Cowboys come to town as KU basketball celebrates 120 Years

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 7/7 Kansas Jayhawks (18-4, 7-2) will welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys (13-9, 3-6) for a matinee showdown on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Allen Fieldhouse. The game will feature a celebration for the 120-year anniversary of the birth of Kansas basketball, with players, staffs and families from every era of the program set to be recognized. Tip-off is slated for 11 a.m., on CBS with Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Clark Kellogg (analyst) calling the action.
 
TIP-OFF

• Halfway through the 2017-18 Big 12 season, Kansas holds a one-game lead in the conference race at 7-2. Oklahoma and Texas Tech are each a game back at 6-3, while Kansas State and West Virginia trail by two games at 5-4.
• The OSU contest is part of the 120 Years of Kansas Basketball. Players and staffs from all eras will be recognized at halftime. KU will also celebrate the 30-year anniversary of KU’s 1988 NCAA National Championship team.
• Kansas ranks sixth nationally in the Ratings Percentage Index and is second in strength of schedule (through games of Jan. 31).
• Seven of Kansas’ nine conference games this season have been decided by six points or less with the Jayhawks going 6-1 in those battles. Stretching back to last season, Kansas has played 18 Big 12 games that were decided by seven points or less. Kansas is 16-2 in those outcomes.
• Kansas has won three straight against Oklahoma State and leads the overall series 113-57. The Jayhawks have defeated the Cowboys in the last four meetings in Allen Fieldhouse and 20 of the last 21 in the venue dating back to 1990.
• Senior G Devonte’ Graham is the only player in NCAA Division I averaging 17.0-plus points, 7.0-plus assists, 1.8-plus steals and fewer than 3.0 turnovers per game.
• Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike leads the NCAA in field goal percentage at 76.4 percent. He is the only player to have a 70 percent or better field goal percentage with a minimum of five made shots per game.
• Redshirt sophomore G Malik Newman is averaging 18.0 points in his last four games and has boosted his season average to 12.0 ppg.
• Kansas and William & Mary are the only two schools in NCAA Division I to have five players averaging 12.0 points or better this season.
• Senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is 14 points shy from hitting the 1,000 for his career. This year the guard is shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. That figure ranks him first in the Big 12 and seventh in the NCAA (among those that average 2.5 or more makes per game).

 
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas (18-4, 7-2) is ranked No. 7 in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches’ polls, released Jan 29. Kansas ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring (third at 83.1), scoring margin (second at +13.4, 16th nationally), field goal percentage (second at 49.7, 17th nationally), 3-point field goal percentage (second at 40.9, 17th nationally), 3-point field goal percentage defense (second at 31.2), assists (second at 17.7, 11th nationally), assist-to-turnover ratio (second at 1.5, 14th nationally) and 3-point field goals made per game (second at 10.6, 16th nationally).
 
Senior G Devonte’ Graham is coming off his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 assists at Kansas State (1/29). Graham leads KU with a 17.2 scoring average, which is fourth in the Big 12. Graham leads the ig 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7) and is second in the conference in assists (7.5), fifth in free throw percentage (85.0), fifth in 3-point field goals made (3.0) and fifth in steals (1.8). Graham’s 65 3-pointers are second on the team to senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk’s 79. Mykhailiuk has scored 70 points in his last three games (23.3 ppg) and is second on the team, fifth in the Big 12, in scoring at 17.0 points per game. He is second in the Big 12 with a 47.9 3-point field goal percentage and is second in the league in 3-point field goals made at 3.6.
 
Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike is next in scoring at 13.5 points per game, which is 16th in the Big 12. Azubuike leads the nation in field goal percentage at 76.4 percent and is making 77.2 percent in Big 12 play. His 7.4 rebounds per game are a team best and sixth in the Big 12. Junior G Lagerald Vick is a starter averaging 13.3 points per game. He is second on the team with a 5.4 rebound average. Redshirt-sophomore G Malik Newman is averaging 18.0 points in his last four games and 12.0 for the season. He is third on the team with 37 3-pointers made.
 
Freshman G Marcus Garrett has started six games this season. He averages 3.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. Garrett is tied with Mykhailiuk for second on the team with 25 steals and their 1.1 steal average is 15th in the conference. After his three blocked shots at Kansas State (1/29), sophomore F Mitch Lightfoot tallies 1.6 blocks per game, eighth in the Big 12. Lightfoot averages 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
 
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
Located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with an enrollment 25,854, Oklahoma State is 13-9 on the season and 3-6 in Big 12 play after its 79-66 loss to TCU on Jan. 30. Oklahoma State is coached by Mike Boynton Jr. who is in his first season as a head coach. OSU averages 77.6 points per game and has a plus-5.1 scoring margin. The Cowboys pull down 37.2 rebounds per game with a plus-0.7 rebound margin. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage at 76.9 percent, which is 20th nationally. Additionally, OSU averages 15.1 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.2 blocked shots per game.
 
