🏀 GAME PREVIEW: at TCU
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (19-3, 8-1 Big 12) will begin the second half of Big 12 play when they meet the TCU Horned Frogs (13-9, 4-5 Big 12) in Fort Worth on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff from Schollmaier Arena is slated for 11 a.m. (CT) on ESPN2. Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Chris Spatola (analyst) will call the action.
GAME INFORMATION:
#3/3 Kansas at TCU
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. (CT)
Where:Â Schollmaier Arena
Listen:Â Jayhawk Radio Network
Watch: ESPN2
- Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play), Chris Spatola (analyst)
TIPOFF
- Halfway through the 2020 Big 12 season, Kansas sits alone in second place at 8-1 in the league standings, one game behind Baylor (9-0). West Virginia (6-3) is in third, two games behind KU.
- At 19-3, KU is vying to add to its NCAA active record of consecutive 20-win seasons, currently at 30, which began in 1989-90. KU’s 31-straight 20-win seasons would tie the NCAA record, set by North Carolina from 1971-2001.
- Kansas leads the overall series with TCU, 18-2, including 7-1 in games played in Fort Worth and 6-1 in Schollmaier Arena. KU has won the last four meetings and 14 of the last 15 battles with TCU dating back to Feb. 23, 2013.
- KU is ranked No. 4 in the NET rankings as of Feb. 5 games. The Jayhawks’ strength of schedule is No. 1 nationally. Kansas is the only school with 10 Quadrant 1 wins. KU is 10-3 against Q1. Baylor and Butler are second in Q1 wins with eight apiece.
- KU head coach Bill Self is 699-214 in his 27th season overall, including 492-109 in his 17th season at KU. When he reaches the 700th career victory, Self (57 years, one month old) will be the second-youngest coach in NCAA DI history to reach 700 victories.
- Bob Knight was 56 years, four months old when he claimed win No. 700.
Coaching his 914th career game Saturday, Self would also be the sixth-fastest to claim his 700th win. It would be 24 games faster than legendary KU coach Phog Allen, who won a total 746 games from 1906-56. - Senior Udoka Azubuike is one of three players in the NCAA averaging a double-double and three or more blocks in league play. Azubuike is averaging 11.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 3.2 bpg against conference foes.
- KU is 25-1 during Azubuike’s career when he scores 15 or more points, including 10-0 this season. KU is 15-1 when Azubuike posts a double-double for his career (8-1 this season).
- Sophomore Devon Dotson leads the Big 12 in scoring at 18.0 points per game. The reigning Big 12 Player or the Week, Dotson has scored 20 or more points in seven outings this season.
Bill Self Weekly Press Conference
NOTES:
RIGHT AT HOME ON THE ROAD
With the Jayhawks’ beginning a two-game Big 12 road trip, let’s 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 8-8 at OSU, 2-5 at WVU).
- Out of teams in the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC, Kansas (42-25, 62.7%) 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 currently 4-0 in Big 12 road play in 2020. - The Jayhawks are 137-59 (69.9%) on the road in Big 12 play since 1996-97. The team with the next highest winning percentage is Texas, which is 88-110 (44.4%) 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).
THE KANSAS-TCU SERIES
Kansas is 18-2 all-time against TCU in a series which dates back to 1952 when the Jayhawks defeated the Horned Frogs, 68-64, on March 21 in the NCAA Midwest Regional at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas has won four straight and 14 of the last 15 meetings against the Horned Frogs dating back to Feb. 23, 2013.
TCU last defeated Kansas, 85-82, in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Big 12 Championship. Kansas leads the meetings in Fort Worth, 7-1, including a 6-1 record in Schollmaier Arena. As members of the Big 12, KU leads the series 14-2, including a 5-1 record in Fort Worth. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 22-5 all-time against TCU, including 15-2 while at Kansas. TCU head coach Jamie Dixon is 1-6 versus Kansas.
SELF GAINING ON WIN NO. 700
Kansas head coach Bill Self finds himself one win shy from claiming the 700th victory in his 27-year head coaching career. Self enters Saturday’s contest with an overall record of 699-214 with coaching stops at Oral Roberts (1993-97), Tulsa (1997-2000), Illinois (2000-03) and Kansas (2003-present). He has seen 492 of those 699 wins come during his time in Lawrence. The first win of Self’s career came on Nov. 26, 1993 as the head man at Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles topped Sam Houston State, 78-66.
- Self is vying to become the 31st person to hit the 700-win plateau at the Division I level and the eighth active head coach.
- He is also looking to become the second-youngest coach to earn his 700th win. At 57 years, 1 month and 12 days old, Self would only trail Bob Knight, who tallied his 700th victory at 56 years, 4 months, 12 days.
- Coaching his 914th game Saturday, Self is on pace to be the sixth-fastest in NCAA history to reach his 700th DI victory. This would outpace KU’s all-time winningest coach, Phog Allen, who was the seventh-fastest to win No. 700, needing 938 contests to hit the milestone.
ABOUT TCU
Located in Fort Worth, Texas, with an enrollment of 10,918, TCU is 13-9 overall and 4-5 in Big 12 play after its 72-57 loss at Oklahoma State Feb. 5. The Horned Frogs are coached by Jamie Dixon who is 81-50 in his fourth season at TCU and 409-173 in his 17th season overall. TCU is 11-3 at home in 2019-20 and has won four of its last five games in Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.
TCU averages 67.7 points per game and has a plus-4.0 scoring margin. The Horned Frogs lead the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made at 8.7 per game and make 34.6 percent from beyond the arc. TCU pulls down 35.9 rebounds per game and has a plus-2.6 rebound margin. The Horned Frogs also average 15.4 assists, which are second in the conference, and 4.7 blocked shots, which is second behind KU’s 5.0 in the Big 12.
Senior guard Desmond Bane leads TCU in scoring at 16.2 points per contest, which is second in the Big 12 behind KU’s Devon Dotson (18.1). Bane also leads TCU with 77 assists, 34 steals and 61 3-pointers made. He leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made (2.8) and 3-point field goal percentage (44.2).
SERIES HISTORY:
vs. TCU: KU leads 18-2
Current Streak: Win 4
Longest KU Win Streak: Win 10 (2013-17)
Longest KU Losing Streak: N/A
Last 10 Games: 9-1
In Lawrence: KU leads 8-0
In Fort Worth: KU leads 7-1
Neutral Sites: KU leads 3-1
Under Bill Self: KU leads 15-2
First Meeting: March 21, 1952 (W, 68-64)
Last Meeting: Feb. 11, 2019 (W, 82-77 ot)
Largest Margin of Victory: 30 (95-65, 2/15/2014)
Largest Margin of Defeat: 7 (55-62, 2/6/2013)
UP NEXT:
The Jayhawks will journey to West Virginia to take on the No. 13/11 Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. (CT) on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Kansas is 13-5 all-time against WVU, which includes a 60-53 win in this season’s first meeting on Jan. 4 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks are 2-5 versus West Virginia in meetings in Morgantown, but have just one win at WVU Coliseum since 2013.
