Kansas and Kentucky set for SEC/Big 12 clash Saturday

Freshman guard Ochai Agbaji 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The top-two winningest programs in college basketball history will meet for the seventh time in the last eight seasons when No. 9/10 Kansas journeys into Rupp Arena to take on No. 8/9 Kentucky as part of the SEC/BIG 12 Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 26. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. (CT) on ESPN, with Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst), Maria Taylor and Holly Rowe (reporters) calling the action.

WATCH JAYHAWK GAMEDAY LIVE FROM LEXINGTON
Jayhawk Gameday Live, a 30-minute pregame show and a 60-minute postgame show, will be live before KU’s match-up with Kentucky starting at 4:30 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

• The game will be the site of ESPN College GameDay. It will mark the 17th time KU has been a part of a College GameDay. Kansas is 11-5 all-time when it is one of the two teams featured on GameDay.
• Kentucky will be the third top-10 team Kansas will face in 2018-19 with the Jayhawks 2-0 in the previous meetings (92-87 vs. then-No. 10 Michigan State and 87-82 vs. then-No. 5 Tennessee). Kansas has won 13 straight against AP top-10 opponents in the regular season, a streak which started Jan. 4, 2016, and is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
• KU and UK are the top-two winningest programs in NCAA Division I college basketball with Kentucky first at 2,278 wins and Kansas second at 2,264 victories. The blue-blood programs have also combined for 32 Final Fours with Kentucky at 17 and Kansas at 15.
• Kansas is 4-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which began in 2013. Two of those victories include wins over Kentucky, the first a 90-84 overtime win in Lawrence in 2016 and the second a 79-73 win in Lexington in 2017. The Big 12 has won the Challenge three times (’13-14, ’14-15, ’15-16), it was tied in ’16-17, and the SEC claimed the challenge last season.
• KU head coach Bill Self was a graduate assistant at Kansas under Larry Brown in 1985-86. Kentucky coach John Calipari was an assistant coach at Kansas from 1982-85 under coaches Ted Owens and Brown.
• Both schools’ home facilities are named after Kansas greats. Kentucky’s Rupp Arena is named after Adolph Rupp, a KU graduate who played at Kansas in 1923 under coach F.C. “Phog” Allen, of which Allen Fieldhouse is named.
• Kansas is the only team in the Big 12 with two players ranked in the top seven in the league in scoring. Redshirt-junior F Dedric Lawson is second at 19.5 ppg, while senior G Lagerald Vick is seventh at 15.0 ppg.

ABOUT KANSAS
No. 9/10 Kansas is 16-3 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 play after its 80-76 win versus Iowa State on ESPN Big Monday, Jan. 21. In all games, Kansas ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring offense (third at 78.1), field goal percentage (second at 48.1), steals (tied for second at 7.4) and assists (third at 13.9). KU has a +7.9 scoring margin, +2.3 rebound margin and has outrebounded 12 of 19 opponents this season. KU also averages 6.9 3-pointers made and 3.7 blocked shots per game.
 
Redshirt-junior F Dedric Lawson has two straight double-doubles after his 29 points and 15 rebounds against Iowa State (1/21). He has five double-doubles in his last seven games and a Big 12-leading 13 for the season, which is tied for second nationally. Dedric Lawson, a Sporting News Midseason All-America First Team selection, has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season. He is second in the Big 12 in scoring at 19.5 ppg and leads the league in rebounding at 10.9 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 three-time league newcomer of the week (12/3, 12/17, 1/14), Lawson leads KU with 21 blocked shots and his 1.1 blocks per game are ninth in the conference. He is also eighth in the league with a 52.9 field goal percentage.
 

 
Senior G Lagerald Vick leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 45.7 and 3-point field goals made at 3.1. He is averaging 15.0 points per game which is seventh in the Big 12. He scored his 1,000th-career point at Baylor (1/2). Vick’s 1.3 steals per game are tied for 15th in the conference.
 
