Men’s hoops continues home stand hosting 49ers Tuesday

Kansas game notes in PDF
Long Beach State game notes in PDF
Big 12 Conference notes in PDF

Home stand continues
No. 5/6 Kansas (5-1) plays its second of a six-game home stand when it hosts Long Beach State (1-7) Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised on Jayhawk TV and ESPN3. Kansas has won five-straight games after its 95-57 win against UNC Asheville on Nov. 25. Coming off one of the toughest schedules in the nation, Long Beach State is playing its eighth-straight game away from home when it comes to Allen Fieldhouse. The 49ers are coming off a 68-67 overtime loss at Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 25.
 
About Kansas
Kansas has won five-straight games and a couple of classics since losing its opener Nov. 11 to Indiana in overtime. KU won the Champions Classic defeating No. 1 Duke, 77-75, on Nov. 15, and the CBE Hall of Fame Classic Nov. 21-22 and went 4-0 in the event which included two host contests and two games in Kansas City. KU posted a 95-57 win against UNC Asheville on Nov. 25 in its last outing in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks average 84.2 points per game and have a +14.7 scoring margin. KU averages 41.3 rebounds per contest with a +5.7 rebound margin. The Jayhawks also average 17.7 assists, 7.0 steals and 5.5 blocked shots per game.
 
Senior G Frank Mason III has led KU in scoring in five of six games this season, including 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 5-for-5 from 3-point range, in KU’s last outing against UNC Asheville (11/25). The Nov. 14 Big 12 Player of the Week, Mason is second in the league in scoring at 21.5 points per game and also averages 5.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. Freshman G Josh Jackson leads Kansas with a 5.8 rebound average and is second in scoring at 14.3 points per game. He is also second on team with seven blocked shots and third with eight steals. Jackson was the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 CBE Hall of Fame Classic where he averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in KU’s two wins. Junior G Devonte’ Graham averages 13.0 points per game and is coming off a career-high 11 assists against UNC Asheville (11/25). Graham leads KU in assists with 5.7 per contest and in steals with 10. Graham and Mason have made a team-best 12 3-pointers. Sophomore G Lagerald Vick started his first game against UNC Asheville (11/25) and responded with career highs in points (15) and rebounds (9). Vick averages 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Freshman C Udoka Azubuike also had his first start versus UNC Asheville (11/25) and scored a career-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, which included seven dunks. Azubuike averages 4.5 points and 4.7 rebounds and leads KU with nine blocked shots.
 
Sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr. has started five games this season and averages 8.0 points and 5.2 rebounds. Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk also scores 8.0 points per game and he is third on the team with 11 3-pointers made. Senior C Landen Lucas (4.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, five blocked shots) also started the first five games this season. Junior F Dwight Coleby (0.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg) has averaged 11.5 minutes in his last two outings with five blocked shots in that span.
 
About Long Beach State
Located in Long Beach, California, with an enrollment of 36,288, Long Beach State is the preseason favorite to win the Big West Conference. The 49ers’ schedule is one of the toughest in the country with road games so far this season at Wichita State, North Carolina, Louisville, UCLA, Washington and Florida Gulf Coast. The Kansas contest is the eighth of a nine-game road swing for the 49ers.
 
Long Beach State is coached by Dan Monson, who is 156-147 in his 10th season with the 49ers and 326-270 in his 20th season overall. Long Beach State scores 71.1 points per game and averages 35.5 rebounds per outing. The 49ers also average 6.1 3-pointers made, 12.0 assists, 7.5 steals and 2.8 blocked shots per contest.
 
Long Beach State has depth as 10 players average 11-plus minutes per game. Junior F Gabe Levin leads Long Beach State in scoring at 13.0 points per game and rebounds at 7.6 boards per contest. Levin also has a team-high six blocked shots. Junior G Evan Payne has started five games this season and is second in scoring at 11.5 points per game. Payne’s 11 3-pointers made are second on the team. Junior G Justin Bibbins leads Long Beach State with 31 assists and 11 steals. He averages 8.3 points per contest. Freshman G Jordan Griffin has made a team-best 12 3-pointers. Griffin has started four games, is second on the team with nine steals and averages 7.1 points per contest. Sophomore F Temidayo Yussuf (6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg) has five starts, while sophomore G Noah Blackwell (5.8 ppg, 2.3) has three starts. Other Long Beach State regulars include freshman G Loren Jackson (5.3 ppg, 12 assists), junior F Roschon Prince (4.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg), freshman F Javonntie Jackson (2.9 ppg, four starts), and sophomore F Mason Riggins (2.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg).
 
