Kansas to Host Texas Saturday in Men’s Hoops

Kansas to Host Texas Saturday in Men’s Hoops
No. 3/3 Kansas (15-3, 4-2) returns home to host Texas (12-6, 4-2) Saturday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. on ESPN. KU is looking to rebound from an 86-67 loss at Oklahoma State on Jan. 19. Texas will be playing its second-straight road game against its second-straight team ranked in the Associated Press Top 10. The Longhorns are looking to keep their momentum after their 56-49 win at No. 6/7 West Virginia Jan. 20. Baylor sits atop the Big 12 standings with a 5-1 league record, while Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and West Virginia are one game behind at 4-2 one third the way through league play.
 
Kansas has won 33-straight games in Allen Fieldhouse. A victory against Texas would give the current Jayhawks the fourth-longest home court winning streak in school history, which would be the second longest in the Bill Self era at 34 games.
 
Kansas is 31-6 when following a conference loss under Self with only one of those losses coming in Allen Fieldhouse, Feb. 19, 2005 vs. Iowa State.
 
Self is 199-9 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse. With his next victory, Self will become the third KU coach to have won 200 or more games in the historic venue.
 
Two-time KU All-America quarterback John Hadl will be recognized during halftime of the Texas contest (Jan. 23). Hadl’s No. 21 jersey is one of only three Kansas football jerseys to be retired. Hadl, who was picked for the all-conference team for three season, holds two Kansas records: longest interception return and longest punt. Hadl continued his football career with the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers and finally the Houston Oilers, where he played until 1977. The four-time AFL All-Star finished his professional career with an 82-76-9 record. Hadl is currently the Associate Athletics Director of Major Gifts for the Williams Education Fund for Kansas Athletics.
 
About Kansas
Ranked in the Associated Press top five every week this season, Kansas is 15-3 overall and tied for second in the Big 12 standings at 4-2. KU averages 84.8 points per game and is second in the Big 12 with a +16.3 scoring margin. KU pulls down an average of 39.2 rebounds per game and has a +5.3 rebound margin. The Jayhawks also average The Jayhawks also average 17.1 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.2 blocked shots per contest.
 
Senior F Perry Ellis is averaging 17.2 points and 8.0 rebounds in Big 12 play. Overall, Ellis leads KU with a 15.8 scoring average and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Ellis is the only player in the Big 12 to average in the top six in scoring (fourth) and rebounding (sixth). Junior G Wayne Selden Jr., is second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made at 2.5 and his 14.5 scoring average is eighth in the league. Selden has four 20-point efforts this season and his 48.4 3-point field goal shooting percentage is fourth in the Big 12. Junior G Frank Mason III is scoring 13.2 points per game which is 12th in the Big 12 and is fourth in the league with a 4.9 assist average and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6. He has a team-high 29 steals. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is scoring 10.5 points per game. He is second on the team with 28 steals and is fourth in the Big 12 with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Freshman Cheick Diallo (4.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg) started his first college game at Oklahoma State (1/19). He leads KU with 13 blocked shots.
 
Junior G Brannen Greene missed the Oklahoma State (1/19) contest due to a bruised knee but will be back for the Texas (1/23) game. Greene is a 3-point specialist who scores 7.2 points per game off the bench. He is 18-for-31 (58.1 percent) from beyond the arc this season. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made 20 3-pointers made this season, helping him average 6.0 points per game. Freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr., is averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in his last two games, 4.9 ppg and 2.9 rpg overall. He posted a career-high 10 points versus TCU (1/16). Junior F Landen Lucas scores 4.4 points per game and is tied with Mason for second on the team with a 4.6 rebound average. Senior F Hunter Mickelson has started 10 of the last 11 games and is averaging 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds and his 1.1 blocked shots per game are eighth in the Big 12. Senior F Jamari Traylor (2.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg) has started seven games in 2015-16.
 
About Texas
Located in Austin, Texas, with an enrollment of 52,076, Texas is coming off a 56-49 win at No. 6/7 West Virginia Jan. 20. The Longhorns bring a three-game winning streak to Allen Fieldhouse and have won four of their last five contests. UT is coached by Shaka Smart who is in his first season at Texas with a 12-6 record and his seventh season overall at 175-62. Texas averages 73.7 points per game and has a +5.7 scoring margin. The Longhorns pull down 36.3 rebounds per game and average 11.5 assists, 4.9 steals and 4.9 blocked shots per game, which is second in the Big 12.
 
Junior G Isaiah Taylor leads Texas with a 16.4 scoring average, which ranks third in the Big 12. Taylor is fifth in the league with 4.7 assists per game and is tied for the team lead with 15 steals this season. With senior C Cameron Ridley (12.7 ppg, 10.0 ppg) out due to injury, senior G Javan Felix is next in scoring at 11.1 points per game and he is fifth in the Big 12 with 1.9 3-pointers made per game. Felix is second on the team with 33 assists and tied with Taylor with a team-best 15 steals. Senior F Connor Lammert is a starter who averages 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He has made 22 3-pointers this season. Rounding out the UT starters from the West Virginia game are junior G Kendal Yancy (2.9 ppg) and senior C Prince Ibeh (2.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg). Yancy has six starts this season while Ibeh has seven starts and is fourth in the Big 12 with 1.5 blocked shots per game.
 
Freshman G Eric Davis Jr. comes off the bench and scores 8.1 points per game. He is second on the team with 26 3-pointers made this season. Freshman G/F Tevin Mack scores 6.2 points per contest and has made 22 3-pointers. Other UT regulars include freshman G Kerwin Roach Jr. (5.6 ppg), senior G Demarcus Holland (3.7 ppg) and junior F Shaquille Cleare (3.1 ppg).
 