Freshman G Devon Dotson recorded a career-high eight assists and no turnovers to go along with 11 points against Iowa State (1/21). Dotson ranks seventh in the Big 12 in steals at 1.5, eighth in assists at 3.3 and 13th in field goal percentage at 48.5. Dotson averages 10.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Freshman G Quentin Grimes is second on the team with 22 3-pointers made this season. He averages 8.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest and has 33 assists for the season.
 
Sophomore G Marcus Garrett has averaged 17.0 points in his last three games with a career-high 20 versus Texas (1/14), 15 at West Virginia (1/19) and 16 against Iowa State (1/21). He also posted a career-high six steals at WVU and has 12 thefts in the last three contests. Garrett, who is 22-for-35 (62.8 percent) from the field in his last three outings, has started the last six games and 11 for the season. He has nine games with multiple steals this season and his 1.8 thefts average are third in the Big 12. Garrett is averaging 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and has 46 assists.
 
Freshman G Ochai Agbaji pulled his redshirt against TCU (1/9). In just five games, Agbaji is averaging 18.2 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and is shooting 54.5 percent from the floor. Other KU regulars include redshirt-sophomore Charlie Moore (3.3 ppg, 12 3-pointers), redshirt-sophomore G K.J. Lawson (2.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg), freshman F David McCormack (2.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and junior F Mitch Lightfoot (1.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg). Lightfoot leads KU with five charges taken and is third on the team with nine blocked shots.
 
ABOUT KENTUCKY
Located in Lexington, Kentucky, with an enrollment of 30,500, No. 8/9 Kentucky is 15-3 on the season and 5-1 in SEC play after its 76-55 win against No. 22/22 Mississippi State on Jan. 22.
 
The Wildcats are coached by John Calipari who is 304-70 in his 10th season at Kentucky and 749-210 in his 27th season overall. Kentucky has won five straight and eight of its last nine games heading into Saturday’s contest.
 
Kentucky is 11-0 in Rupp Arena this season and has a 15-game home court winning streak. UK averages 80.0 points per game and has a +12.5 scoring margin. The Wildcats also dominate the boards averaging 38.3 rebounds per game with a +9.5 rebound margin, which ranks seventh nationally. Kentucky makes 6.1 3-pointers per contest, forces 14.8 turnovers per game and averages 14.3 assists, 6.9 steals and 5.3 blocked shots per game.
 
Kentucky has eight players averaging 11 or more minutes per game. Freshman G Keldon Johnson leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per contest. His 5.1 rebound average is third on the team and his 23 3-pointers made are second most for UK. Freshman G Tyler Herro leads Kentucky in SEC games scoring at 14.5 points per contest. Overall, Herro averages 13.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per outing and leads UK with 32 3-pointers made. He is second on the team with 20 steals and 40 assists.
 
Graduate F Reid Travis scores 12.6 points per game and he is second on the team with a 6.7 rebound average. Sophomore F PJ Washington leads Kentucky in rebounds at 7.8 per contest, which is fifth in the SEC. He scores 12.3 points per game, is second on the team with 22 blocked shots and has made 14 3-pointers this season.
 
Freshman G Ashton Hagans (7.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg) rounds out the UK starters. He leads the team in assists with 71 and his 3.9 per game are seventh in the SEC. Hagans also leads the team in steals with 41 and his 2.3 thefts per contest are second in the SEC and 27th nationally. Freshman G Immanuel Quickley has started seven games and he has made 16 3-pointers this season. Quickley scores 6.8 points per game.
 
Other UK regulars include freshman F EJ Montgomery (4.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and sophomore F Nick Richards (3.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg).
 
THE SERIES
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Kansas, 22-9, and this will be the fifth-straight season these two teams have met and the seventh time since 2011-12.
 
Kansas has won the last three meetings with last year’s at the Champions Classic in Chicago, a KU 65-61 win. The two previous were part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge: 90-84 overtime in 2016 in Allen Fieldhouse and 79-73 in 2017 at Rupp Arena. In 2011-12, the two teams met twice with Kentucky claiming both wins: 75-65 in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden and 67-59 in the NCAA title game in New Orleans. On Nov. 18, 2014, then-No. 1 Kentucky defeated Kansas 72-40 in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.
 
