to Host Cowboys in Men’s Hoops Tuesday

G16: rv/rv Oklahoma State at #12/13 Kansas
Date/Time	Jan. 13, 2015/6 p.m. (Central)
Location	Lawrence, Kansas
Arena	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series	Kansas leads 109-55
Television	ESPN2 Dave Flemming (Play-by-Play) Miles Simon (Analyst)
Radio	Jayhawk Radio Network Bob Davis (Play-by-Play) Greg Gurley (Analyst) Bob Newton (Engineer)
Live Stats	KUAthletics.com
Notes	Kansas Oklahoma State Big 12 Conference

Stats at a Glance	KU	OSU
Record	13-2, 2-0	12-3, 2-1
Rankings	#9/10	#24/24
Points/GM	71.2	71.7
Points Allowed/GM	63.1	58.6
FG%	.436	.456
Rebounds/GM	38.7	36.3
Assists/GM	14.2	12.0
Blocks/GM	4.9	5.2
Steals/GM	6.9	8.9

Kansas Continues Homestand Against Oklahoma State
No. 9/10 Kansas (13-2, 2-0) continues its homestand when it plays host to No. 24/24 Oklahoma State (12-3, 2-1) Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2. The Jayhawks are 2-0 in Big 12 play for the ninth-straight season after their 86-54 win against Texas Tech Jan. 11. Oklahoma State is coming off a 69-58 home win versus No. 10 Texas Jan. 10. OSU’s win was it first against a top-10 team since beating then-No. 2 Kansas last season in Stillwater. Kansas has won 16-straight games inside Allen Fieldhouse entering Tuesday’s contest.

About Kansas
No. 9/10 Kansas (13-2, 2-0) is looking for its fifth-straight win when it hosts Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks are 8-0 in home games, 2-1 in road games and 3-1 on neutral floors this season. Kansas averages 71.2 points per game and has a +8.1 scoring margin. The Jayhawks have outrebounded 11 opponents, average 38.7 boards per contest and hold a +6.5 rebound margin. KU shoots 43.6 percent from the field and has outshot 11 foes this season. KU leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 39.5 percent. The Jayhawks also average 14.2 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.9 blocked shots per game.

Junior F Perry Ellis leads KU with 12.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. Named the Big 12 Player of the Week (12/1), Ellis has led KU in scoring six times this season. Included is a 15-point effort on 5-of-7 shooting, 3-for-3 from three-point range, against Texas Tech (1/10). Sophomore G Frank Mason III is just behind Ellis in scoring at 12.1 points per contest and has scored in double figures in 12-straight games. Mason has 22 assists, five turnovers and six steals in his last four games. Mason has made a team-best 21 three-pointers and also leads the squad with 65 assists and 23 steals through 15 games. At 5-11, Mason pulls down 3.7 rebounds per contest. Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., is just behind Mason with 20 three-pointers made, which includes a 4-for-8 effort in scoring 16 points versus UNLV (1/4). Selden scores 9.2 points per game and is second on the team with 52 assists. Rounding out the KU starters are freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., and junior F Jamari Traylor. Including only three points at Baylor (1/7), Oubre is averaging 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals in his last four games. He averages 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 2014-15. Oubre’s 15 steals are second to Mason on the team and he has made 16 three-pointers this season. Traylor is 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from the field in his last two games. He scores 5.8 points per contest and pulls down 4.4 rebounds. Traylor has seven blocked shots in his last three games and his 19 for the season are second on the team.

Freshman F Cliff Alexander leads Kansas in blocked shots with 21 and in field goal percentage at 55.3 percent. He is 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from the field in his last two contests. Alexander scores 8.3 points per game and his 5.4 rebound average is second on the team behind Ellis. Alexander has multiple blocked shots in three of his last four games and seven contests this season. Sophomore G Brannen Greene has made 17 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 Devonte’ Graham returned to the lineup against Texas Tech (1/10) after missing a month (six games) with a sprained toe. He responded with six rebounds and six assists, both career bests and scored two points against the Red Raiders. Graham has appeared in eight games and is scoring 5.4 points per contest. Freshman G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk scores 4.1 points per game and has made 13 three-pointers. Mykhailiuk has started six games in his initial campaign as a Jayhawk. Sophomore F Landen Lucas has started eight games this season and averages 2.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Redshirt junior F Hunter Mickelson logged 10 minutes against Texas Tech (1/10) and has averaged 10.8 minutes in his last four games played compared to 6.3 for the season. He averages 2.0 points and 1.7 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.

About Oklahoma State
Located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with an enrollment of 35,214, No. 24/24 Oklahoma State is receiving votes in both national polls, has won three of its last four games and is 12-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play. The Cowboys are coached by Travis Ford who is 137-80 in his seventh season at OSU and 327-226 in his 18th season overall. OSU averages 71.7 points per game and has a +13.1 scoring margin. Oklahoma State averages 36.3 rebounds per contest with a +2.1 rebound margin. The Cowboys are second in the Big 12 in three-point field goals made per game at 7.5 and 8.9 steals. OSU also averages 12.0 assists and 5.2 blocked shots per outing in 2014-15.

