No. 9 Kansas Heads to No. 11 Iowa State Saturday in Men’s Hoops

Kansas Heads North to Iowa State
No. 9/10 Kansas (13-2, 2-0) takes on its second of four-straight nationally-ranked teams when it plays at No. 11/13 Iowa State (12-3, 2-1), Saturday at 8 p.m., on ESPN. The Jayhawks are the only undefeated team in Big 12 play at 3-0. KU won its fifth-straight game with a 67-57 home win against No. 24/24 Oklahoma State on Jan. 13. Iowa State is looking to rebound from a 74-73 loss at No. 22 Baylor on Jan. 14. ESPN College GameDay will originate from Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 17, with Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg.
 
About Kansas
No. 9/10 Kansas (14-2, 3-0) is looking for its sixth-straight win when it travels to Iowa State. The Jayhawks are 9-0 in home games, 2-1 in road games and 3-1 on neutral floors this season. Kansas averages 70.9 points per game and has a +8.2 scoring margin. The Jayhawks have outrebounded 12 opponents, average 38.9 boards per contest and hold a +7.1 rebound margin. KU shoots 43.3 percent from the field and has outshot 12 foes this season. KU leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 38.8 percent. The Jayhawks also average 13.9 assists, 6.8 steals and 5.1 blocked shots per game.
 
After his team-high 16-point performance against Oklahoma State (1/13), sophomore Frank Mason III leads Kansas in scoring with a 12.4 average. Mason also leads the Jayhawks with 68 assists, 23 steals and 22 three-pointers. He is shooting 83.0 percent from the free throw line and pulls down 4.1 rebounds per game after his game-high nine boards versus OSU. Junior F Perry Ellis is next in scoring at 12.2 points. He leads the Jayhawks in rebounding with a 6.4 average. Ellis has led KU in scoring six times this season. Included was a 15-point effort on 5-of-7 shooting, 3-for-3 from three-point range, against Texas Tech (1/10). Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., is just behind Mason with 21 three-pointers made, which included a 4-for-8 effort in scoring 16 points versus UNLV (1/4). Selden scores 9.0 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. Oubre is averaging 12.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals in his last five games. He averages 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 2014-15. Oubre’s 17 steals are tied with Ellis for second to Mason on the team and he has made 17 three-pointers this season. Traylor is 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) from the field in league play. He scores 5.7 points per contest and pulls down 4.3 rebounds. Traylor has seven blocked shots in his last four games and his 19 for the season are second on the team.
 
Freshman F Cliff Alexander leads Kansas in blocked shots with 23 and in field goal percentage at 55.7 percent. He is 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) from the field in Big 12 play. Alexander scores 8.2 points per game and his 5.4 rebound average is second on the team behind Ellis. Alexander has multiple blocked shots in each of his last three games and four of his last five outings. 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 nine games this season and is scoring 5.8 points per contest after his nine-point effort against Oklahoma State (1/13). 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 5.1 points per game. 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 2.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He logged 12 minutes against Oklahoma State (1/13), scored four points and pulled down four rebounds. Redshirt junior F Hunter Mickelson played 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.
 
About Iowa State
Located in Ames, Iowa, with an enrollment of 33,241, No. 11/13 Iowa State is 12-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play. The Cyclones are coached by Fred Hoiberg who is 102-50 in his fifth season as a head coach, all at Iowa State. ISU is 8-0 at Hilton Coliseum this season, 2-1 on the road and 2-2 on neutral floors. The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in scoring at 79.9 points per game and has a +14.0 scoring margin. Iowa State average 36.5 rebounds per game and hold a +2.9 rebound margin. The Cyclones also lead the league with a 48.8 field goal percentage, 18.5 assists, a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio and 8.0 three-point field goals made per game. Iowa State also averages 6.5 steals and 3.5 blocked shots per game.
 
Iowa State has three of the top 12 scorers in the Big 12 and is led by junior F Georges Niang who is fifth in the league at 14.9 points per game. Niang pulls down 5.5 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 51 assists. He is makes 3.6 free throws per game and is shooting 80.9 percent from the line. Senior G Bryce Dejean-Jones is eighth in the Big 12 in scoring at 12.9 points per game. He leads Iowa State in rebounding at 5.9 boards per contest and is second on the team with 22 steals. Dejean-Jones has 43 assists as well. Junior G Naz Long is 10th in the league with a 12.5 scoring average. His 2.7 three-pointers, 43 made, are second in the conference, and he pulls down 3.1 rebounds per game. Senior F Dustin Hogue leads the Big 12 with a 60.4 field goal percentage to complement his 11.3 scoring average. Hogue pulls down 4.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore G Monte’ Morris rounds out the ISU starters. He leads the Big 12 in assists with 5.6 per game and assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.6. Morris averages 10.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 2014-15.
 
Redshirt junior F Jameel McKay has played in just six games for the season and averages 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. In only six contests, McKay leads ISU with 16 blocked shots. Other ISU regulars include junior F Abel Nader (6.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and sophomore G Matt Thomas (5.8 ppg, 15 three-pointers).
 
