Jayhawks to Host Kent State Tuesday in Men’s Hoops

G12: Kent State at #10/10 Kansas
Date/Time Dec. 30, 2014/7 p.m. (Central)
Location Lawrence, Kan.
Arena Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series Kansas leads 1-0
Television Jayhawk IMG TV/ESPN Full Court/ESPN3
Dave Armstrong (Play-by-Play)
Chris Piper (Analyst)
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Bob Davis (Play-by-Play)
Greg Gurley (Analyst)
Bob Newton (Engineer)
Live Stats KUAthletics.com
Notes Kansas
Kent State
Big 12 Conference
Stats at a Glance KU KSU
Record 9-2 8-3
Rankings #10/10 —-
Points/GM 70.2 65.5
Points Allowed/GM 65.0 58.8
FG% .417 .421
Rebounds/GM 38.2 35.8
Assists/GM 12.4 11.3
Blocks/GM 4.5 3.6
Steals/GM 6.3 5.4

Kansas Returns Home to Host Kent State
No. 10/10 Kansas (9-2) returns to the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse to face Kent State (8-3), Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. (Central) on Jayhawk IMG TV/ESPN Full Court/ESPN3. The Jayhawks are looking to rebound from a 77-52 loss at Temple on Dec. 22. In its last outing, Kent State lost to UTEP, 78-75, in the championship game of the Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 22. Kansas is 4-0 inside Allen Fieldhouse this season and has won 13 straight in the venue dating back to last season. Entering 2014-15, Kansas and Kent State are two of 13 Division I programs with 20 wins in 14 of the past 16 seasons. KU is one of the seven who have accomplished the feat each of the last 16 years.
 
Kansas head coach Bill Self is 334-71 in his 12th season at KU. In games following losses during his tenure, the Jayhawks are 62-8 with 38 of those victories in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
About Kansas
No. 10/10 Kansas (9-2) saw its eight-game winning streak end prior to the holiday break at Temple (12/22). The Jayhawks are 9-2 for the fifth time in the 12 seasons under head coach Bill Self. Kansas averages 70.2 points per game and has a +5.2 scoring margin. The Jayhawks have outrebounded eight opponents, average 38.2 boards per contest and hold a +6.3 rebound margin. KU shoots 41.7 percent from the field and has outshot seven opponents this season. The Jayhawks also average 12.4 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.5 blocked shots per game.
 
Junior F Perry Ellis leads KU with 12.5 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per contest. Named the Big 12 Player of the Week (12/1), Ellis has led KU in scoring five times this season and in rebounding four times. Sophomore G Frank Mason III is coming off a career-high 20 points and three steals at Temple (12/22). He leads KU with 16 three-pointers made, 43 assists and 17 steals through 11 games. Mason has multiple steals in four of his last five games, is scoring 11.7 points per contest and, at 5-11, pulls down 3.7 rebounds per outing. Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., is second on the team with 37 assists and tied for second with 14 three-pointers made. He has a 9.1 scoring average. Rounding out the KU starters are freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., and freshman F Cliff Alexander. Averaging 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds for the season, Oubre has been consistent in his last three games scoring 14.0 points and pulling down 6.7 rebounds in that span. Included is 23 points and 10 rebounds against Lafayette (12/20). Alexander started his first game of the season at Temple (12/22) and averages 8.2 points and 6.0 rebounds on the team. He is shooting 53.1 percent from the field and leads KU with 14 blocked shots in 2014-15.
 
Sophomore G Brannen Greene is tied with Selden with 14 three-pointers, including a 5-for-5 effort at Georgetown (12/10). Greene has two starts and is scoring 5.7 points per game. Freshman G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk scores 5.0 points per game and has made 12 three-pointers. Mykhailiuk has started six games this season. Junior F Jamari Traylor is averaging 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in his last three games. He is second on the team with 11 blocked shots and has eight steals to complement his 4.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg. Sophomore F Landen Lucas has started eight games this season and averages 2.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Redshirt junior F Hunter Mickelson scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds against Lafayette (12/20). He has averaged 15 minutes in his last two games and 6.3 minutes for the season. Mickelson averages 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game and has five blocked shots. Ellis, Selden, Alexander and Oubre are on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list as KU is one of only two schools, Kentucky being the other, to have four on the list.
 
