Jayhawk Shootout on Tap Saturday in KC

Jayhawk Shootout presented by Shawnee Mission Health
No. 2/7 Kansas (7-1) plays its fourth of a five-game homestand when it hosts Oregon State (6-1), Saturday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2 in Sprint Center in the Jayhawk Shootout presented by Shawnee Mission Health. Kansas takes a six-game winning streak into the Oregon State contest after its 92-59 win against Holy Cross on Dec. 12 in Allen Fieldhouse. The Beavers look to continue their fast start to the season as they suffered their only loss, 57-63, against Valparaiso back on Nov. 24. 
 
Since the 1997-98 season, Kansas has played at least one non-conference regular-season game in Kansas City. In that span of 18 years, KU has played 60 games for an average of 3.3 contests per year. In their regular-season battles in KC, the Jayhawks are 16-2 since the 1997-98 season at either Kemper Arena or Sprint Center.
 
About Kansas
Kansas is 7-1 on the season after defeating Holy Cross, 92-59, on Dec. 9, to win its 28th-straight home game inside historic Allen Fieldhouse. KU’s high-octane offense is one of the best in the nation, as the Jayhawks rank fourth in NCAA Division I in scoring at 90.2 points per game. Kansas leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 47.2 percent after shooting 60.0 percent (12-20) against Holy Cross (12/9). KU is also eighth nationally in scoring margin at +22.0. KU pulls down an average of 38.4 rebounds per game, which helps give the Jayhawks have a +6.3 rebounding margin advantage over their opponents. The Jayhawks also average 19.4 assists, which stands 11th nationally, 8.1 steals and 4.1 blocked shots per contest.
 
Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. leads Kansas in scoring at 15.9 points per game. The Nov. 30 co-Big 12 Player of the Week selection, Selden leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made at 3.1 and 3-point field goal percentage at 59.5 percent. He is tied for fifth in the league in scoring. Senior F Perry Ellis is second on the KU team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and in rebounding at 5.5 rpg. Junior G Frank Mason III leads KU in assists with 44, which is among the nation’s leaders and steals with 15. He averages 13.6 points, which includes a career-high-tying 21 points against Harvard (12/5), to go along with 4.6 rebounds per contest. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is another Jayhawk who averages over 10 points per contest, at 10.4 points a game. He ranks second on the team with 29 assists and leads the Jayhawks in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.8). Senior F Hunter Mickelson (2.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, team-high 11 blocked shots) rounds out the KU starters.
 
Senior F Jamari Traylor (4.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg) missed the Holy Cross (12/9) game due to a sore ankle as did KU’s leading rebounder, junior F Landen Lucas (6.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) with a sore toe. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is second on the team with 13 3-pointers made this season, helping him average 8.9 points per game. Freshman F Cheick Diallo scores an average of 9.7 points a contest and grabs 4.0 rebounds and in only three games and has already swatted away five shots. Other key contributors to the Kansas squad include freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. (4.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and freshman G Lagerald Vick (2.8 ppg).
 
About Oregon State
Located in Corvallis, Oregon, with an enrollment of 30,058, Oregon State is 6-1 on the season following its 66-62 victory over Nevada on Dec. 5. The Beavers are coached by Wayne Tinkle who is in his second season at Oregon State with a 23-15 record and his 10th season overall with a 198-120 mark. Out of the Pac-12 Conference, as a team, Oregon State averages 73.9 points per game and gives up 64.0 per contest, which ranks among the top-35 in the country. The Beavers convert an average of 7.4 3-pointers per game, while pulling down an average of 37.3 rebounds and handing out 15.3 assists to accompany their 7.9 steals per contest. They also are one of the better teams in the nation in terms taking care of the ball, as the team has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.26, which leads the Pac-12.
 
