Kansas to Host Oklahoma on ESPN Big Monday in Men's Basketball

JAYHAWKS TO HOST OKLAHOMA ON ESPN BIG MONDAY
No. 8/8 Kansas (21-6, 12-2) will play host to Oklahoma (20-7, 9-5) in its fourth and final ESPN Big Monday appearance in 2013-14. Tip time from Allen Fieldhouse is set for 8 p.m. The Jayhawks hold a three-game lead in the Big 12 race with a 12-2 conference record. KU is coming off an 85-54 win versus No. 19/17 Texas on Saturday, Feb. 22. Oklahoma, which is receiving votes in both polls, is 20-7 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12 after its 86-73 win against Kansas State Saturday in Norman, Okla. The Sooners are tied with Iowa State and Texas for second place in the 2014 Big 12 race. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, KU is 51-17 all-time on ESPN Big Monday, including 32-9 under head coach Bill Self. The Jayhawks are 28-1 on ESPN Big Monday in Allen Fieldhouse, including 17-0 under Self.
 
A Kansas victory against Oklahoma would guarantee KU at least a share of its 10th-straight Big 12 regular-season title. Kansas has won (or shared) an NCAA all-time high 56 conference regular-season titles, including 13 of the 17 Big 12 titles. KU’s nine-straight Big 12 titles are the nation’s longest active streak and rank tied for the fifth longest all-time.
 
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas averages 79.7 points per game and has a +10.6 scoring margin. KU has outrebounded 23 of 27 opponents, including 12 of 14 Big 12 foes, and holds a +7.3 rebound margin. KU leads the Big 12, and is second in the NCAA, with a 50.3 field goal percentage. The Jayhawks have shot 50 percent or better in seven of its last 11 games, including a season-best 61.5 percent against TCU (2/15). In all, KU has outshot 22 of its 27 opponents in 2013-14. KU also ranks in the top four in the Big 12 in scoring offense (fourth, 79.5), scoring margin (second, +10.6), rebound margin (third, +7.3), assists (second, 15.8) and blocked shots (second, 5.8).
 
Freshman G Andrew Wiggins recorded his eighth 20-point game of the season with 21 points in the win versus Texas (2/22). He leads Kansas with a 16.4 scoring average, the best among Big 12 freshmen and ninth overall in the conference. He has made 34 threes this season and is the team leader with 29 steals. Wiggins’ 5.9 rebound average is third on the team and 19th in the conference. Sophomore F Perry Ellis was named the co-Big 12 Player of the Week (2/17) for the second time this season after his career-high 32 points on 13-of-15 shooting against TCU (2/15). Ellis is KU’s second-leading scorer at 13.4 points per game, which is 15th in the Big 12. Ellis’ 6.5 rebound average is second on the team (13th in the Big 12) as are his 26 steals. Freshman C Joel Embiid broke the KU freshman record with 68 blocked shots after his six against Texas (2/22). His 2.6 blocked shots per game are second in the league. Embiid leads KU with 7.7 rebounds per game, which sixth in the Big 12. A two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and the Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week (1/21), Embiid is shooting 62.5 percent from the field (which would lead the league if he made 5.0 per game) and averages 11.1 points per game. Freshman G Wayne Selden, Jr., is scoring 10.1 points per game and has three 20-point scoring games this season, all in league play. His 33 three-pointers are third on the team while his 74 assists are second. Junior G Naadir Tharpe is scoring 8.7 ppg this season. His 5.2 assists rank third in the Big 12 and his 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio is also third. Tharpe has made a team-best 36 three-pointers in 2013-14.
 
After his 14 points against Texas (2/22), freshman G Frank Mason averages 6.1 points per game and is third on the team with 59 assists. Sophomore F Jamari Traylor leads KU with a 73.2 field goal percentage and is averaging 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. Other contributors off the bench include senior F Tarik Black (4.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg), freshman G Brannen Greene (2.4 ppg), freshman G Conner Frankamp (2.1 ppg) and redshirt freshman F Landen Lucas (1.7 ppg). Black is coming off a nine-point, five-rebound game against Texas.
 
ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Located in Norman, Okla., with an enrollment of 30,753, Oklahoma is 20-7 overall and tied for second with Iowa State and Texas in Big 12 race at 9-5 in conference play. The Sooners are coming off an 86-73 win versus Kansas State Saturday. OU is coached by Lon Kruger who is 55-35 in his third season at OU and 534-339 in his 28th season overall. Oklahoma averages 82.8 points per game, which ranks second in the Big 12. The Sooners have a +6.0 scoring margin and a +2.0 rebound margin. OU averages 21.8 three-point attempts per contest and makes 8.1 threes per outing. Oklahoma forces 12.9 turnovers per game averaging 7.0 steals. The Sooners shoot 74.4 percent from the free throw line as a team.
 
