Jayhawks tip off Big 12 play with Sooners Wednesday

Freshman guard Devon Dotson 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 5/6 Kansas (11-1) opens conference play when it hosts No. 23/25 Oklahoma (11-1) on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas is the 14-time defending Big 12 champion, an NCAA Division I record for consecutive conference regular-season titles. The Jayhawks and Sooners will tip off at 8 p.m., on ESPN2 with Bob Wischusen (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst) calling the action.

WATCH JAYHAWK GAMEDAY LIVE FROM ALLEN FIELDHOUSE
Jayhawk Gameday Live, a 30-minute pregame show and a 60-minute postgame show, will be live before KU’s match-up with Oklahoma starting at 7:30 p.m. (CT). Full postgame reaction and analysis will follow immediately after the game’s conclusion. The show will be available across the country on the ESPN app, as well as regionally on KMCI, Spectrum Sports, Midco Sports Network and Cox Cable. For more information on how to access Jayhawk Gameday Live as well as content from the Jayhawk Network, visit KUAthletics.com/JTV.
 
TIP-OFF

• 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.
• Kansas has won a mindboggling 27-straight conference openers dating back to the 1991-92 season with 10 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. Since 1991-92, KU and OU have played twice in the KU league opener – 1993-94 at KU and 2013-14 at OU.
• Kansas is 68-for-85 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line in its last four games. For the season, KU is 68.8 percent from the line and prior to the last four contests, KU was shooting 64.2 percent from the line.
• The Jayhawks closed out the first two months of the season with one or fewer losses for the eighth time in Bill Self’s 16 seasons. KU has entered January undefeated on four occasions, and with just one loss three times.
• Kansas went 31-7 in the 2018 calendar year, marking the 10th time KU has tallied 30 or more wins in a calendar year in the Bill Self era (15-plus seasons).
• The 2018 calendar year was historic for KU basketball, marking the only calendar year in the 120-plus of its existence that the program won a league title, advanced to a Final Four, touted a consensus First Team All-American, entered the following season as preseason No. 1 and claimed 30 or more victories throughout the course of the year.
• Kansas is the only team in the Big 12 with two players ranked in the top five in the league in scoring. RS-junior F Dedric Lawson is tied for second in scoring at 19.6 ppg, while senior G Lagerald Vick is fifth at 15.8 ppg.

 
ABOUT KANSAS
No. 5/6 Kansas is 11-1 after closing out the 2018 calendar year with an 87-63 win against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29. Through 12 games, Kansas ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring offense (second at 81.7), rebounding (third at 39.5) and steals (third at 7.4). KU has a +11.8 scoring margin, +3.8 rebound margin and has outrebounded eight of 12 opponents this season. KU also averages 7.1 3-pointers made, 15.6 assists and 3.8 blocked shots per game.
 
Redshirt junior F Dedric Lawson has four double-doubles in his last five games and a Big 12-leading eight for the season, which is tied for fifth nationally. Dedric Lawson has scored 20 or more points in seven of his last nine games. He is second in the Big 12 in scoring at 19.6 ppg and leads the league in rebounding at 10.8 rpg. He is the only player in the league averaging a double-double. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week (11/12, 11/26, 12/26) and two-time league newcomer of the week (12/3, 12/17), Lawson is second on the team with 30 assists.
 

 
Senior G Lagerald Vick is next in scoring at 15.8 points per game, which is fifth in the league. He is second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.8, which is 20th nationally, and third in the conference in 3-point field goals made per game at 3.1. Vick is tied for the team lead with 18 steals this season.
 
After missing four-plus games due to a sprained ankle, junior C Udoka Azubuike tied his season high with 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the win versus Eastern Michigan (12/29). Azubuike scores 14.1 points per game and pulls down 6.5 rebounds per game. Both those stats would rank in the top 10 of the Big 12 which requires 75 percent games played to rank. Azubuike’s 69.9 field goal percentage is first on the team as are his 12 blocked shots.
 
Freshman G Devon Dotson is coming off a 15-point, four-assist and three-steal performance against Eastern Michigan (12/29). He leads KU with 37 assists and is tied for the team lead with 18 steals. Dotson has led KU in steals five times this season and averages 11.2 points per game. Freshman G Quentin Grimes had 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting in his last outing against Eastern Michigan (12/29). He is second on the team with 13 3-pointers made to complement his 8.1 scoring average. Grimes also has 26 assists this season.
 
