🏀 GAME PREVIEW: vs. West Virginia
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 3 Kansas (10-2) will tip off Big 12 play when it welcomes No. 16/17 West Virginia (11-1) to Lawrence on Saturday, Jan. 4. Start time for the Jayhawks and Mountaineers is set from Allen Fieldhouse at 3 p.m. (CT) on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Lance Blanks (analyst) will call the action.
GAME INFORMATION:
#3/3 Kansas vs. #16/17 West Virginia
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 4 at 3 p.m. (CT)
Where:Â Allen Fieldhouse
Listen:Â Jayhawk Radio Network
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Mark Neely (play-by-play)
- Lance Blanks (analyst)
TIPOFF
- Kansas has won a mind-boggling 28-straight conference openers dating back to the 1991-92 season, with 11 of those in Allen Fieldhouse and 17 on the road. The last time KU lost a conference opener was at Oklahoma, 88-82, on Jan. 8, 1991. This will be the first time Kansas has played West Virginia in a league opener.
- Kansas has won 61 regular-season conference titles, which is more than any school in NCAA Division I history. Kentucky is next at 53, while North Carolina and Pennsylvania are tied for third at 38. KU has won 18 of 23
- Big 12 regular-season titles, including an NCAA record 14-straight from 2005-18.
- Kansas leads the overall series with West Virginia, 12-5, and the Jayhawks have won six of the last seven meetings.
- KU ranks second nationally with a 27-game homecourt winning streak, including 25 in Allen Fieldhouse. Gonzaga leads the nation at 31 and VCU is third at 21.
- KU is ranked No. 2 in the NET rankings through games of Dec. 31. The Jayhawks’ strength of schedule is No. 1 nationally. KU and Butler are the only two schools with at least four Quadrant 1 wins. KU is 4-2 against Q1.
- Kansas is No. 3 in both national polls released Dec. 30. Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 209 Associated Press polls, the longest streak in the nation. The Jayhawks have also been inside the top-10 in 94 of the last 108 AP polls.
- Kansas’ two losses in 2019-20 have been by a combined three points and both against ranked foes.
- With its win at Stanford on Dec. 29, KU finished the 2010s with a 302-68 record, the second-best mark by a DI program this decade.
- KU leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 51.6%, while West Virginia leads the conference in field goal percentage defense at 35.9%.
- Through 12 games, five different Jayhawks – Devon Dotson, Isaiah Moss, Udoka Azubuike, Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack – have posted 20 or more points in a game this season.
Head Coach Bill Self talks West Virginia at his weekly press conference.
NOTES:
CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Kansas has won 18 of the 23 Big 12 regular-season titles (includes ties), including an NCAA record 14 straight from 2005-18. Kansas’ 61 conference titles are the most in NCAA Division I. Kentucky is second with 54 and Penn third at 37. KU’s 14-straight league titles, all under head coach Bill Self, is the longest streak in NCAA Division I and in school history.
KANSAS CONFERENCE REGULAR-SEASON TITLES
61 (*Tied for the championship)
Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (13)
1908-09-10-11-12*-14*-15-22*-23-24-25-26-27
Big Six (12) – 1931-32-33-34-36-37*-38-40*-41*-42*-43-46
Big Seven (5) – 1950*-52-53-54*-57
Big Eight (13) – 1960*-66-67-71-74-75-78-86-91*-92-93-95-96
Big 12 (18) – 97-98-02-03-05*-06*-07-08*-09-10-11-12-13*-14-15-16-17-18
ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA
Located in Morgantown, W.Va., with an enrollment of 29,599, No. 16/17 West Virginia is 11-1 on the season after its 67-59 win against then-No. 2 Ohio State on Dec. 29. The Mountaineers are coached by Bob Huggins who is 281-152 in his 13th season at his alma mater and 871-363 in his 38th season overall.
West Virginia averages 74.8 points and has a plus-12.8 scoring margin. The Mountaineers also dominate the boards pulling down a conference-leading 42.0 per game with a plus-7.7 rebound margin. WVU also leads the Big 12 and is seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense at 35.9% and fourth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 25.4, which also leads the league. West Virginia forces 15.5 turnovers per game and also averages 13.7 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.5 blocked shots per contest.
West Virginia is deep as 12 players average 7.9 minutes or more per game. Freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe leads West Virginia in scoring with 11.8 points per game and with 14 blocked shots. His 8.8 rebounds per contest are second on the team and tied with KU’s Udoka Azubuike for fifth in the Big 12.
THE KANSAS-WEST VIRGINIA SERIES
The Kansas-West Virginia series started when WVU joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012-13 and KU holds a 12-5 advantage. The Jayhawks have won six of the last seven meetings with the last being an 88-74 win in the semifinals of the 2019 Big 12 Championship at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. KU is 7-0 against West Virginia in games played in Allen Fieldhouse, 2-5 at WVU Coliseum and 3-0 in the Big 12 Championship. Besides last season’s semifinal win, KU defeated WVU, 81-71, in the 2016 Big 12 title game and 81-70 in the 2018 Big 12 title game, with both at Sprint Center.
KU head coach Bill Self is 12-5 against West Virginia, with all 17 meetings as Kansas’ coach. Bob Huggins is 5-16 all-time against Kansas, 5-12 while at WVU.
OTHER NOTABLES
- Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (81.1), scoring margin (+18.8), field goal percentage (51.6), 3-point field goal percentage (36.9), rebound margin (+8.4) and rebound defense (30.8). The Jayhawks rank in the upper half of 17 conference stats.
- Kansas is the only team in the Big 12 with two players ranked in the top six in assists with Devon Dotson fourth (4.6) and Marcus Garrett sixth (4.2).
- Additionally, KU is the lone league school with three players ranked in the top 10 in steals with Dotson second (2.3), Ochai Agbaji sixth (1.8) and Garrett ninth (1.7).
- Through 12 games, five different Jayhawks – Devon Dotson, Isaiah Moss, Udoka Azubuike, Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack – have posted 20 or more points in a game this season.
- After their win over Dayton on Nov. 27, the Jayhawks are 29-4 in overtime games under Bill Self and have won their last six OT contests. The six-straight ranks fourth nationally on the active list. KU’s 24 overtime wins are the most by any NCAA Division I school since the 2003-04 season.
- Nine of 10 Kansas victories have been by 12 points or more with three margins being by 30-plus points.
- Senior center Udoka Azubuike has shot 80 percent or better in seven games this season, including six of his last eight contests. He has six games with multiple blocked shots, including four of his last five outings.
- Devon Dotson has scored 10 or more points in 18 straight games dating back to last season.
SERIES HISTORY:
vs. West Virginia: KU leads 12-5
Current Streak: Win 2
Longest KU Win Streak: 4
Longest KU Losing Streak: 2
Last 10 Games: 8-2
In Lawrence: KU leads 7-0
In Morgantown: WVU leads 5-2
Neutral Sites: KU leads 3-0
Under Bill Self: KU leads 12-5
First Meeting: Jan. 28, 2013 (W, 61-56)
Last Meeting: March 15, 2019 (W, 88-74)
Largest Margin of Victory: 26 (91-56, March 2, 2013)
Largest Margin of Defeat: 16 (69-85, Jan. 24, 2017)
UP NEXT:
Kansas plays its first Big 12 road game of the season at Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m., on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Kansas is 182-66 all-time against Iowa State, including a 70-40 advantage in Ames and a 26-22 edge in Hilton Coliseum.