The Beavers are led by Senior G Gary Payton II, whose father is NBA Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton. Payton leads the team with a 16.4 scoring average and 8.1 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in assists, dishing out 4.9 per contest, while recording the most made field goals (48) through seven games. Junior G Malcolm Duivier is a starter who scores 8.6 points per game and shoots 47.8 percent from three-point range, while freshman F Drew Eubanks is the team’s second leading rebounder, pulling down 6.3 rebounds per contest. The Beavers’ starting lineup is rounded off by senior F Olaf Schaftenaar (7.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and senior G Langston Morris-Walker (6.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg).
 
Freshman F Stephen Thompson Jr. comes off the bench and scores 11.6 points per game, which is second-most on the team. Thompson shoots 48.5 percent from the 3-point range. Freshman F Tres Tinkle (9.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and senior F Jarmal Reid (7.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) round out the Oregon State regulars.
 
The Series
Kansas and Oregon State are meeting for the second time in men’s basketball with the Jayhawks claiming an 84-78 win against the Beavers on Nov. 30, 2012, at the Kansas City Shootout in Sprint Center. Freshman G Ben McLemore led KU with 21 points, while senior G Travis Releford, playing in his hometown, added 20 points and senior C Jeff Withey 17 in the victory. Oregon State will be the second Pac-12 school Kansas will have faced this season. KU defeated UCLA, 92-73, in the semifinal of the 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, in Lahaina, Hawaii on Nov. 24. The Jayhawks went on to win the Maui invite title.
 
Kansas in Kansas City
Kansas City has been a second home of sorts for Kansas over the years. KU’s first-ever game — a 16-5 loss to Kansas City YMCA on Feb. 3, 1899 — was played in Kansas City. The 2015 Jayhawk Shootout will mark KU’s 293rd game played all-time in Kansas City, and its 34th in Sprint Center. KU is 27-6 in Sprint Center including winning the 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 Big 12 Championships in the venue and the 2012 CBE Classic.
 
In 2009-10 and 2010-11, Kansas went 4-0 in Sprint Center. In 2008-09, KU went 1-2 in the venue. In 2007-08, Kansas went 4-0 in the venue, including winning the Big 12 Championship en route to its NCAA National Championship. Kansas went 8-0 in the Sprint Center in 2012-13 having won the CBE Classic (78-41 vs. Washington State 11/19 and 73-59 vs. St. Louis 11/20), defeating Oregon State 84-78 in the Kansas City Shootout (11/30), winning the Big 12 Championship (defeating Texas Tech 91-63, Iowa State 88-73 and Kansas State 70-54) and beating Western Kentucky 64-57 (3/22) and North Carolina 70-58 (3/24) in the NCAA Tournament. In 2013-14, the Jayhawks were 2-1 in the Sprint Center defeating New Mexico, 80-63, in the Kansas City Shootout in December and Oklahoma State, 77-70 in overtime, in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Last season, Kansas defeated then-No. 13/14 Utah, 63-60, in the Kansas City Shootout and advanced to the championship of the Big 12 Championship going 3-1 in KC.
 
Kansas played 106 games in Kemper Arena with an 81-25 record. KU is 212-80 in games played in Kansas City. 
 
More Notes on the Jayhawks in KC

• Kansas went 26-4 in Kemper Arena from 1997 until 2006, when it played its last game in the venue. Included in that run were Big 12 Championship titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
• Kemper Arena was the host of the 1988 NCAA Final Four when the Jayhawks won the national championship.
• Kansas has played at least one regular-season game in Kansas City in 26 of the last 28 seasons, including every year Sprint Center has existed.
• Kansas has won a mindboggling 26 conference tournaments (13 holiday conference tourneys and 13 postseason league titles) with 24 of those in Kansas City. The lone two titles not in KC were in 2006 in Dallas and 2007 in Oklahoma City.
   
  KU in Sprint Center
  Kansas is 27-6 in Sprint Center. Below is a breakdown of how Kansas has fared in the venue. Not included are two exhibition victories when KU, who represented the USA at the 2015 World University Games, defeated Canada in prepping for the Games.
   