Sophomore G Marcus Garrett has started five games and is tied for the team lead with 18 steals. He has eight thefts in the last four games. Garrett is averaging 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds and is third on the team with 28 assists. Redshirt sophomore G Charlie Moore has made nine 3-pointers in his last three games and his 12 treys are third most on the team. Moore scores 4.8 points per game.
 
Freshman F David McCormack (2.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg) has six blocked shots in his 11 games played. Other KU regulars include redshirt sophomore G K.J. Lawson (2.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 8.9 mpg) and junior F Mitch Lightfoot (2.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg). Lightfoot leads KU with five charges taken and is third on the team with eight blocked shots.
 
ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Located in Norman, Oklahoma, with an enrollment of 31,678, Oklahoma is 11-1 on the season and brings a seven-game winning streak into its Big 12 opener at Allen Fieldhouse. The Sooners are coached by Lon Kruger who is 151-92 in his eighth season at OU and 630-396 in his 33rd season overall.
 
Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in rebound average at 43.2 boards per game and ranks in the top three in the conference in field goal percentage defense (37.5), 3-point field goal percentage (36.9) and rebound margin (+6.0). The Sooners also average 13.5 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
Oklahoma has nine players who average 14 or more minutes per game. Senior G Christian James leads the team with a 17.9 scoring average, which is fourth in the Big 12. His 29 3-point field goals made are also first on the team and his 7.2 rebound average is second and ranks seventh in the league. Graduate G Miles Reynolds has started the last five games and is second on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game.
 
Sophomore F Brady Manek leads OU with 7.5 rebounds per game to complement his 10.8 scoring average. Manek is second on the team with 18 3-pointers made, 10 steals and eight blocked shots.
 
Graduate G Aaron Calixte leads Oklahoma with 40 assists. He has made 11 3-pointers and averages 8.7 points per contest. Senior C Jamuni McNeace (7.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) leads OU with 18 blocked shots in his 10 games played in 2018-19.
 
Junior F Kristian Doolittle (7.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg) has started 10 of 12 games this season. Other OU regulars include senior G Rahard Odomes (5.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg), junior F Matt Freeman (4.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and freshman G Jamal Bieniemy (3.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg). Bieniemy is second on the team with 35 assists this season.
 
THE SERIES
The series between Kansas and Oklahoma dates back to 1920 when both schools were members of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Kansas leads, 147-67. Kansas has won five of the last six meetings and, since 2006, the Jayhawks have won 18 of the last 21 matchups against the Sooners.
 
Kansas is 75-16 against Oklahoma in games played in Lawrence, including a 48-7 record in Allen Fieldhouse. Beginning in 1994, Kansas has won the last 17 meetings with Oklahoma in Allen Fieldhouse. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, Kansas is 26-7 against Oklahoma; 24-5 in regular-season play and 2-2 in the Big 12 Championship. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 19-6 all-time against Oklahoma, including 19-4 while at KU. Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger is 8-21 versus Kansas, 3-11 while at OU.
 
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 12-1 and 1-0 in Big 12 play for the 28th-straight season, which started in 1991-92 … Give KU a 148-67 all-time series record against Oklahoma, including 76-16 in meetings in Lawrence and 49-7 in Allen Fieldhouse, including 18th-straight in the venue, a streak which started in 1994 … Make KU 27-7 versus OU since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97 … Make Kansas 1-0 in the month of January fifth-straight season … Give Kansas its 12th-straight win in Allen Fieldhouse … Make KU 780-113 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse, including 242-13 under head coach Bill Self … Make Self 459-97 while at Kansas, 666-202 overall and 20-6 all-time versus Oklahoma (20-4 while at KU) … Make Kansas 2,260-850 all-time.
 
