ESPN Big Monday Returns to Allen Fieldhouse for Jayhawks and Cowboys

Notes Links Kansas Game Notes (.pdf)
Notes Links Oklahoma State Game Notes (.pdf)
Notes Links Big 12 Game Notes (.pdf)
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No. 2/2 Kansas (21-4, 9-3 Big 12) plays host to Oklahoma State (12-13, 3-9) on ESPN Big Monday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. The Jayhawks have the longest winning streak in the Big 12 at five games after their 76-72 win at No. 3/3 Oklahoma on Feb. 13. Oklahoma State ended a three-game losing skid with a 58-55 overtime win against Kansas State on Feb. 13.

With Wichita State’s home loss to Northern Iowa, Feb. 13, Kansas now holds the nation’s longest home court winning streak at 39 games. The streak includes 37-straight wins inside historic Allen Fieldhouse and two in Sprint Center in Kansas City, which those contests are part of the KU home ticket package. KU is 13-0 in Allen Fieldhouse this season.

ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas averages 82.7 points per game and has a +13.8 scoring margin. The Jayhawks are fourth nationally with a 42.2 3-point field goal percentage. KU pulls down an average of 38.4 rebounds per game and has a +5.4 rebound margin. The Jayhawks also average 16.1 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.1 blocked shots per contest.

Senior F Perry Ellis has scored 19 or more points in five of his last seven games, including four 20-point efforts. Ellis is averaging 18.8 points and 6.7 rebounds during Big 12 play, and 16.6 points and 6.5 rebounds overall. Ellis is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top-seven in scoring (third) and rebounding (seventh). Junior G Wayne Selden Jr., is seventh in the Big 12 in scoring at 14.0 points per game, third in the league in 3-point  field goals made per game at 2.2 and sixth in 3-point field goal percentage at 42.7 percent. Junior G Frank Mason III is scoring 13.1 points per game, which 12th in the Big 12. He is fifth in the league with a 4.6 assist average and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.2. Mason and sophomore G Devonte’ Graham are tied for the team high with 35 steals. Graham is coming off a career-high 27 points at Oklahoma. He is scoring 11.3 points per game and is fourth in the Big 12 with a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio and eighth with a 3.7 assists per game. Junior F Landen Lucas rounds out the KU starters. He has pulled down 26 rebounds in his last two games, including a career-high 16 boards against West Virginia (2/9), where he also had a career-high four blocked shots and just missed a double-double with nine points. He scores 4.7 points per game and is second on the team with a 5.7 rebound average, which is 13th in the Big 12.

Junior G Brannen Greene has scored 19 points in his last two games. He is a 3-point specialist who scores 6.8 points per game off the bench. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had 10 points against Kansas State (2/3) which is his career high in Big 12 play. He has made 22 3-pointers this season, helping him average 5.5 points per game. Freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr., is averaging 4.1 ppg and 2.5 rpg overall. Freshman Cheick Diallo (3.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg) has 15 blocked shots. Senior F Jamari Traylor (2.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg) pulled down a season-high-tying seven rebounds at TCU (2/6). Traylor is a high-energy forward who has started seven games in 2015-16 and is tied for 12th in the Big 12 with 0.8 blocked shots per game. Senior F Hunter Mickelson, who has started 10 games this season averaging 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds and his 1.1 blocked shots per game are ninth in the Big 12. 

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
Located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with an enrollment of 35,214, Oklahoma State is 12-13 overall and 3-9 in Big 12 play. The Cowboys are 8-5 in Gallagher-Iba Arena, 1-6 in true road game and 3-2 on neutral courts this season. OSU is coached by Travis Ford who is 155-104 in his eighth season at OSU and 345-250 in his 19th season overall. Oklahoma State averages 69.0 points per game and has a +3.1 scoring margin. OSU’s 65.9 points given up per game are second in the conference. The Cowboys average 36.1 rebounds per game. OSU leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 39.8 percent, which is 33rd nationally. OSU averages 12.3 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.4 blocked shots per contest.