Redshirt senior G/F Jeffrey Carroll leads OSU in scoring at 15.8 points per game which is 10th in the Big 12. He is second on the team with 36 3-pointers made per contest and second with a 6.2 rebounds per game average. Redshirt junior G/F Tavariu Shine is next in scoring at 11.4 points per game. He has made 27 3-pointers, has 20 steals and is second on the team with 14 blocked shots. Graduate G Kendall Smith is second on the team with 63 assists as he scores 10.9 points per contest.
 
Sophomore G Lindy Waters III leads OSU with 23 steals as he scores 8.2 points per game. Waters has made 26 3-pointers in 2017-18. Sophomore G Brandon Averette leads the team with 75 assists. He scores 7.8 points per contest. Senior F Mitchell Solomon is 11th in the Big 12, tops on the team, with a 6.4 rebound average. Solomon scores 7.8 points per game and he has a team-high 27 blocked shots.
 
Other OSU regulars include sophomore F Cameron McGriff (7.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg), sophomore G Thomas Dziagwa (6.6 ppg) and junior F/C Yankuba Sima (4.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg).
 
THE SERIES
The Kansas-Oklahoma State series dates back to 1926 with KU holding a 113-57 all-time advantage. KU has won the last three and 11 of the last 15 meetings. Kansas is 62-11 against Oklahoma State in games played in Lawrence, including a 47-9 record inside Allen Fieldhouse. KU was won the last four played in Allen Fieldhouse and 20 of the last 21 in the venue.
 
Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas is 24-10 versus OSU: 19-8 in regular-season play and 5-2 in the Big 12 Championship. KU defeated OSU in each of the teams’ last three Big 12 Championship meetings in 2014, 2011 and 2006. KU head coach Bill Self is 17-11 all-time against his alma mater, including a 16-8 record at KU.
 
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 19-4 or better for the fourth-straight season, starting in 2014-15 … Make Kansas 8-2 or better in Big 12 play for the second-straight year and 12th time in the Bill Self era beginning in 2003-04 … Give Kansas its fifth-straight win against Oklahoma State and its fifth straight victory against OSU in Allen Fieldhouse … Make the KU-OSU series 114-57 in favor of the Jayhawks … Make Kansas 11-2 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 231-13 under Self and 768-112 all-time in the venue … Make Self 18-11 all-time against OSU (17-8 while at KU), 435-92 while at KU and 642-197 for his career … Make Kansas 2,236-845 all-time.
 
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Make Kansas 18-5 on the season … Make Kansas 7-3 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2015-16 and fourth time in the Bill Self era (6-4 in 2003-04, 7-3 in 2012-13 and 7-3 in 2015-16) with all the other seasons having no more than two losses … End a KU four-game winning streak against Oklahoma State and a four-game winning streak versus OSU in Allen Fieldhouse … Make the KU-OSU series 113-58 in favor of the Jayhawks … Make Kansas 10-3 in Allen Fieldhouse this season and give KU three losses in the venue for the first time since 1998-99 (10-3) … Make Self 230-13 in Allen Fieldhouse and Kansas 767-113 all-time in the venue … Make Self 17-12 against Oklahoma State (16-9 while at KU), 434-93 while at Kansas and 641-198 as a head coach … Make KU 2,235-846 all-time.
 