Prior to 2011-12, the two teams last met in the second round of the 2007 NCAA West Regional in Chicago with Kansas defeating Kentucky, 88-76. The two teams had a home-and-home series in 2005 and 2006 with KU winning in Lexington 65-59 on Jan. 9, 2005, and 73-46 the following season (Jan. 7, 2006) in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
The series dates back to 1950, a 68-39 UK win in Lexington. Kansas’ single-game record of 150 points came against Kentucky in a 150-95 win over Rick Pitino’s Wildcats on Dec. 9, 1989 in Lawrence. Kansas coach Bill Self is 6-4 against Kentucky, 6-3 while at Kansas. Kentucky coach John Calipari is 3-6 versus Kansas.
 
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 17-3 … Give Kansas its fourth-straight win against Kentucky, its longest win streak in the series … Make the KU-UK series 22-10 in favor of Kentucky … Make Kansas 5-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, including 3-0 against Kentucky … Make Kansas 3-0 versus top-10 teams this season and give KU its 14th-consecutive regular season win against a top-10 opponent, a streak which started Jan. 4, 2016 and the longest active in the NCAA … Make Bill Self 464-99 while at Kansas, 671-204 overall and 7-4 all-time versus Kentucky (7-3 while at KU) … Make Kansas 2,265-852 all-time.
 
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Make Kansas 16-4 … End a Kansas three-game winning streak against Kentucky … Make the KU-UK all-time series 23-9 in favor of Kentucky … Make Kansas 4-2 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, including 2-1 against Kentucky … Make Kansas 2-1 against top-10 teams this season, ending a 13-game Kansas regular season winning streak versus top-10 foes which started Jan. 4, 2016 … Make Bill Self 463-100 while at Kansas, 670-205 overall and 6-5 all-time versus Kentucky (6-4 while at KU) … Make Kansas 2,264-853 all-time.
 
LAST TIME OUT
A 14-0 second-half run along with a 29-point, 15-rebound outing from redshirt-junior Dedric Lawson lifted the No. 9/10 Kansas Jayhawks past the No. 24/25 Iowa State Cyclones, 80-76, Jan. 21 inside Allen Fieldhouse. Senior Lagerald Vick and sophomore Marcus Garrett combined for 22 second-half points, while freshman Devon Dotson chipped in 11 points to go along with a career-high eight assists in the win.
 
Lawson led the Jayhawks in scoring for the eighth time this season, posting 29 points on 13-of-17 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds. The performance marked his 13th double-double of the season. Garrett scored in double-figures for the third-straight game, posting 16 points. Vick and Dotson were the other two Jayhawks in double-figures, scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively.
 
IOWA STATE LEFTOVERS & NOTABLES

• The win extended Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse winning streak to 15 games, including 11-0 this season.
• KU improved its ESPN Big Monday record at Allen Fieldhouse to 28-0 under Bill Self. The Jayhawks have won 31-straight Big Monday contests in Allen Fieldhouse.
• The win also improved the Jayhawks to 88-11 following a loss in the Bill Self era. Since the 2013-14 season, the Jayhawks are 37-3 following a loss. When the game following a loss is in Allen Fieldhouse, KU is 48-3 in the Self era, including 2-0 this season.
• Kansas committed 11 turnovers of which Iowa State score eight points off. In Ames on Jan. 5, Iowa State scored 20 points off 24 KU turnovers.
• Kansas is 38-4 in conference games decided by 10 points or less since 2016, including a 5-1 record this season.
• With the victory Kansas is now 6-1 versus Associated Press top-25 opponents this season, 96-46 in the Bill Self era.
• Finishing with 29 points and 15 rebounds, redshirt-junior F Dedric Lawson has earned a double-double in 13 games this season and 49 overall in his career.
• Tallying 14 points, senior G Lagerald Vick moved past Ryan Robertson (1,055) and Kelly Knight (1,057) to sit 49th overall in the all-time scoring list at 1,060 points.
• In his last five games, Lawson is scoring 21.8 points per game on 61.2 percent shooting and 57.1 percent from deep while grabbing 10.2 rebounds per game and blocking 1.6 shots per game.
• Sophomore G Marcus Garrett finished with 16 points marking the third-straight game the Dallas native has scored in double digits and the 10th in his career.