Junior G Phil Forte III and senior F Le’Bryan Nash rank 1-2 in Big 12 scoring with Forte at 17.7 points per game and Nash at 17.6 ppg. Forte also leads the conference with 2.6 steals per contest and his 2.8 three-pointers per game are second in the league. Nash is second on the team with 32 assists and a 6.0 rebound average. Senior G Anthony Hickey, Jr., a transfer from LSU, leads Oklahoma State with 49 assists to complement his 9.3 scoring average. He is second on the team with 21 three-pointers made and 30 steals. Redshirt senior F Michael Cobbins is second in the Big 12 with 2.2 blocked shots per game. He has a team-best 6.3 rebound average and 61.1 field goal percentage. He scores 7.2 points per contest. Junior G Jeff Newberry rounds out the OSU starters. He scores 5.8 points per game, has made 13 threes and has 14 steals.

Redshirt freshman F Jeffrey Carroll has only played in one league contest, but has started nine of 13 games in 2014-15 with a 4.8 scoring average and 12 three-pointers made. Freshman F Tavarius Shine has made eight three-pointers and scores 3.5 points per game. Other regular contributors for OSU include junior C Anthony Allen, Jr. (2.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg), freshman G Tyree Griffin (1.3 ppg) and freshman F Mitchell Solomon (1.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, two starts).

The Kansas-Oklahoma State Series
The Kansas-Oklahoma State series dates back to 1926 with KU holding a 109-55 all-time advantage. KU has won seven of the last nine meetings and the series is 11-4 in favor of KU in the last 15 matchups. Kansas is 59-11 against Oklahoma State in games played in Lawrence, including a 44-9 mark in Allen Fieldhouse. Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas is 20-8 versus OSU: 15-6 in regular-season play and 5-2 in the Big 12 Championship. The Jayhawks have defeated the Cowboys in each of their last three Big 12 Championship meetings with identical scores, 63-62, in the 2011 quarterfinals and the 2006 quarterfinals and 77-70 in overtime last season. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 13-9 all-time against his alma mater, including a 12-6 record at Kansas, while Travis Ford is 3-8 versus KU.

What’s Trending

The NCAA is listing statistics and Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on a regular basis. As of Jan. 9, Kansas is No. 2 nationally in the RPI and No. 2 in toughest schedule.
Kansas has outrebounded 11 of 15 opponents this season with five of those by double figures. Included are two of the last four games and three of the last six contests: 44-26 (+18) vs. Lafayette (12/20), 44-31 (+13) vs. Kent State (12/30) and 45-31 (+14) vs. UNLV (1/4).
Kansas leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 39.5 percent. The Jayhawks also rank in the upper half of the conference in free throw percentage (third at 71.3), rebounding defense (fifth at 32.2), rebound margin (fourth at +6.5), assists (fifth at 14.2), blocked shots (fifth at 4.9) and three-point field goals made (fourth at 6.5).
KU had a season-high 24 assists against Texas Tech (1/10), its third game this season with 22-plus dimes. KU has averaged 19.3 assists in its last four games. The Jayhawks average 14.2 assists per game in 2014-15.
Kansas’ 12 steals against Texas Tech (1/10) were a season high. The Jayhawks have averaged 8.5 steals in their last four games.
Six different Jayhawks have led KU in scoring over its last nine games.
Sophomore G Frank Mason III has 22 assists, five turnovers and six steals in his last four games. He has scored in double figures in each of KU’s last 12 contests which is tops on the KU team.
Freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., has started the last six games, seven game total, for Kansas this season. In his last six starts, Oubre has averaged 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds and is shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 48.1 percent from three-point range. He also has 12 steals (2.0 spg) in that span. Oubre is averaging 7.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 1.0 steals for the season.
Junior F Perry Ellis had his first multi-three pointers made game this season when he went 3-for-3 against Tech (1/10) in scoring 15 points. Ellis is 21-for-42 (50.0 percent) from the field in his last four games, including a 5-for-7 effort versus Tech.
Freshman F Cliff Alexander is 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from the field in his last two games with four blocked shots. His 12 points against Texas Tech (1/10) tied for his second-most this season. He also had 12 versus Florida (12/5) and his season best is 16 vs. Tennessee (11/28).
Junior F Jamari Traylor is 14-for-21 (66.7 percent) from the field in his last four games, including 9-for-11 in his last two contests.
Freshman G Devonte’ Graham missed six games due to an injury. In his first contest back, Graham set career highs in rebounds (6) and assists (6).
Sophomore G Brannen Greene has made 21-straight free throws dating back to last season, including 17-for-17 in 2014-15. The Kansas record for consecutive free throws is 36 by Sherron Collins during the 2008-09 season. 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.

Up Next
Kansas will travel to Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. on ESPN. ESPN College GameDay will originate from Ames, Iowa, that day. KU will return to Allen Fieldhouse to host Oklahoma on Monday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m., in its first of four ESPN Big Monday appearances during the 2014-15 season. KU will then play at Texas on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m., on CBS.

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