  Season         Record (notes)
  2007-08        4-0 (Big 12 Championship title en route to the NCAA title)
  2008-09        1-2
  2009-10        4-0 (Big 12 Championship title)
  2010-11        4-0 (Big 12 Championship title)
  2011-12        1-2
  2012-13        8-0 (CBE Classic title, Big 12 Championship title, NCAA First/Second Round wins)
  2013-14        2-1
  2014-15        3-1 (Big 12 Championship finalist)
  Overall          27-6 (81.8 winning percentage)
   
  Kansas Notables
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (91.0), field goal percentage (.520) and 3-point field goal percentage (.472). The Jayhawks also rank in the upper half in the league in scoring margin (third at +22.5), 3-point field goals made (second at 9.6). rebounding defense (third at 32.1), assists (second at 19.4), turnover margin (second at +4.4), steals (third at 8.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.6).
• Kansas has outshot seven of eight opponents this season. The Jayhawks have also outrebounded six of eight foes.
• The KU bench is averaging 32.6 points per game in 2015-16, compared to 22.3 by its opponents.
• KU has made eight or more 3-pointers in six of eight games this season. KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers four times, including 15 threes vs. Northern Colorado (11/13) and Chaminade (11/23), which were one off the school record.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game at 3.1 and 3-point field goal percentage at 59.5 percent. He has made three or more 3-pointers in six games this season.
• Junior G Frank Mason III has led KU in assists in each of the last six games and seven of eight games this season.
• Senior F Perry Ellis has led KU in rebounds in three of the last five games. Ellis has shot 50 percent or better in six games this season. He has two 20-point efforts this season and 15 for his career.
• Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is 3-for-5 (60 percent) from beyond the arc in his last two games.
• Sophomore G Svi Mykhailiuk has made at least one 3-pointer in seven of eight games and multiple threes in two contests. His six threes versus Chaminade (11/23) were a career high.
• Junior F Landen Lucas has more rebounds than points in three games this season. Lucas leads KU and is 10th in the Big 12 in rebounding with a 6.5 rpg.
   
  Kansas Foursome Named to Watch Lists
  Perry Ellis, Frank Mason III, Wayne Selden Jr. and Cheick Diallo were named to various national watch lists Dec. 2. Ellis, Mason and Selden appear on both the Naismith Trophy College Player of the Year 50-man early watch list by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list for the men’s national player of the year. Diallo is on the USBWA Wayman Tisdale Award watch list for the national freshman of the year. With Ellis, Mason and Selden, Kansas is one of only two schools with three representatives on each of the Naismith and Oscar Robertson lists, along with Kentucky. The Oscar Robertson list consists of 33 student-athletes from 26 schools, while the Wayman Tisdale list is made up of 18 freshmen from 14 institutions.
   
  Mickelson a Nominee for NABC Good Works Team
  Senior F Hunter Mickelson has been selected as a nominee for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 2016 Allstate NABC Good Works Teams® the NABC announced Wednesday. This award shines a spotlight on a select group of student-athletes who have shown dedication to community service and altruism in their communities. NABC Good Works Team nominees were submitted by sports information directors and college basketball coaches. From the nominations, voting panels will select two 10-member teams comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
   
  Earlier National Accolades
  Prior to the Michigan State (11/17) contest, senior F Perry Ellis was named one of 50 to the Preseason Wooden Award List, released Nov. 17. Ellis was one of seven Big 12 representatives on the list and was also on the top 50 last season.
   
  In October, Ellis was named to the Karl Malone Award Watch List by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Last year, Ellis was one of five finalists for the award. Also named by the Hall, junior G Frank Mason III is on the 2015-16 Bob Cousy Award Watch list, junior G Wayne Selden Jr. and sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk on the Julius Erving Award Watch List and freshman F Cheick Diallo on the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Award Watch List.
   