Freshman G Jawun Evans leads OSU in scoring at 12.9 points per game, which includes 15.6 ppg in Big 12 play. Evans is fourth in the Big 12 with a 4.9 assists per game average and pulls down 4.4 rebounds per contest. Evans has missed the last three games due to a shoulder injury. Senior G Jeff Newberry is second on the team with 12.9 scoring and 4.7 rebounding averages. Newberry is third on the squad with 20 3-pointers made and leads OSU with 41 steals. Junior F Leyton Hammonds leads OSU with a 5.2 rebound average to complement his 10.6 scoring average. He is second on the team with 32 3-pointers made this season. Sophomore F Jeffrey Carroll has started all 12 Big 12 contests and leads OSU with 33 3-pointers made this season. Carroll averages 8.4 points per game. Sophomore F Mitchell Solomon (3.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg) rounds out the OSU starters.

Senior F Chris Oliver averages 8.5 points per contest and is second on the team with 27 blocked shots. Sophomore F Tavarius Shine scores 5.0 points, while sophomore F Joe Burton is another regular who averages 4.3 points per game, Senior C Anthony Allen is sixth in the Big 12 with 1.3 blocked shots per outing. Allen averages 3.1 points per contest. Sophomore G Tyree Griffin, who has been in the starting lineup with Evans’ injury, is second on the team with 73 assists. Griffin scores 5.0 points per game.

THE KU-OSU SERIES
The Kansas-Oklahoma State series dates back to 1926 with KU holding a 110-57 all-time advantage. KU has won eight of the last 12 meetings. KU is 60-11 against OSU in games played in Lawrence, including a 45-9 record inside Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas has won 18 of the last 19 meetings in Allen Fieldhouse starting in 1990. OSU’s lone win in that stretch was 85-80 on Feb. 2, 2013. Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas is 21-10 versus OSU: 16-8 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 in 2014, 2011 and 2006. KU head coach Bill Self is 14-11 all-time against his alma mater, including a 13-8 record at Kansas, while Travis Ford is 5-9 versus KU.

Earlier this season, OSU defeated then-No. 3 KU, 86-67, in Stillwater, on Jan. 19. Frank Mason III led KU with 14 points, while Perry Ellis scored 13 and Devonte’ Graham 10. Mason and Landen Lucas led KU with five rebounds. OSU’s Jawun Evans led all scorers with 22 points.

KANSAS NOTABLES
• Kansas ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring offense (second at 82.7), scoring margin (second at +13.8), field goal percentage (second at 48.9), 3-point field goal percentage (second at 42.2), 3-point field goals made (second at 8.4), assists (third at 16.1), rebound margin (third at +5.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.3).
• Kansas’ 82.7 scoring average is the best in the Self era (81.6 in 2009-10) and the highest since a 90.9 scoring average in 2001-02.
• Out of its 21 victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more points in 14 of those wins, including three of the last four games. Five of those wins have been by 30 points or more.
• Kansas has out-shot 21 of 25 opponents this season, including 46.3 to 33.3 percent at Oklahoma (2/13). The Jayhawks have outshot each of their last four opponents.
• The Jayhawks have out-rebounded 19 of 25 foes, including six of the last seven contests. KU had a +21 rebound advantage at TCU (2/6) and a +11 (42-31) versus Kentucky (1/30).
• Kansas has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range in 17 of its 25 games, including each of the last two contests (42.3 at OU and 41.2 vs. WVU).
• The KU bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in 15 of 25 games this season and is 14-1 in those contests.
• After going 11-for-26 at Oklahoma (2/13), KU has made seven or more three-pointers in 18 of 25 games this season, including three of the last four battles. KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers nine 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 seven in scoring (third at 16.6 ppg) and rebounding (seventh at 6.5).
• Ellis has pulled down nine or more rebounds in eight games this season.
• Ellis has led KU in scoring in seven of 12 Big 12 games, averaging 18.8 points per Big 12 contest (16.6 ppg overall).
• Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is 17-for-29 (58.6 percent from the field in his last three games, including 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from 3-point range.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr., is third in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.2 and sixth in 3-point field goal percentage at .427 for all games. Selden has made three or more 3-pointers in 12 games this season.
• Kansas’ 37-game winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse is the third longest in school history. In that span, KU has defeated 14 nationally-ranked opponents during the streak.
• Kansas is 32-6 when following a conference loss under Self with only one of those losses coming in Allen Fieldhouse (Feb. 19, 2005 vs. Iowa State).