 
KU, UK ALMOST MIRROR IMAGES
Since John Calipari arrived at Kentucky in 2009-10, Kansas, under head coach Bill Self, and Kentucky have been eerily close in wins, titles, etc. Including this season, since 2009-10, Kansas has won the most games at 294-59, while Kentucky is next at 290-67 and Gonzaga third at 289-54. Here is a breakdown heading into Saturday’s match-up and it’s evident just how close Kansas and Kentucky are:
 

 
 
COLLEGE GAMEDAY REGULARS
For the 17th time, Kansas will be featured on ESPN College Day when the Jayhawks play at Kentucky on Jan. 26. KU has been one of the two teams in the “GameDay” game 16 times in the regular season and boast a record of 11-5 in those 16 regular-season contests. Kansas has also won six-straight appearances.
 
The weekly-traveling telecast has originated from Allen Fieldhouse in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2018. KU was the GameDay road team in 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. College GameDay also originated from three postseason contests involving Kansas; at the 2006 Big 12 Championship semifinals in Dallas and the 2008 Final Four (semifinal and final) when Kansas won the title in San Antonio.
 

 
 
KANSAS IN THE SEC/BIG 12 CHALLENGE
This is the sixth year for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and the fourth-straight in which all 10 games in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge will take place in one day. In the first four years of the event, the SEC/Big 12 Challenge trophy went in the Big 12 office. The Big 12 won it the first three seasons and the leagues split the 10 games in 2017 (in case of a tie, the trophy stays with the conference that won it the previous season). Last year, the SEC won the trophy.
 
Big 12 teams are 29-21 (.580) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge since it began and have posted a 57-41 (.582) record in the last two conference challenge series (vs. Pac-10, SEC) dating back to 2007.
 
Kansas is 4-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, having split with Florida in 2013-14 and 2014-15, as both teams claimed home victories. KU then swept a home-and-home series with Kentucky, claiming a 90-84 overtime in Allen Fieldhouse in 2016 and a 79-73 win in Lexington, Kentucky in 2017. Last year, Kansas defeated Texas A&M, 79-68, in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Dating back to 2007, Kansas is 7-2 in conference challenges (1-1 vs. Arizona, 2-0 vs. UCLA, 1-1 vs. Florida, 2-0 vs. Kentucky, 1-0 vs. Texas A&M).
 
TOP-10 TRIUMPHS
Kansas enters Saturday’s top-10 showdown with No. 8 Kentucky boasting one of the more remarkable regular-season streaks in the nation. The Jayhawks’ have won 13th-straight regular-season games over teams ranked in the top-10 of the Associated Press poll, which includes two wins already this season (92-87 vs. then-No. 10 Michigan State, 87-81 vs. then-No. 5 Tennessee). Since the 1996-97 season, no other team in the nation has strung together more than seven regular-season wins over top-10 foes. KU’s last regular-season loss to a top-10 came to No. 1 Kentucky in the 2014 Champions Classic (11/18/14).
 
Even more impressive, prior to its Champions Classic loss to the Wildcats in 2014, the Jayhawks amassed a streak of seven-straight regular-season top-10 victories. This means that Kansas is an astounding 20-1 in its last 21 regular-season contests against top-10 ranked squads.
 
Since Bill Self took the reins of the Jayhawks in 2003, KU is 40-20 against top-10 teams, which includes postseason play.
 

 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
After his 29 points and 15 rebounds against Iowa State (1/21), redshirt-junior F Dedric Lawson leads the Big 12 with 13 double-doubles this season, including his last two straight contests and nine in his last 12 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 49 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.
 

UP NEXT
Kansas and Texas will meet for the second time in 15 days when the Jayhawks journey to Austin for the contest on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Tip-off from the Erwin Center is set for 6 p.m., on ESPN.
 
KU, which leads the all-time series with the Longhorns 32-8, came out on top in the first meeting this season, 80-78, in Lawrence. The Jayhawks have won seven of the last eight meetings in Austin, including four-straight. 

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