KANSAS STATE LEFTOVERS & NOTABLES

• Kansas, once again, started the game in fine fashion, opening a 12-2 lead by the 15:00 mark. The Jayhawks are now shooting 59 percent from the field in the opening five minutes of regulation in its 22 games this season. That includes a 58.2 percent (46-of-79) clip from 3-point range.
• KU’s 70 percent (14-of-20) first half field goal percentage marked the fourth time this season KU has shot 65 percent or better from the field in a half.
• Kansas is averaging 21.3 free throw attempts per game in Big 12 play, this after seeing 11.8 FTAs per game in nonconference action.
• Kansas saw itself out rebound an opponent for the first time in 10 games, ending the longest streak of being beaten on the boards in the Bill Self era.
• Malik Newman and Devonte’ Graham’s double-doubles marked the first time two Jayhawks posted double-doubles in a Big 12 game since March 7, 2015, when Landen Lucas and Kelly Oubre Jr. accomplished the same feat in a 75-73 loss at Oklahoma.
• KU was a perfect 13-of-13 in the second half from the free throw line. It was the first time a Jayhawk team has been perfect from the charity stripe in a half with 10 or more attempts since Dec. 12, 2014.
• Senior G Devonte’ Graham tallied his third double-double of the season and his career with 16 points and 11 assists.
• Graham’s 3-pointer at 17:54 in the first half marked the 22nd-straight game he has connected on at least one 3-pointer. That is the fifth-longest streak in school history.
• Graham played 39 or more minutes for the 11th time this season and the fifth-consecutive game.
• Sophomore G Malik Newman had 13 points and career-high 10 rebounds marked the first double-double of his career. He also tallied a career-high 40 minutes.
• In his last four games, Newman is averaging 18.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 53.5 percent (23-43) from the field.
• Senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk made five 3-pointers and passed Terry Brown at No. 7 on KU’s all-time 3-point chart, now with 201 career 3-pointers.
• Mykhailiuk passed the 20-point plateau for the third-straight game and the sixth time in his nine Big 12 games. In league play, he is averaging 17.2 ppg and is shooting 50.7 (37-73) from 3-point range.

 
SATURDAY TO FEATURE 120 YEARS OF KU BASKETBALL CELEBRATION
The first formal celebration for the 120-year anniversary of the birth of the Kansas basketball program will be held Saturday, when KU hosts Oklahoma State in Allen Fieldhouse. Players, coaches and staff from every era of KU basketball will be recognized during the game. The festivities will also celebrate the 30-year anniversary of KU’s 1988 NCAA National Championship team.
 
A reunion banquet will conclude the day’s events Saturday evening. More than 400 former players, managers, staffs and families are expected to attend. The banquet is not open to the public or media.
 
STARTING FAST
Through their first 22 games, the Jayhawks have proven they are well versed in starting games off strong. Over the first five minutes of regulation, Kansas is shooting 59.0 percent from the field, scoring 12.2 ppg and is holding its opponents to just under 7.6 ppg and 36.3 percent shooting. Kansas has found itself trailing after the first five minutes in just two of its 22 contests.
 
Inside Allen Fieldhouse, the opening five minutes have been even more impressive. The Jayhawks have built leads of eight points or more within the first five minutes in six of their 11 contests in Lawrence and shot 62 percent from the field. KU has also been lethal from long range. Kansas is 24-of-37 (65 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc over the opening five minutes in those 11 games at Allen Fieldhouse.
 
RECORD BOOK REVIEW

• Here are some things to keep an eye on as several Jayhawks continue to make an impact on the career and single-season KU record books:
• Senior Svi Mykhailiuk is just 14 points away from becoming the 60th player in program history to score 1,000 points. That will make him the 15th player in the Bill Self era to hit the 1,000-point milestone.
• Mykhailiuk also needs just one 3-pointer to enter the school’s top-10 list for 3-pointers in a single season. Now with 79 this season, he is gunning for “Downtown” Terry Brown’s record of 111 treys hit during the 1990-91 season.
• And finally, Mykhailiuk is hoping to continue one of the most accurate 3-point shooting seasons ever by a Jayhawk. He has hit 47.9 percent of his tries from long-range, which currently ranks fourth on the KU single-season 3-point percentage chart.
• Senior Devonte’ Graham recently became just the third player in school history to tally 1,400 points, 500 assists and 175 steals in a career. Darnell Valentine and Kirk Hinrich are the only other Jayhawks to hit those numbers.
• Graham is also on pace to became the No. 2 3-point shooter in school history. His 251 treys trail Billy Thomas by 18 for second on Kansas’ career 3-pointers list.
• Continuing to look at Graham’s impressive shooting stroke, his 85 percent clip from the free throw line this year currently has him seventh on KU’s single-season free throw percentage list.
• Graham is logging 36.6 minutes per game this year, which ranks as the sixth most in a single season.
• Sophomore Udoka Azubuike is primed to become the most-efficient shooting Jayhawk in a single season. His 76.4 shooting percentage is nearly 12 points better than Mark Randall’s record clip of 64.6 percent achieved during the 1988-89 campaign.

 
SELF GARNERS 200TH BIG 12 VICTORY
What has seemed like a nearly every-week occurrence lately, KU head coach Bill Self hit yet another coaching milestone. The Jayhawks’ win over West Virginia on Jan. 15 marked Self’s 200th Big 12 regular-season victory as the KU head man, now in his 15th season in Lawrence. That number ranks Self No. 1 among the league’s all-time coaches, 16 victories ahead of former Texas head man Rick Barnes.
 