Oklahoma has two players ranked in the top 11 of the Big 12 scoring with sophomore G Buddy Hield leading the way at 16.7 points per game, which is seventh in the league. Hield leads OU with 70 three-pointers made and 39 steals. He also pulls down 4.3 rebounds per game. Senior G Cameron Clark is next in scoring at 15.2 points per contest, which is tied for 11th in the Big 12. Clark makes a team-best 46.7 percent from three-point range (28-60) and his 5.7 rebound average is second on the squad. He is also second on the team with 32 steals. Freshman G Jordan Woodard is next in scoring at 11.0 points per game. He leads OU with 126 assists and has 30 steals this season. Sophomore F Ryan Spangler’s 9.6 rebounds per contest lead the Big 12. He also leads OU with 27 blocked shots and is scoring 10.3 points per game. Sophomore G Isaiah Cousins rounds out the OU starters. He scores 10.5 points per game and has a 4.1 rebound average. Other key contributors include senior F Tyler Neal (6.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg), freshman G Frank Booker (5.3 ppg, 34 threes), sophomore G Je’lon Hornbeak (4.9 ppg, 51 assists) and junior F D.J. Bennett (2.7 ppg).
 
THE SERIES
This series between Kansas and Oklahoma dates back to 1920 when both schools were members of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Kansas leads, 140-65. Since 2006, the Jayhawks have won 11 of the last 12 meetings against the Sooners. OU ended a KU 10-game winning streak with a 72-66 victory in Norman, Okla., last season. Kansas is 70-16 against Oklahoma in games played in Lawrence, including a 43-7 record in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks have defeated the Sooners 12-straight times in Allen Fieldhouse beginning Jan. 10, 1994. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, Kansas is 19-5 against Oklahoma; 17-3 in regular-season play and 2-2 in the Big 12 Championship. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 12-4 all-time against Oklahoma, including 12-2 while at KU. Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger is 6-14 versus Kansas, 1-4 while at OU.
 
Earlier this season, Kansas opened Big 12 play with a 90-83 victory at Oklahoma on Jan. 8. Freshman G Wayne Selden, Jr., scored 24 points, while sophomore F Perry Ellis recorded a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Junior G Naadir Tharpe added 17 points in the KU win. OU’s Cameron Clark led all scorers with 32 points, while teammate Buddy Hield added 18 points for OU.
 
WHAT’S TRENDING

• Kansas has scored 80 or more points in four of its last five games. The Jayhawks have six games of 90 or more points this season, including four in Big 12 play. In 16 of KU’s 21 victories, the Jayhawks have scored at least 80 points, including nine Big 12 games. The Jayhawks are 16-1 when scoring 80 points or more in 2013-14.
• Kansas is 16-1 when shooting 50 percent or better in the game and has eclipsed the 50 percent field goal percentage in seven of its last 11 games and nine of 14 Big 12 games. KU’s 61.5 percent versus TCU (2/15) was a season best.
• KU has outrebounded 23 of its 27 opponents this season, including 12 of 14 Big 12 contests. KU has 12 games with a +10 rebound advantage. Kansas’ +17 margin versus TCU (2/15) tied the season best at Iowa State (1/13).
• Kansas is 19-0 when leading at half this season, including 11-0 in Big 12 play. KU’s 28-point lead (46-18) versus Texas Saturday (2/22) marked its largest halftime lead in a conference game since the Jayhawks held a 29-point lead over TCU, 38-9 (2/23/13).
• KU has held all but one opponent (Duke, 51.7) under 50 percent shooting in 2013-14.
• Freshman G Andrew Wiggins has led Kansas in scoring each of the last two games with 21 points versus Texas (2/22) and 19 points at Texas Tech (2/18). He has led KU in scoring six times in Big 12 play and 12 times this season. 
• Wiggins is 20-for-34 (58.8 percent) from the field in his last three games with five blocked shots and four steals.
• Wiggins has averaged 18.7 points in his last nine contests. His 16.4 scoring average for the season would break the KU freshman record. Wiggins has eight games of 20-plus points, including four in Big 12 play.
• Freshman C Joel Embiid has 68 blocked shots this year, which is the KU freshman record. He has blocked at least one shot in each of his last 20 games played.
• Embiid is 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) from the field in his last four games played with 12.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 2.8 bpg. He pulled down a team-best seven rebounds against Texas (2/22) and has led KU on the boards in seven league games and 12 times this season. Embiid has seven games of 10-plus rebounds this season, including four in Big 12 play.
• Freshman G Wayne Selden, Jr., had eight points on 4-of-7 shooting with six rebounds and a career-high seven assists against Texas (2/22). Selden has shot 50 percent or better in three of his last five games and six of his last nine. He has three 20-point efforts this season, all against Big 12 competition.
• Sophomore F Perry Ellis has shot 60 percent or better in 12 games this season, including four conference contests. The Jayhawks are 12-0 when Ellis shoots 60 percent or better this season. Ellis was 0-for-3 at Texas Tech (2/18).
• Junior G Naadir Tharpe has scored in double figures in six league games and nine times this season. Tharpe had his second career double-double, both in league competition, with 13 points and 10 assists at Kansas State (2/10). He has three games with 10 or more assists this season and three of his four 20-point scoring games in 2013-14 came against Big 12 opponents.
• Senior F Tarik Black is averaging 4.5 points for the season but has averaged 7.8 ppg in his last five games. Black is 24-for-32 (75.0 percent) from the field in his last nine games played. He is averaging 3.0 rebounds for the season yet has pulled down 4.7 boards in his last six contests.
• Sophomore F Jamari Traylor has missed only eight shots in 13 conference games. He scored a career-high 10 points versus TCU (2/15) and is 26-of-34 (76.5 percent) in Big 12 games this season.
• Freshman G Frank Mason scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting against Texas (2/22). His 14 points were a conference-play best and one shy of his career-high 15 against Duke (11/12/13). Mason is 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) in his last three games.
• Freshman G Conner Frankamp scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting with two assists against Texas (2/22). Ten of his 14 field goals this season have come from behind the arc and he has made at least one three-pointer in four of his last five games played.

