No. 11/12 Men's Hoops Heads to Orlando Classic

Orlando Classic
On Thanksgiving Day, No. 11/12 Kansas (2-1) plays Rhode Island (3-0) at 1 p.m. (Central) in the opening round of bracket play at the Orlando Classic from HP Field House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. The contest will be televised on ESPN2 and is the second game with Santa Clara-Tennessee starting at 11 a.m. Kansas is coming off an 87-60 win against Rider in a non-bracket contest of the Orlando Classic on Nov. 24. Rhode Island defeated then-No. 25 Nebraska, 66-62, on Nov. 22, in its last outing to improve to 3-0 on the season.
 
2014 Orlando Classic
HP Field House * Orlando, Fla. * All times Central
 
Thursday, November 27
G1 – Santa Clara vs. Tennessee, 11 a.m. (ESPN2) 
G2 – Kansas vs. Rhode Island – 1 p.m.  (ESPN2)
G3 – Michigan State vs. Rider – 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
G4 – Marquette vs. Georgia Tech – 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
 
Friday, November 28
Consolation #1 (G1 vs. G2 losers) – 11 a.m. for KU or 1:30 p.m. (ESPN/U)
Semifinal #1 (G1 vs. G2 winners) – 11 a.m. for KU or 1:30 p.m. (ESPN/U)
Consolation #2 (G3 vs. G4 losers) – 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Semifinal #2 (G3 vs. G4 winners) – 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
 
Sunday, November 30
7th-place game – 9:30 a.m. (ESPN3)
3rd-place game – 12 p.m. or 3 p.m. (ESPN/2)
5th-place game – 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Championship Game – 12 p.m. or 3 p.m. (ESPN/2)
 
About Kansas
No. 11/12 Kansas is 2-1 on the season after its 87-60 win against Rider inside Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, Nov. 24. The Jayhawks average 65.3 points per game and have a +1.7 scoring margin. KU is outrebounding foes 39.0 to 36.3 and averaging 12.3 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.7 blocked shots per game. Kansas has 10 players who average 10 or more minutes per game for 12th-year head coach Bill Self.
 
One of four Jayhawks on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 for 2014-15, junior F Perry Ellis leads KU in scoring with 11.3 points per game and four steals. Ellis had 17 points against Rider (11/24) and averages 5.0 rebounds per game. Freshman F Cliff Alexander is next in scoring at 9.0 points per contest. Also a Wooden Top 50 candidate, Alexander comes off the bench and is second the team with 5.3 boards per outing. Sophomore G Frank Mason III is a starter who averages 8.7 points per game and is second on the team with five assists and three steals. He is 8-for-9 (88.9 percent) from the free throw line. Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., leads KU with 12 assists through three games, including a career-high nine against Rider. A Wooden Top 50 selection, Selden averages 6.3 points per game. Junior F Jamari Traylor has two starts and leads the Jayhawks with 6.3 rebounds per contest and seven blocked shots. He is scoring 3.3 points per game. Freshman G Svilatoslav Mykhailiuk scored 10 points against Rider and averages 6.0 points per game. He is second on the team with six assists. Freshman G Devonte’ Graham is scoring 7.0 points in KU’s first two games. Graham injured his shoulder against Kentucky, could have played against Rider. He is expected to be in the rotation in Orlando. Sophomore G Brannen Greene has one start and, averages 6.7 points per game and is tied with Mykhailiuk for the team high with three three-pointers made. Freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., also a Wooden Top 50 candidate, has one start and is averaging 3.7 points and 3.3 rebounds. Sophomore F Landen Lucas started against Rider and responded with a career-high nine points and two steals. He was 3-for-3 shooting with four rebounds and a blocked shot against the Broncs.
 
About Rhode Island
Located in Kingston, Rhode Island, with an enrollment of 15,650, Rhode Island takes a 3-0 record to Orlando after its 66-62 overtime home win versus then-No. 25 Nebraska on Nov. 22. The Rams are coached by Dan Hurley who is 25-33 in his third season at URI and 63-62 in his fifth year overall. Rhode Island averages 77.3 points per game and gives up 57.3 for a +20.0 scoring margin. URI dominates the boards averaging 45.0 per game with a +15.7 rebound margin.
 
Sophomore G E.C. Matthews leads Rhode Island with a 16.3 scoring average. He has made four three-pointers and pulls down 5.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore F Hassan Martin leads URI with 9.3 rebounds per game and seven blocked shots. He is second in scoring with 15.7 points per contest. Freshman G Jared Terrell has a team-best five three-pointers made and averages 11.7 points per game. He is second on the team with four steals. Senior F Gilvydas Biruta pulls down 8.7 boards per outing to complement his 9.7 scoring average. Junior G Biggie Minnis (2.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) rounds out the starters. Freshman G Jarvis Garrett leads URI with nine assists. He is scoring 4.7 points per contest. Junior F Jarelle Reischel averages 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, while sophomore G Matthew Butler scores 6.0 points. Other URI key contributors include junior F Earl Watson (4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and senior G T.J. Buchanan (1.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg).
 