The series
Kansas and Long Beach State are meeting for the fifth time with KU holding a 3-1 series advantage. Kansas won the first meeting on Dec. 1, 1970, in Allen Fieldhouse and the next, 66-60, in Long Beach, California, on Dec. 7, 1991. The 49ers upset then-No. 1 KU, 64-49, on Jan. 25, 1993. KU would go on to the 1993 Final Four in New Orleans. Most recently, Kansas defeated Long Beach State, 88-80, on Dec. 6, 2011, in Allen Fieldhouse. KU’s Thomas Robinson led the Jayhawks with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Conner Teahan added 14 points for the victors. Kansas would go on to the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans, losing to Kentucky in the title game.
 
What’s trending
• Kansas has made 31 3-pointers in its last three games, compared to 12 in its first three contests.
• KU is averaging 7.7 steals in its last three outings and 7.0 swipes for the season.
• The Jayhawks’ margin of victory has been 22.5 in their last four games.
• Senior G Frank Mason III has eight 20-point games for his career, including four this season. Mason has led KU in scoring five of six games this season.
• Junior G Devonte’ Graham has made nine 3-pointers in his last three games and is 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from beyond the arc in that span.
• Freshman G Josh Jackson leads Kansas with a 5.8 rebound average. The last freshman to lead KU in rebounding was Joel Embiid (8.1 rpg) in 2014. Jackson’s seven blocked shots are second on the team behind freshman C Udoka Azubuike’s nine.
• Sophomore G Lagerald Vick has pulled down 17 rebounds in his last two games with a 12.0 ppg average in that span. Last year Vick averaged 4.8 minutes per game compared to 26.0 in 2016-17.
• Azubuike has seven dunks this season, which is second to Jackson’s 10 on the KU team. Azubuike is 9-for-10 from the field in his last three games.
 
Some things to look for in 2016-17
• Bill Self has 390 wins at KU (10 shy of 400), 597 overall (three shy of 600). When he won his 500th, Self tied for the ninth fastest in NCAA history. Entering 2016-17, Self coached 780 games, which is how many it took Phog Allen to win his 600th.
• KU is 746-109 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse, approaching win No. 750 in the venue.
• Kansas has the nation’s longest active home court winning streak at 44 games entering 2016-17; 42 of those in Allen Fieldhouse.
• KU has sold out of 245-straight games in Allen Fieldhouse, approaching 250.
• Kansas has won 2,191 all-time games, approaching 2,200, which is second all-time in NCAA history. Kentucky is first at 2,211 and North Carolina is third at 2,183.
• Entering the 2016-17 season, Kansas is the winningest program, by percentage, this decade: 1. KANSAS (216-43, 83.4%); 2. Kentucky (217-47, 82.2%); 3. Duke (210-47, 81.7%).
• Should Kansas advance to the 2017 NCAA Tournament it would be its 28th-consecutive NCAA tourney appearance. The current 27 straight is tied for the NCAA Tournament longest consecutive appearance streak with North Carolina (1975-2001).
 
This date in Kansas basketball history
Kansas is 8-3 on Nov. 29
Nov. 29, 1985: Calvin Thompson scored 25 points and Ron Kellogg added 20 as Kansas defeated Louisville, 83-78, in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Greg Dreiling recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Cedric Hunter added 12 points and a team-high nine assists in the victory. Two days later the Jayhawks would go on to lose the Preseason NIT title game to Duke, 92-86. Kansas’ 1985-86 team went on to finish 35-4, including a 13-1 Big Eight Conference title run. The Jayhawks won the Big Eight Tournament and advanced to the Final Four in Dallas.
 
Up Next
Kansas continues its six-game home stand when it hosts Stanford on Dec. 3 at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN and tip at 2:30 p.m. (Central). It will mark the return of Jerod Haase to KU. Haase was a standout Jayhawk guard from 1995-97 and is the head coach at Stanford. KU will then host UMKC on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., on Jayhawk TV/ESPN3, Nebraska on Dec. 10 at 2:15 p.m., on ESPN, and Davidson at Sprint Center on Dec. 17, at 6 p.m., on ESPN2.