 
AFTER ONLY ONE SEASON
Last season, Ben McLemore broke the Kansas freshman scoring record, which was held for 28 years by KU legend Danny Manning, set in 1985. Manning scored 496 points, while McLemore became the first freshman in school history to surpass the 500-point barrier with 596 in 2012-13. This season, KU freshman G Andrew Wiggins’ 16.4 points per game is ahead of McLemore’s KU frosh-record average of 15.9 ppg and Wiggins’ 442 points rank fifth on the KU freshman list. Wiggins already owns the KU freshman record for free throw attempts (169) and free throws made (128).
 
EMBIID KU FROSH RECORD HOLDER
With his six blocked shots in the win versus Texas (2/22), freshman C Joel Embiid moved his season total of blocked shots to 68, passing former KU center Eric Chenowith’s 62 in 1997-98. Embiid has blocked at least one shot in 20-consecutive games played. Chenowith’s longest streak stopped at five-straight. Embiid’s eight blocked shots against Oklahoma State (1/18) set the KU freshman game record and tied the Big 12 freshman game record. Embiid is second in the Big 12 with 2.6 blocked shots per game and he has six outings with four or more blocks.
 
Embiid’s 7.7 rebound average in 2013-14 is just ahead of Danny Manning’s KU freshman record of 7.6 set in 1985, while his 201 boards rank fifth on the KU freshman list. Also if maintained, Embiid’s 62.5 field goal percentage would set the KU freshman record (59.5 by Jeff Gueldner in 1987) and rank fifth on KU’s overall single-season list.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Bill Self is 173-9 in games played at Allen Fieldhouse for a 95.1 winning percentage. Self’s Big 12 Conference titles (nine) match his home losses while at Kansas (nine). 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 119-3 in Allen Fieldhouse in its last 122 games and has won 112-straight games against non-ranked teams in the venue dating back to the 2006-07 season. Kansas is 711-109 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse in regular-season games and won victory No. 700 in the 2013-14 season opener against ULM, 80-63, on Nov. 8.
 
CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Kansas has won 13 of the 17 Big 12 regular-season titles (includes ties), including the last nine, which ranks tied for fifth on the NCAA all-time consecutive list. Kansas’ 56 conference titles are the most in NCAA Division I. Kentucky is second with 51 and Penn third at 37. Kansas’ nine-straight league titles is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I and the longest streak in school history. Including 2013, Belmont (Atlantic Sun/Ohio Valley East) and Murray State (Ohio Valley West) are next at four on the active league title list.
 
CONSECUTIVE CONFERENCE REGULAR-SEASON WINNERS
(source: NCAA Record Book; *active streak)
No.       Team                  Conference              Seasons
13        UCLA                PAC-12                  1967-79
11        Gonzaga           West Coast             2001-11
10        Connecticut        Yankee                  1951-60
10        UNLV                Big West                1983-92
9*         KANSAS              Big 12                       2005-13
9         Idaho St.           Rocky Mountain       1953-61
9         Kentucky           Southeastern          1944-52
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will travel to Oklahoma State on March 1 at 8 p.m. on ESPN. ESPN College Gameday will originate from Stillwater that day. KU will return home for Senior Night when the Jayhawks play host to Texas Tech on Wednesday, March 5, at 7 p.m. on the Big 12 Network. Kansas will close out the Big 12 regular season at West Virginia on Saturday, March 8, at 11 a.m. (Central) on either ESPN or ESPN2.
 
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