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Make Kansas 11-2 and 0-1 in conference play for the first time since the 1990-91 season … Make the KU-Oklahoma series 147-68 in favor of Kansas and give OU its first win in Allen Fieldhouse since 1993, ending a 17-game KU winning streak … Make KU 26-8 versus OU in the Big 12 era … Make Kansas 0-1 in the month of January for the first time since 2013-14 (a loss to San Diego State on Jan. 5, 2014) … End a Kansas 11-game winning streak inside Allen Fieldhouse … Make KU 779-114 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse, including 241-14 under head coach Bill Self … Make Self 458-98 while at Kansas, 665-203 overall and 19-7 all-time versus Oklahoma (19-5 while at KU) … Make Kansas 2,259-851 all-time.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After a 25-day hiatus, junior center Udoka Azubuike showed little signs of rust as his game-high 23 points helped lead No. 5 Kansas to an 87-63 win over the Eastern Michigan Eagles Dec. 29 inside Allen Fieldhouse. Azubuike was joined by freshmen guards Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson in double-figures, tallying 16 and 15 points, respectively.
 
Seeing his first action in three weeks following an ankle injury on Dec. 4, Azubuike wasted little time in making his presence known. The 7-0 foot center scored 14 of his 23 points in his 11 minutes on the court during the opening frame. He was joined by six of his teammates to enter the stat sheet during the first half, which helped Kansas jump out to a 21-point halftime advantage, 46-25, its largest lead at an intermission this season.
 
The Eagles carved into the KU lead and cut it to 46-30 before Dotson ignited the KU attack with a fastbreak lay-up and followed that with a 3-pointer. Dotson’s five-point spurt began a 12-4 Jayhawk run that got their lead back to over 20 points at 59-34, with just over 11 minutes to play.
 
Azubuike ended the contest with another efficient shooting day, hitting 10 of his 13 tries from the field as he tied his season high with 23 points. The junior was also a rebound shy of posting his ninth-career double-double, pulling down nine boards.
 
The Jayhawks’ connected on a season-high 55.4 percent (31-56) from the field and held the Eagles to 30 percent (21-70), including an 18.8 percent clip from beyond the 3-point line. Kansas also pulled down 33 defensive rebounds, the most by the Jayhawks in a game this season.
 
EASTERN MICHIGAN LEFTOVERS & NOTABLES

• The win gave Kansas its 11th-straight victory in Allen Fieldhouse
• Kansas recorded season highs in field goal percentage (55.4), defensive rebounds (33), assists (25) and turnovers (17). Kansas has now shot 50 percent or better in three of its last four games and six games this season.
• The Jayhawks’ 25 assists were their most since also dishing 25 dimes against Omaha on Dec. 18, 2017.
• Kansas’ 46-25 advantage at halftime marked its largest lead at an intermission this season. It also marked KU’s largest halftime edge since holding a 55-29 lead over Omaha on Dec. 18, 2017.
• The Eagles’ 19 offensive rebounds tied the most by a Kansas opponent this season.
• Eastern Michigan’s 18.8 percent from 3-point range was the lowest 3-point field goal percentage by a Kansas opponent this season.
• Junior C Udoka Azubuike saw first action since exiting KU’s game vs. Wofford on Dec. 4 with an ankle sprain, tying a season-high with 23 points.
• Azubuike’s 10-of-13 clip from the field marked the sixth time in his 55-career outings that he has posted 10 or more field goals in a game.
• Azubuike also tallied two blocked shots to hit 90 for his career. He is eight rejections from tying Paul Pierce at 20th on KU’s all-time blocks list.
• Redshirt-junior F Dedric Lawson was 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line and has now connected on 14-straight charities dating back to the closing moments of KU’s win over Villanova (12/15).
• Freshman G Quentin Grimes tallied 16 points, his highest scoring output since turning in 21 points in the season-opener against Michigan State (11/6).
• Grimes’ 6-for-6 from the charity stripe was a season best and marked the second perfect night for a Jayhawk from the free throw line with a minimum of five attempts (D. Lawson, 5-for-5 vs. Arizona State).
• Redshirt-sophomore G K.J. Lawson was 2-for-4 from 3-point range. He has made three of his five 3-pointers this season in the last three games.
• Freshman F David McCormack tied his season high with 17 minutes. In his last three games, McCormack has averaged 15.0 minutes per game compared to 7.0 for the season.