The Series
Year-in and year-out, the Kansas-Texas battles are some of the best in the Big 12, and nationally, in a series that dates back to 1938. Kansas leads the all-time series 25-8, including an 13-1 record in games played in Lawrence, 11-1 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has won eight of the last nine meetings and 11 of the last 13 matchups, starting with the 2008 Big 12 Championship title game. These two teams have met in four of the last eight Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship title games with KU claiming all four match-ups: 80-68 in Dallas in 2006, 88-84 in overtime in Oklahoma City in 2007, 84-74 in Kansas City in 2008 and 85-73 in Kansas City in 2011. The Jayhawks lead the series 13-1 in games played in Lawrence, including a 11-1 mark inside Allen Fieldhouse. Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas holds a 21-7 record against Texas with a 17-6 mark in regular-season play and 4-1 record in the Big 12 Championship. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 15-8 all-time against Texas, including 15-6 while at KU. Texas head coach Shaka Smart is 1-0 versus Kansas. Smart’s 2011 VCU team defeated Kansas, 71-61, in the NCAA Tournament Southwest Region championship game in San Antonio.
 
Kansas Notables
• Kansas ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring margin (second at +16.3), field goal percentage (second at 49.0), 3-point field goal percentage (second at 43.8), 3-point field goals made (second at 8.7), assists (second at 17.1), turnover margin (second at +2.6), scoring offense (third at 84.8), steals (third at 7.9), rebounding defense (third at 33.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.4).
• KU’s 43.8 3-point field goal percentage is fifth nationally and is on pace to break the KU season record of 43.3 set in 1989-90. Its 84.8 scoring average is the best in the Self era and the highest since a 90.9 scoring average in 2001-02.
• Out of its 15 victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more points in 11 of those wins. Five of those wins have been by 30 points or more.
• Kansas has out-shot 16 of 18 opponents this season. The Jayhawks have also out-rebounded 13 of 18 foes.
• Kansas was 10-for-20 from 3-point range at West Virginia (1/12). KU has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range in 13 of its 18 games.
• The KU bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in 12 of 18 games this season and is 12-0 in those contests.
• KU has made seven or more three-pointers in 13 of 18 games this season. KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers seven times, including 15 threes vs. Northern Colorado (11/13) and Chaminade (11/23), which were one off the school record.
• Senior F Perry Ellis is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top six in scoring (fourth at 15.8 ppg) and rebounding (sixth at 6.8).
• In his last 10 games, Ellis is 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from 3-point range, 41-for-50 (82.0 percent) from the free throw line.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. is second the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.5 and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage at .484 for all games.
• Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is fourth in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.6, while junior Frank Mason III is sixth at 2.6. Kansas is the only in Big 12 school to have two ranked in the top six in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Kansas is 31-6 when following a conference loss under Self with only one of those losses coming in Allen Fieldhouse (Feb. 19, 2005 vs. Iowa State).
 
Kansas Milestones
• Senior F Perry Ellis scored 21 points at West Virginia (1/12) an in the process became the 24th Jayhawk to reach the 1,400 point plateau. Ellis has 1,441 career points and passed KU legend Wilt Chamberlain at 23rd with 1,433 points. Earlier this month, Ellis became the 16th player in KU history to reach 700 career rebounds, currently 15th at 734. Ellis is on pace to become the eighth player in KU history to rank in the top 15 in both career points and career rebounds: Danny Manning (2,951 points/1,187 rebounds), Nick Collison (2,097 points/1,143 rebounds), Raef LaFrentz (2,066 points/1,186 rebounds), Clyde Lovellette (1,979 points/839 rebounds), Dave Robisch (1,754 points/815 rebounds), Mark Randall (1,627 points/723 rebounds) and Wayne Simien (1,593 points/884 rebounds).
• Ellis is 14th on the KU all-time double-doubles list with 15.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. has scored 940 points and is 60 shy from becoming the 57th Jayhawk to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Selden already ranks 16th on the KU career 3-pointers made list at 133 and 17th on the 3-pointers attempted list at 347.
• With his four assists against TCU (1/16), junior G Frank Mason III surpassed the 300 career assists mark, currently at 303. Mason has 96 career steals. 
 
In the Polls
In the most recent national rankings released on Jan. 18, Kansas is No. 3 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. KU spent the previous two weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll (Jan. 4, Jan. 11) and the previous week at No. 1 in the Coaches’ poll (Jan. 11). On Jan. 11, the Jayhawks were ranked No. 1 in both national polls for the first time since Feb. 14, 2011. KU has been ranked in each of the last 134 AP polls which is the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I behind Duke’s 166. The last time Kansas was not ranked by AP was during the 2008-09 season. Under coach Bill Self, Kansas has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 220 weeks, which includes 158 weeks in the Top 10, 91 times in the Top 5 and 22 times at No. 1. In the coaches’ poll, under Self, Kansas has been ranked 233 times with 171 in the top 10 and 105 in the top five.
 
Kansas entered the 2015-16 season ranked No. 4 by AP and No. 5 in the coaches’ polls. This season’s AP poll is the highest ranking for the Jayhawks since 2009-10 when they entered the season No. 1 in the country. The preseason ranking is the 10th time in the Bill Self era that the Jayhawks enter the season slotted seventh or higher, including each of the last four seasons – No. 5 in 2015-16 and 2014-15, No. 6 in 2013-14, and No. 7 in 2012-13.
 
Last season, KU entered the year No. 5 nationally in the coaches’ poll and ended up No. 17. The Jayhawks were ranked in the top 10 in 12 times during the 2014-15 season.
 
Up Next
Kansas heads to Iowa State Jan. 25 for an ESPN Big Monday battle on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. KU will host Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and then host Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
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