On Kansas’ all-time coaches list, which features five Naismith Hall of Famers, Self’s 202 league wins is second behind Dr. Phog Allen, who collected 334 victories in league play over his 39 seasons when KU was a member of the Missouri Valley, Big Six and Big Seven Conferences.
 
During Self’s tenure, KU has never won fewer than 12 Big 12 regular-season contests in a season and has claimed 15 or more league wins on four occasions. The Jayhawks have won at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season crown in all but one of Self’s 14 years in Lawrence, his first season in 2003-04, which saw KU claim a runner-up finish that year. 
 
GRAHAM’S MIDSEASON WATCH LIST GROWS
Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham has been named to two national player of the year watch lists. On Jan. 11, he was selected to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. On Jan. 22, Graham was one of 14 student-athletes named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List, present by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). KU’s Frank Mason III won both honors in 2017.
 
The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2018 John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 top players in early February. The ten-man Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2018 John R. Wooden Award will be presented during the ESPN College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s on Friday, April 6, 2018.
 
Balloting for the USBWA’s All-America Team, All-District Teams and the association’s individual awards will take place in March. The Oscar Robertson Trophy will be presented at a news conference on Friday, March 30, at the Final Four in San Antonio.
 
KU FROM DOWNTOWN
Kansas is averaging 10.6 3-point field goals made per game, which is second in the Big 12. The Jayhawks are also second in the conference with a 40.9 3-point field goal percentage. Kansas has made 10 or more 3-pointers in five of its last eight games and six of its last 10. The Jayhawks are 11-2 in games where they have made 10 or more threes. KU has also been deadly from long range in Allen Fieldhouse, hitting 43.9 percent of its 3-point tries on its home floor. Both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Jayhawk squads hit better than 44 percent from three on James Naismith Court.
 
Last year, KU set the school single-season 3-point record, making 318 from beyond the arc for 8.8 per game. Three of the last eight Jayhawk squads have averaged more than seven treys per game, with both of the last two KU teams hitting an average of eight or more threes per contest. With this year’s team only 17 away, past KU teams have made 250 3-pointers five times in a season (318 in 2016-17, 304 in 2015-16, 271 in 2010-11, 271 in 2007-08 and 262 in 2009-10).
 
DEVONTE’ + SVI = THREES
The senior pairing of Devonte’ Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk recently established itself as one of the top long-range shooting duos in KU history. Already this year, the two Jayhawk guards have combined for 144 of KU’s 233 3-pointers, which is 61.8 percent of the team’s threes. The prolific outside shooting from these two is nothing new as they continue to move up the all-time KU 3-point charts.
 
Since the advent of the 3-point line prior to the 1986-87 season, no other Kansas duo has tallied more threes over a three-year stretch than the 420 that Graham and Mykhailiuk have combined for since the 2015-16 season. At Oklahoma (1/23), Graham and Mykhailiuk passed Jeff Boschee and Kirk Hinrich as the most prolific 3-point shooting twosome in school history. Boschee and Hinrich amassed 405 treys while they played together from 2000-02. Graham is also one half of another sharp-shooting pair after he and Frank Mason III combined for the fourth-most threes (353) among KU duos during the last three seasons (2015-17).
 
Graham and Mykhailiuk are also among the most-accurate Jayhawk pairs. They have teamed up to shoot 41.9 percent from beyond the arc in that same three-year span, the third-best mark among KU teammates who have combined for 700 or more attempts. Rush and Chalmers boast the best combined percentage with a 42.7 percent (385-of-901) clip coming during their three seasons in Lawrence from 2006-08.
 
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Udoka Azubuike ranks first in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage at 76.4 percent and he is the only player shooting 70 percent or better with a minimum of five shots made per game. Azubuike is on pace to set the Big 12 single-season record of 69.3 percent by Ricardo Ratliffe of Missouri in 2011-12.
 
History has shown that it isn’t easy to lead the nation in a statistic. In fact, checking the NCAA Records Book of annual leaders, only twice has a Jayhawk led the country in a season stat and both were KU All-Americans. KU legend Clyde Lovellette led the NCAA in scoring average in 1951-52 at 28.6 points per game. More recently, Thomas Robinson led the country in double-doubles with 27 during the 2011-12 season. Under Lovellette’s leadership KU won the 1952 NCAA National Championship and Robinson led the Jayhawks to a runner-up finish in 2012.
 