  In the Polls
  Kansas is ranked No. 2 by the Associated Press and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls released Dec. 7. This is the highest AP ranking for KU since it was No. 2 early in the 2013-14 season. KU has been ranked in each of the last 128 AP polls which is the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I behind Duke’s 160. The last time Kansas was not ranked by AP was during the 2008-09 season.
   
  Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 214 weeks, which includes 152 weeks in the Top 10 and 85 times in the Top 5. In the coaches’ poll, under Self, Kansas has been ranked 227 times with 165 in the top 10 and 99 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.
   
  Maui Recap
  Kansas won its second Maui Jim Maui Invitational Nov. 23-25 with its other coming in 1996. The Jayhawks opened the event with a 123-72 win versus host Chaminade. The 123 points were the sixth-most in KU history and the 15 3-pointers for the game were one shy of the KU school record. In the semifinal, Kansas outdistanced UCLA 92-73 behind 24 points from senior F Perry Ellis. In the title game, KU overcame a 10-point deficit, 16-6, to defeat then-No. 19/16 Vanderbilt, 70-63. Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. tied his career high with 25 points to lead all scorers. Selden would be named co-Most Valuable Player of the Maui Invitational along with teammate Frank Mason III, who averaged 13.3 points, 5.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds in the three games. Ellis joined Selden on the Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team.
   
  Bob Davis Retiring
  Bob Davis, for over three decades the play-by-play voice of Kansas Jayhawk football and men’s basketball, announced Nov. 24 that he will retire following the 2015-16 basketball season. Davis began with the Jayhawk Radio Network in fall 1984 and has broadcast eight of the Jayhawks’ 14 NCAA Final Four appearances, including KU’s 1988 and 2008 national championships, and half of KU’s 12 football bowl games, including the Jayhawks’ victory in the 2008 Orange Bowl. He has also served for many years as host of the weekly radio show “Hawk Talk,” featuring the Jayhawk football and basketball coaches.
   
  A member of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB), Fort Hays State Athletics and Topeka West High School Graduate Halls of Fame, Davis has been named Kansas Sportscaster of the Year 13 times. In 1991 KAB presented him with its Hod Humiston Award for Contributions to Sports Broadcasting. The Kansas State High School Activities Association recognized him with the Oscar Stauffer Sports Broadcasting Award in 1975 and 1978 for his high school broadcasts. Davis has chaired KAB’s Sports Seminar has judged the Kansas Scholastic Press Association Sports Writing Competition. He has lectured numerous times at university broadcasting and journalism classes.
   
  Grab Your Sweater and Be a Part of History Dec. 19
  Kansas Athletics will attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the “largest gathering of people wearing holiday sweaters.” at the men’s basketball game against Montana on Dec. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (Central).
   
  The current record is 1,175 people and was set December 10, 2014 at Loughborough University in Loughborough, United Kingdom. In preparation for the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® record attempt, Kansas Athletics has designed a special Kansas Basketball holiday sweater for the occasion. The sweaters are available to purchase at several retailers throughout the state and online.
   
  A holiday sweater is defined by having long sleeves and at least one holiday themed item on it (i.e. reindeer, trees, snowman, peppermint candies, lights, etc.). Fans are encouraged to wear their “ugly” holiday sweaters to the Dec. 19 game and help Kansas Athletics make history, while also getting into the holiday spirit.
   
  UP NEXT
  Kansas takes a week off for final exams and will return to Allen Fieldhouse to host Montana on Dec. 19 at 1 p.m., on Jayhawk IMG TV/ESPN3. Following that contest, the Jayhawks will then travel to San Diego State to face the Aztecs on Dec. 22, with tip-off slated for 10 p.m. (Central) and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Kansas will come back home for its final game of the 2015 calendar year, as the Jayhawks host UC Irvine on Dec. 29 at 8 p.m., on ESPNU.
   
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