On Dec. 13, KU head coach Bill Self announced freshman G Devonte’ Graham (5.9 ppg, seven steals) has a sprained toe and will miss four weeks due to the injury suffered at Georgetown (12/10).
 
About Kent State
Located in Kent, Ohio, with an enrollment of 28,600, Kent State is 8-3 on the season after its runner-up finish at the Sun Bowl Invitational Dec. 21-22. The Golden Flashes, members of the Mid-American Conference, are coached by Rob Senderoff who is 64-43 in his fourth season as a head coach with all at Kent State. KSU is 3-1 in road games this season. The Golden Flashes average 65.5 points per game and have a +6.6 scoring margin. They are outrebounding foes by 2.9 per game and average 35.8 boards per contest. Kent State averages 19.1 three-point attempts per game and makes 7.5. They force 13.5 turnovers per game and average 5.4 steals.
 
Redshirt sophomore F Jimmy Hall leads KSU in scoring at 13.7 points per game, rebounding at 7.6 rpg and blocked shots with 10. He is the only player to have started every game for Kent State this season. Senior G Devereaux Manley has made a team-best 36 three-pointers this season. Only seven of his 43 field goals made for the season have come from two-point range. Manley scores 11.7 points per game and is second on the team with seven steals. Redshirt senior G Derek Jackson leads KSU with 23 steals in 11 games this season. He scores 10.1 points per game and is second on the team with 19 three-pointers made. Rounding out the Kent State starters is junior F/C Khaliq Spicer and junior G/F Gary Akbar. Spicer scores 4.4 points per game and is second on the team with 5.8 rebounds per contest and is ties with Hall for the team lead with 10 blocked shots, while Akbar averages 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per outing.
 
Senior G Kris Brewer has six starts and scores 10.8 points per game. He has a team-best 36 assists this season. Junior G Kellon Thomas (6.0 ppg) has missed the last four games with an orbital bone fracture. Junior F Chris Ortiz is third on the team with 3.5 rebounds per game to complement his 5.1 scoring average. Other KSU contributors include sophomore F Marquiez Lawrence (1.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and graduate G/F Craig Brown (1.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, six starts). 
 
The Series
Kansas won the only meeting with Kent State, 87-60, on Dec. 1, 2008, in Allen Fieldhouse. KU All-American Sherron Collins led the Jayhawks with 19 points, while Marcus Morris (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Cole Aldrich (10 points, 13 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles in the win. Kansas is 11-1 against current membership of the Mid-American Conference.
 
What’s Trending

  • The NCAA is listing statistics and Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on a regular basis. As of Dec. 27, Kansas is No. 2 nationally in the RPI.
  • Despite a 60.0 percent from the line at Temple (12/22), in its last five games, KU is making 79.6 percent (90-113) from the free throw line.
  • Kansas has made 52 percent or better from three-point range in three of its last four games.
  • KU has outrebounded eight of 11 opponents this season, including three by double-digits (42-31 vs. UCSB on 11/14, 44-22 vs. Tennessee on 11/28 and 44-26 vs. Lafayette in its last outing on 12/20).
  • Freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., has led Kansas in rebounds in each of the last two games with 10 versus Lafayette (12/20) and seven at Temple (12/22). Oubre is scoring 13.7 points in his last three outings and is 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from three-point range in that span.
  • Sophomore G Frank Mason III is 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) from three-point range in his last three games. He has multiple steals in four of his last five games, including a career-high three at Temple (12/22).
  • Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., has made multiple threes in four of his last five games and in six outings this season.
  • Freshman G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk tied his season-best 11 points and three three-pointers against Lafayette (12/20).
  • Sophomore G Brannen Greene has made 17-straight free throws dating back to last season, including 13-for-13 in 2014-15.
  • Junior F Jamari Traylor is 8-for-10 from the line in his last three games. He has two double-figure scoring games this season with both in his last three contests.
  • For the first time in Big 12 history, which began in 1996-97, there are seven league teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
  • Since Dec. 6, Big 12 teams are 28-2 against non-conference competition.

Kansas will close out non-conference play when it hosts UNLV on Sunday, Jan. 4, at either 12:30 or 3:30 p.m. (Central), on CBS. The time will be determined once the NFL playoff schedule is set for that weekend. KU, 10-time defending Big 12 regular-season champion, will open conference play at Baylor on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m., on ESPNU.
 
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