The Kansas-Iowa State Series
Kansas leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 175-60, dating back to 1908. KU has won five of the last six games and 18 of the last 20 meetings. Iowa State won the last meeting, 93-84, in the semifinals of the 2014 Big 12 Championship at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas won the previous five matchups with ISU dating back to Jan. 28, 2012. KU is 68-37 versus ISU in games played in Ames, Iowa, including a 29-19 advantage in Hilton Coliseum. The Jayhawks have won the last two, nine of the last 10 and 11 of the last 13 meetings in Hilton beginning in 2002. Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas is 31-9 against Iowa State with a 28-8 record in regular-season play and a 3-1 mark in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 21-4 all-time versus Iowa State, including 20-4 while at KU, while ISU’s Fred Hoiberg is 2-8 all-time against KU. Expect a close one as since Hoiberg’s arrival at ISU, four of the last eight meetings have been decided by nine points or less with two of those in overtime.
 
What’s Trending

• The NCAA is listing statistics and Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on a regular basis. Through games of Jan. 14, Kansas is No. 1 nationally in the RPI and No. 2 in toughest schedule.
• Kansas has outrebounded 12 of 16 opponents this season with six of those by double figures. Included are three of the last five games and four of the last seven contests: 44-26 (+18) vs. Lafayette (12/20), 44-31 (+13) vs. Kent State (12/30), 45-31 (+14) vs. UNLV (1/4) and 43-26 (+17) vs. Oklahoma State (1/13). KU is 12-0 when outrebounding opponents this season.
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 38.8 percent. The Jayhawks also rank in the upper half of the conference in scoring offense (fifth at 70.9), free throw percentage (third at 71.1), rebounding defense (fourth at 31.8), rebound margin (fourth at +7.1), assists (fifth at 13.9), blocked shots (fourth at 5.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (fifth at 1.1).
• KU had a season-high 24 assists against Texas Tech (1/10), its third game this season with 22-plus dimes. KU has averaged 17.4 assists in its last four games. The Jayhawks average 13.9 assists per game in 2014-15.
• Six different Jayhawks have led KU in scoring over its last 10 games.
• Sophomore G Frank Mason III has 25 assists, eight turnovers and six steals in his last five games. He has scored in double figures in each of KU’s last 13 contests, which is tops on the KU team.
• Freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., has started the last seven games, eight games total, for Kansas this season. In his last seven starts, Oubre has averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds and is shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from three-point range. He also has 14 steals (2.0 spg) in that span. Oubre is averaging 7.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1.1 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.
• Freshman F Cliff Alexander is 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) from the field in his last three games with six 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) while his season best is 16 vs. Tennessee (11/28).
• Junior F Jamari Traylor is 16-for-24 (66.7 percent) from the field in his last five games, including 11-for-14 in his last three 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) against Texas Tech (1/10). He scored nine points with three assists against Oklahoma State (1/13).
• 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).
• Seven Big 12 teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (Jan. 12) 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. 12 national polls, Kansas men’s basketball is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press and No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls. The Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the last 114 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 120 polls and in the top five on 54 occasions.
 
Versus Ranked Teams
With its 67-57 win against No. 24 Oklahoma State on Jan. 13, under KU head coach Bill Self, since the 2003-04 season, Kansas is 58-30 against Associated Press-ranked teams, including 4-1 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 36-13 against AP ranked teams.
 
Jayhawks to Appear on ESPN College GameDay
The Kansas men’s basketball team will make its 10th appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay when the Jayhawks travel to Iowa State Saturday, Jan. 17, the Big 12 Conference announced on Jan. 6. The GameDay show will be in Ames, Iowa, with tip for the KU at ISU contest scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT).
 
The selection was made as part of ESPN’s new flexible schedule for GameDay, being used for the first time this season. Sites are announced the week prior to games. Big 12 schools could be considered for other GameDay hosting duties later in the 2014-15 season. The first hour of ESPN College GameDay begins at 9 a.m. (CT) on ESPNU, continuing at 10 a.m. (CT) on ESPN with an evening edition leading into the Jayhawks at Cyclones matchup.
 
The 2014-15 season marks the 11th year for ESPN’s College GameDay. KU has hosted the show five times (2005, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013) and has been the road team on four occasions (2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014). Kansas is 5-4 all-time on GameDay (4-1 home and 1-3 away). The Kansas at Iowa State contest will mark the sixth-straight season the Jayhawks have appeared on ESPN’s Saturday event.
 
Kansas on ESPN’s College GameDay
3/1/14 – Kansas at Oklahoma State – L, 65-72
2/16/13 – Texas at Kansas – W, 73-47
2/4/12 – Kansas at Missouri – L, 71-74
1/29/11 – Kansas State at Kansas – W, 90-66
1/30/10 – Kansas at Kansas State – W, 81-79 (ot)
3/1/08 – Kansas State at Kansas – W, 88-74
2/4/07 – Texas A&M at Kansas – L, 66-69
2/25/06 – Kansas at Texas – L, 55-80
1/29/05 – Texas at Kansas – W, 90-65
 
Up Next
Kansas 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 hit the road for two games when it plays at Texas on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m., on CBS and at TCU on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m., on ESPNU.
 
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