With a minimum of 175 attempts, the Kansas single-season field goal percentage record is 64.6 percent by Mark Randall in 1988-89. Last year, Landen Lucas shot 63.1 percent from the field, which ranks fourth on the KU single-season list. On the NCAA level, with a minimum of five makes per game, there have been only 12 players who have shot 70 percent or better in a season, with the most recent being Devontae Cacok of UNC-Wilmington, who set the NCAA record last season (2016-17) at 80.0 percent.
 
BIG 12 RUN NO CAKEWALK
Kansas ended 2016-17 ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and its strength of schedule was 19th nationally. In Self’s first 14 seasons, KU has ranked fifth or higher in the final RPI 10 times, including each of the last eight years. This season the strength of the Big 12 is quite prevalent. Kansas tops leads the league in RPI at sixth nationally and strength of schedule at No. 2. Oklahoma is second on both (11th in RPI and 20th in strength of schedule).
 
KANSAS VS TOP-25 TEAMS
Kansas is 3-3 against ranked foes this season with wins over then-No. 7 Kentucky on Nov. 14 in the Champions Classic, at then-No. 16 TCU on Jan. 6 and at No. 6 West Virginia on Jan. 15. The KU losses were to No. 16/17 Arizona State on Dec. 10, No. 18 Texas Tech on Jan. 2 and at No. 12 Oklahoma on Jan. 22. Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas is 85-44 against Associated Press ranked opponents. In his first 14 seasons, Self’s Jayhawks have collected four wins or more over top-25 ranked foes in 11 of those seasons, which includes a 30-15 record from 2014-present.
 
Kansas’ record against top-10 ranked opponents is even more impressive. KU is 14-3 against foes ranked inside the top-10 of the AP poll since 2013-14. This number includes the Jayhawks’ victory over Kentucky on Nov. 14 and at West Virginia on Jan. 15. Since Bill Self’s first season, the Jayhawks are 13-2 against AP top-10 teams inside Allen Fieldhouse, which includes KU’s current streak of nine-straight home victories against top-10 foes.
 
CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Including 2016-17, Kansas has won 17 of the 21 Big 12 regular-season titles (includes ties), including the last 13, which is tied for the NCAA record. Kansas’ 60 conference titles are the most in NCAA Division I. Kentucky is second with 54 and Penn third at 37. KU’s 13-straight league titles are the longest active streak in NCAA Division I and the longest streak in school history. Kansas is now tied with UCLA, which from 1967-79, also won the NCAA record of 13 straight, which was under two coaches. Kansas’ current run has been under head coach Bill Self.
 
WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR…

• Senior G Devonte’ Graham is quickly moving up the school’s all-time career lists. Graham entered his senior season No. 45 on the KU scoring list with 1,075 points. At West Virginia (1/15), Graham became the 26th player in KU history to score 1,400 career points. He currently sits 25th with 1,454 points and against Texas A&M (1/27) passed KU legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 1,433 in his two seasons in Lawrence.
• Against Iowa State (1/9), Graham moved into third all-time on the KU 3-point field goal list, currently at 251. Jeff Boschee (1999-2002) is first at 338 and Billy Thomas (1995-98) is second at 269.
• Graham is 251-609 (41.2 percent) all-time from 3-point range. His 3-point attempts are fourth on the KU career list and his 3-point field goal percentage is tied for 11th.
• Graham has 515 career assists, which is 10th on the KU career assists list. Additionally, his 175 steals are tied for 10th on the KU career list with Alonzo Jamison (1990-92).
• Senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is 14 points shy from becoming the 60th player in KU history to score 1,000 career points. Mykhailiuk’s 201 3-ppointers made are seventh on the KU career list. He is tied for sixth in 3-pointers attempted at 485 and his 41.4 all-time 3-point field goal percentage is ninth on the KU career list.
• Entering 2017-18 with a 247-48 (83.7 percent) record since 2010, Kansas is the winningest program, by percentage, this decade: 1. KANSAS (247-48, 83.7%); 2. Gonzaga (239-47, 83.6%); 3. Kentucky (249-53, 82.5%); 4. Wichita State (233-53, 81.7); 5. Duke (238-56, 81.0%).
• The Jayhawks are pursuing their 14th-conseuctive Big 12 regular-season championship. A 14th-league title would break UCLA’s NCAA record mark of 13-consecutive conference championships from 1967-79.

 
UP NEXT
Kansas concludes its two-game home stand when it plays host to TCU on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Kansas holds a 15-2 all-time series advantage against TCU, including an 88-84 win in Fort Worth on Jan. 6, 2018. KU is 6-0 versus TCU in games played in Lawrence with all six meetings in Allen Fieldhouse.
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