The Series
Kansas leads the three-game series, 2-1, with the first two meetings being playing during the 1990s. Kansas defeated Rhode Island 73-60 on Dec. 29, 1993, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Four seasons later, Rhode Island defeated Kansas 80-75 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City. URI was seeded No. 8 in the Midwest Sub-Regional, while KU was No. 1. In the last meeting, Kansas defeated Rhode Island, 80-69, on Dec. 30, 2006, in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Kansas’ In-Season Tournament History Under Bill Self
When Kansas hosted Rider in a non-bracket game of the 2014 Orlando Classic on Nov. 24, the Jayhawks began their 11th in-season tournament in the Bill Self era.
 
Kansas will head to Orlando, Florida, for bracket play in the Orlando Classic at HP Fieldhouse at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. KU will face Rhode Island at 1 p.m. (Central) on Thanksgiving Day and either Tennessee or Santa Clara the following day, Nov. 28, at 11 a.m. The event concludes on Sunday, Nov. 30, with Georgia Tech, Marquette, Michigan State and Rider as possible opponents for the Jayhawks. All three contests in Orlando will be aired on an ESPN family of television networks.
 
Including the Rider win on Nov. 24, under Self, Kansas has played in 10 regular-season tournaments and has amassed a 32-6 record for an 84.2 winning percentage. The Jayhawks have won five events in Self’s 11 seasons, including three of the last five events. In the Self era, the Jayhawks have won: the 2006 Las Vegas Invitational, the 2007 Jayhawk Invitational, the 2009 Hall of Fame Showcase, the 2011 Las Vegas Invitational and the 2012 CBE Classic. Additionally, KU has finished in the upper half in nine of the 10 events.
 
Last year, current KU junior F Perry Ellis was named to the Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament Team where he averaged 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in KU’s three games in the Bahamas. Sophomore guards Frank Mason III and Wayne Selden, Jr., each scored in double figures in two of KU’s Battle 4 Atlantis contests last season.
 
Kansas Regular-Season Tournaments in the Bill Self Era
Season – Event (location) – place
2003-04 – Holiday Classic (Reno, Nevada) – second (1-1)
2005-06 – Maui Invitational (Lahaina, Hawaii) – seventh (1-2)
2006-07 – Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nevada) – first (4-0)
2007-08 – Jayhawk Invitational (Lawrence, Kansas) – first (4-0)
2008-09 – CBE Classic (Kansas City, Missouri) – second (3-1)
2009-10 – Hall of Fame Showcase (Lawrence, Kansas) – first (4-0)
2010-11 – Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nevada) – first (4-0)
2011-12 – Maui Invitational (Lahaina, Hawaii) – second (3-1)
2012-13 – CBE Classic (Kansas City, Missouri) – first (4-0)
2013-14 – Battle 4 Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas) – third (3-1)
2014-15 – Orlando Classic (Orlando, Florida) – (1-0)
 
Note: Records includes early round games played prior to final destination.
Four Jayhawks on Wooden Preseason Top 50
Four Kansas men’s basketball players were named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Nov. 24. Junior F Perry Ellis, sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., and freshmen F Cliff Alexander and G Kelly Oubre, Jr., were named to the preseason squad. Selden was also named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 last year. Kansas and Kentucky were the only two schools with four individuals named to the 2014 50-man list. Alexander and Oubre were two of seven freshmen on the list and the Big 12 Conference led the way with 10 picks.
 
In the Polls
In the Nov. 24 national polls, Kansas men’s basketball is ranked No. 11 by the Associated Press and No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls. The Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the last 107 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 113 polls and in the top five on 53 occasions.
 
Kansas Men’s Hoops to Host Holiday Clinic Dec. 28
Kansas men’s basketball program will hold its annual Men’s Basketball Holiday Clinic for boys and girls ages first through sixth grade on Sunday, Dec. 28, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., in Allen Fieldhouse. The annual clinic, hosted by current KU players, coaches and staff, will include fundamental instruction, an official camp T-shirt, a Junior Jayhawk basketball and one general admission ticket to KU’s Dec. 30 home game against Kent State. Additionally, there will be an autograph session with the current KU team and coaches following the clinic.
 
The cost of the clinic is $85 and pre-registration must be done online at www.billselfbasketballcamp.com. No walk-up registration will be taken on the date of the clinic. Families with a child attending the clinic can purchase a maximum of two additional Kent State tickets at check-in on Dec. 28 ($50/per ticket).  These can be purchased only at check-in (cash or credit card) and will not be available to be purchased online. Check-in begins at 11 a.m., and lasts until 11:50 a.m., in the south end of Allen Fieldhouse. Parents are welcome to watch and take pictures from the second level of Allen Fieldhouse during the clinic.
 
Up Next
Kansas will face either Tennessee or Santa Clara on Friday, Nov. 28, at 11 a.m., in its second game of the Orlando Classic The event concludes on Sunday, Nov. 30, with Georgia Tech, Marquette, Michigan State and Rider as possible opponents for the Jayhawks. KU will return to Allen Fieldhouse to play No. 8/7 Florida on Friday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. (Central) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The KU-UF game will be televised on ESPN.
 

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