KANSAS ON ESPN BIG MONDAY
For the 10th-straight season, the Kansas men’s basketball team will make four appearances on ESPN’s Big Monday, with its third against Oklahoma State on Feb. 15. In the Big 12 era, Kansas and Oklahoma State have faced each other on Big Monday six times. Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97, Kansas is 55-20 all-time on Big Monday (32-1 at home, 23-19 on the road), including 36-12 under head coach Bill Self (21-0 at home, 15-12 on the road). Additionally, KU has won 25-straight Big Monday games in Allen Fieldhouse, which includes a 21-0 mark under Self.

 QUITE THE COMPARISON
In Kansas’ 21 victories this season, the Jayhawks have won by an average of 18.8 points per game. In its four losses, KU lost by 12.2 points per game. Here is a breakdown of statistics when the Jayhawks win compare to when they lose.

DOWNTOWN
Kansas is making 42.2 percent from 3-point range which is sixth nationally and second in the Big 12. At their current percentage pace, the 2015-16 Jayhawks would finish second on the school’s single-season 3-point field goal percentage list.

IN THE POLLS
In the most recent national rankings released on Feb. 15, Kansas is No. 2 both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches’ Poll. The Jayhawks hold the longest active streak for consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 (137) after Duke fell out of the poll for the first time in eight seasons, ending a 167-week streak, on Feb. 1.

KU spent two weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll (Jan. 4, Jan. 11) and one week at No. 1 in the Coaches’ poll (Jan. 11). On Jan. 11, Kansas was ranked No. 1 in both national polls for the first time since Feb. 14, 2011.

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 222 weeks, which includes 160 weeks in the Top 10, 92 times in the Top 5 and 22 times at No. 1. In the coaches’ poll, under Self, Kansas has been ranked 235 times with 173 in the top 10 and 106 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.

KANSAS MILESTONES
• Senior F Perry Ellis is only the 20th Jayhawk to reach the 1,500 point plateau, reaching the milestone against Kentucky (1/30). Ellis has 1,573 career points, which is 15th on the KU career scoring list. Earlier this month, Ellis became the 16th player in KU history to reach 700 career rebounds, currently 13th at 775. 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).
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr., had 33 points against Kentucky (1/30) and in the process became the 57th Jayhawk to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He is tied for 50th on the KU scoring list at 1,030 points (Jerr Gardner, 1960-62) and ranks tied for 14th on the KU career 3-pointers made list at 144 (Ryan Robertson, 1996-99) and 12th on the 3-pointers attempted list at 385.
• With his four assists against TCU (1/16), junior G Frank Mason III surpassed the 300 career assists mark, currently at 328, which is 19th on the KU all-time list. Mason has 103 career steals. 

KANSAS vs. RANKED TEAMS
With its 76-72 win at No. 3/3 Oklahoma, Kansas improved to 6-3 against nationally-ranked opponents in 2015-16, including 3-0 versus top-10 foes. Six of those nine contests have been versus Big 12 members with KU having a 4-2 record. In the Bill Self era, Kansas is 70-37 against ranked opponents and has had a winning record against ranked foes each of the last 11 seasons. In 2014-15 KU played an all-time high 16 games vs. ranked foes and its 10 wins last year were also a season best.

DOMINATING DEFENSE
In Bill Self’s previous 12 seasons at Kansas, the Jayhawks have led the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense eight times and finished no lower than fourth. Nationally, Self-coached Jayhawks have ranked eighth or higher in all but two seasons in field goal percentage defense and have ranked in the top five on eight occasions, including first in 2005-06 and 2011-12.UP NEXT
Kansas will travel to Kansas State on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. The Sunflower Showdown presented by Dillons will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2. Kansas will then travel to Baylor on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

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