🏀 GAME PREVIEW: at Texas

LAWRENCE, Kan. –No. 6/7 Kansas (13-3, 3-1) will look to close out an unblemished two-game road trip when it meets Texas (12-4, 2-2) in Austin on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set from the Erwin Center for 1 p.m. (CT) on ESPN. Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst) will call the action

GAME INFORMATION:

#6/7 Kansas at Texas

Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. (CT)

Where: Erwin Center

Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network

Watch: ESPN

  • Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst)

TIPOFF

  • Kansas leads the overall series with Texas, 33-9, including a 10-7 in games played in Austin, with all 17 meetings in the Erwin Center. Dating back to the 2013-14 season, KU has won 11 of the last 12 meetings with Texas with the lone loss last season in Austin.
  • KU is ranked No. 2 in the NET rankings through games of Jan. 16. The Jayhawks’ strength of schedule is No. 1 nationally.
  • Kansas is the only school with seven Quadrant 1 wins. KU is 7-3 against Q1. Baylor, Seton Hall and Oregon are next in Q1 wins with five.
  • The Jayhawks have also played the most difficult slate of defensive teams in the nation, ranking No. 1 in opposing defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. Despite this, KU ranks sixth in the NCAA in field goal percentage (49.9%) and sixth in scoring margin (+16.3).
  • The Jayhawks are 135-59 (69.6%) on the road in Big 12 play since 1996-97, which includes a 2-0 mark so far this season. The team with the next highest winning percentage is Texas, which is 87-108 (44.6%) in conference road games since the league formed.
  • Kansas is No. 6 and No. 7 in the latest national polls released Jan. 13. Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 211 Associated Press polls, the longest streak in the nation. The Jayhawks have also been inside the top-10 in 96 of the last 110 AP polls.
  • Kansas’ three losses in 2019-20 have been to ranked teams with two by the then-No. 4 teams – No. 4 Duke on Nov. 5 and No. 4 Baylor on Jan. 11.
  • Through 16 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. Dotson, Azubuike, Moss and Agbaji have all hit the 20-point plateau in multiple games.
  • Kansas has held nine opponents to 60 points or less through its first 16 games, including six of its last seven. KU has also limited 11 of its 16 opponents to below 40% shooting, including five of the last six foes.

NOTES:

RIGHT AT HOME ON THE ROAD

With the Jayhawks’ on the verge of a two-game road trip, it’s time to take a look at KU’s impressive performances against its league foes away from Lawrence:

 

  • Kansas has turned in a winning record in seven of the nine Big 12 arenas not named Allen Fieldhouse since the league formed in 1996-97 (KU is 7-8 at OSU, 2-5 at WVU).
  • Out of teams in the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC, Kansas (40-25, 61.5%) is one of only seven squads to have a winning percentage of 60% or better in league road games since 2012-13.
  • KU has posted a winning record on the road in Big 12 play in 20 of the league’s 23 seasons – 2000 (4-4), 2015 (4-5), 2019 (3-6).
  • The Jayhawks are 135-59 (69.6%) on the road in Big 12 play since 1996-97. The team with the next highest winning percentage is Texas, which is 87-108 (44.6%) in conference road games since the league formed.
  • KU went undefeated on the road in 2002, going 8-0 that year. The 2002 Jayhawks are the only Big 12 team to finish a conference slate without a road loss and go undefeated in Big 12 play (16-0).

ABOUT TEXAS

Located in Austin, Texas, with an enrollment of 51,832, Texas 12-4 on the season and 2-2 in Big 12 play after its 76-64 win at Oklahoma State Jan. 15, The Longhorns are coached by Shaka Smart who is 83-70 in his fifth season at UT and 246-126 in his 11th season overall.

 

Texas is 8-1 at home this season with its lone loss to Oklahoma, 72-62, on Jan. 8. The Longhorns average 67.1 points per game and have a plus-6.2 scoring margin. UT makes 8.8 3-pointers per contest and attempt 25.7 per game, making 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. Texas pulls down 34.1 rebounds per outing and also averages 14.1 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.7 blocked shots per game. The Longhorns force 14.6 turnovers per game.

 

Junior guard Matt Coleman III leads Texas in scoring at 12.4 points per game which is 16th in the Big 12. He also leads the team with 70 assists and 27 steals. His 4.4 assists per game are fifth in the Big 12 and his 1.7 steals average are sixth.

THE KANSAS-TEXAS SERIES

In a series that dates back to 1938, Kansas leads Texas 33-9, including a 10-7 record in Austin with all 17 meetings in the Erwin Center. KU has won 11 of the last 12 meetings, 16 of the last 18 battles and 19 of the last 22 matchups, starting with the 2008 Big 12 Championship title game. Before Texas’ 73-63 on Jan. 29, 2019, in Austin, KU posted 10-straight series wins beginning Feb. 22, 2014, with an 85-54 win in Allen Fieldhouse.

 

Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas holds a 29-8 record against Texas with a 24-7 mark in regular-season play and 5-1 record in the Big 12 Championship. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 23-9 all-time against Texas, including 23-7 while at KU. Texas head coach Shaka Smart is 2-8 versus Kansas, including 1-8 while at UT. Smart’s 2011 VCU team defeated Kansas, 71-61, in the NCAA Tournament Southwest Region championship game in San Antonio.

DEFENSIVE PERSPECTIVES

Kansas has held nine opponents to 60 points or less through its first 16 games, including six of its last seven outings. More impressive is the 60.8 points allowed would rank first in the Bill Self era (2003-04 to present), just ahead of the 2005-06 team at 61.3, the 2007-08 national championship team at 61.5, and the 2006-07 and 2011-23 squads at 61.7. Under Self, Kansas has held its opponents to under 65 ppg in a season eight times.

 

Shooting-wise, Kansas opponents have posted a field goal percentage of 40% or higher in each of the last three seasons. Through 16 games, Kansas is holding foes to 37.2%, which ranks as the third-lowest in the Self era. The 2012-13 team is tops at 36.1% followed by the 2005-06 squad at 37.0%.

 

Kansas averages 8.4 steals per contest in 2019-20, which would rank tied for fourth-most with the 2009-10 team in the Self era. KU’s 2005-06 team leads the way with 9.8 steals per game followed by the 2006-07 team at 9.2 and the 2007-08 squad at 8.9.


SERIES HISTORY:

vs. Texas: KU leads 33-9
Current Streak: Win 1
Longest KU Win Streak: 10 (2014-19)
Longest KU Losing Streak: 2 (2004)
Last 10 Games: 9-1
In Lawrence: KU leads 17-1
In Austin: KU leads 10-7
Neutral Sites: KU leads 6-1
Under Bill Self: KU leads 23-7
First Meeting: Dec. 16, 1938 (L, 34-36)
Last Meeting: March 14, 2019 (W, 65-57)
Largest Margin of Victory: 31
Largest Margin of Defeat: 25


 

UP NEXT:

Kansas State logo

Kansas returns home, Tuesday, Jan. 18, to host Kansas State in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown. The game will start at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on ESPN2.

 

Kansas leads the overall series with Kansas State, 197-94, including a 90-35 record in games played in Lawrence (49-18 in Allen Fieldhouse). Starting in 2007, Kansas has won the last 13 meetings with Kansas State in Allen Fieldhouse.