 
AN INCREDIBLE 2018 FOR THE JAYHAWKS
The 2018 calendar year will go down as one of the most memorable in program history. It started on a sour note with a 73-85 loss to Texas Tech in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 2, the Red Raiders’ first-ever win in Lawrence. But after that, 2018 proved to be a highlight-filled year for the Jayhawks. Here are just a few of the achievements that came the Jayhawks’ way over the last 365 days:
 

• KU won its 61st overall and 14th-straight regular-season league title, both figures are NCAA DI records.
• Kansas also won its 15th postseason conference tournament title.
• Devonte’ Graham claimed both Big 12 Player of the Year and Consensus First Team All-America honors.
• KU was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time and advanced to the Final Four for the 15th time.
• Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk became KU’s 81st and 82nd NBA Draft selections, each getting picked in the second round of the June draft.
• Kansas found itself ranked No. 1 in the 2018-19 Associated Press preseason poll, marking the third time in the AP poll’s history KU has entered a season at No. 1.
• The Jayhawks won the NIT Season Tip-Off in November, giving KU its fifth-straight in-season tournament championship.
• Kansas won 31 games in the 2018 calendar year (31-7), marking the 10th time under Bill Self the Jayhawks have won 30 or more games in a calendar year.

 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Redshirt junior F Dedric Lawson leads the Big 12 with eight double-doubles this season, including four in his last five outings. Lawson entered the 2018-19 season with 36 double-doubles in his two seasons at Memphis. He had 17 as a freshman in 2015-16 and 19 as a sophomore in 2016-17.
 
Lawson’s 44 career double-doubles are third on the NCAA Division I active list. Lawson is the only non-senior on the NCAA Division I top-10 list.
 

 
 
KANSAS VS TOP-25 TEAMS
Kansas is 3-1 against top-25 teams in 2018-19. Under head coach Bill Self, KU is now 93-46 against AP-ranked opponents. In his first 15 seasons at KU, Self’s Jayhawks have collected four wins or more over top-25 ranked foes in 12 of those seasons, which includes a 38-17 record from 2014-present.
 
KU’s record against top-10 ranked opponents is even more impressive. KU is 18-4 against foes ranked inside the top-10 of the AP poll since 2013-14, including 4-1 in 2017-18. Last season, KU’s top-10 wins included Kentucky, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Duke. Since Bill Self’s first season, the Jayhawks are 13-3 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
Kansas enters conference play having won 18 of the 22 Big 12 regular-season titles (includes ties), including the last 14, which is an NCAA record. 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 active streak in NCAA Division I and the longest streak in school history.
 

 
 
DOTSON NAMED BIG 12 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Kansas freshman Devon Dotson scored 15 points in Kansas’ 87-63 win against Eastern Michigan and was been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in a vote by a media panel which covers the league, the conference announced Dec. 31.
 
Dotson was 5-of-7 shooting with four assists, three steals, one blocked shot and three rebounds versus Eastern Michigan. The Charlotte, North Carolina, guard’s .714 shooting percentage was his best of the season and his three steals and blocked shot tied his season highs. Dotson has scored in double figures in each of his last two games and eight times in 2018-19. He leads Kansas with 37 assist and his 18 steals are tied for first on the team.
 
Dotson became the fourth different Jayhawk to earn Big 12 weekly honors this season. Redshirt-junior forward Dedric Lawson has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week three times (11.12, 11.26 and 12.26) and newcomer twice (12.2 and 12.17). Senior guard Lagerald Vick is a two-time conference player of the week (11.19 and 12.3) and freshman guard Quentin Grimes was the newcomer of the week Nov. 12.
 
SELF PASSES WOODEN ON ALL-TIME WINS LIST
With Kansas’ win over Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29, head coach Bill Self picked up his 665th career victory, moving him past coaching legend John Wooden, who tallied 664 wins in his 29 seasons at the helm at Indiana State and UCLA from 1947-75.
 
Self’s 665 career wins, 457 of which have come at Kansas, move him into 35th alone on the NCAA DI all-time coaching victories list. Self is one of 15 active coaches among the top-50 on the career wins list.
 

 
UP NEXT
Kansas plays its first Big 12 road game of the season at Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 4 p.m., on ESPN2.
 
Kansas is 181-64 all-time against Iowa State, including a 70-39 advantage in Ames and a 26-21 edge in Hilton Coliseum. The Jayhawks have won the last two clashes with the Cyclones in Hilton.
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