No. 2/1 Kansas hosts Texas on Saturday afternoon

GAME 19

Date January 21, 2017
Time 1 p.m. Central
Location Lawrence, Kan.
Venue Allen Fieldhouse
Video Weekly Press Conference
Notes Game Notes

LIVE COVERAGE
TV CBS
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Audio SiriusXM 81
Audio Audio Stream
Stats Live Stats

FOLLOW
Twitter @KUHoops | #kubball
Facebook /KansasBasketball
 HOW THEY COMPARE

Following another successful road trip, No. 2/1 Kansas (17-1, 6-0) plays host to Texas (7-11, 1-5) Saturday, Jan. 21, at 1 p.m., on CBS. Kansas won at Iowa State, 76-72, on Jan. 16 in its last outing to improve to 4-0 in true road games in 2016-17. Texas is looking to end a four-game losing streak after its 74-64 loss at No. 6/6 Baylor Jan. 17.

Through six conference games, Kansas remains the only Big 12 team undefeated in league play. KU’s 6-0 record ties for its ninth-best start in the 21-year history of the league. KU has won 16 Big 12 regular-season titles, including the last 12 straight starting in 2004-05.

ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas’ 17-game winning streak is tied for the longest in NCAA Division I with Gonzaga (17). The 17-game streak is tied for the fourth longest in Bill Self’s 14 seasons at Kansas. KU averages 85.8 points per game and has scored 80 or more in 14 of 18 games this season, including five of the last six contests. KU has a +15.3 scoring margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 and is eighth nationally with a 50.4 field goal percentage. KU leads the league with a 41.2 3-point field goal percentage, which is ninth in NCAA Division I. KU has outrebounded 11 opponents this season and averages 40.7 rebounds per contest with a +6.6 rebound margin. KU also averages 17.6 assists, 6.9 steals and 5.3 blocked shots per game.

Two-time Big 12 Player of the Week in 2016-17, senior G Frank Mason III is having a national player of the year season. He leads the conference in scoring with a 20.3 average and his 21.5 points per game in league play are also tops in the Big 12. Mason has 10 games of 20 points or more and has led Kansas in scoring in 15 of 18 games this season. Mason leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 53.8 percent. He is tied for third in the conference with teammate Devonte’ Graham with 2.3 3-pointers made per game.

Freshman G Josh Jackson has been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week each of the last two weeks. His 15.1 scoring average is seventh in the Big 12 and he is the only freshman in the league to rank in the conference’s top-20 scorers. Jackson is eighth in the Big 12 in rebounds at 6.8 boards per contest. He has earned Big 12 Player of the Week once and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week a KU record-tying four times this season. Jackson leads KU with 26 blocked shots and he is second on the team with 28 steals. Graham is a junior guard who averages 13.2 points per game, 13th in the conference, and has a team-best 29 steals. His 4.8 assists per game are tied for fifth in the league while his 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is 20th nationally and third in the conference. Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made 40 3-pointers to complement his 10.9 scoring average. Mykhailiuk has started the last eight games and has made 18 3-pointers in that span. Rounding out the starters is senior C Landen Lucas who has three double-doubles in the last six games. The Jan. 3 Big 12 Player of the Week, Lucas leads KU with 7.5 rebounds per game, which is fifth in the Big 12. Lucas’ 11.0 rebounds in conference play is second in the league and he is averaging 12.0 points against Big 12 foes. In all games, Lucas scores 7.9 points per contest.

Sophomore G Lagerald Vick has started five games this season and is averaging 8.1 points per game. He has pulled down five rebounds in each of his last two games to improve his board average to 3.5 per contest, Sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr. is coming off a 10-point, six-rebound effort at Iowa State (1/16). He is averaging 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. 

ABOUT TEXAS
Located in Austin, Texas, with an enrollment of 51,334, Texas is 7-11 on the season and 1-5 in Big 12 play. The Longhorns are coached by Shaka Smart who is 190-80 in his eighth season overall, including a 27-24 record in his second year at UT. Texas is 0-7 in games played away from Austin this season, including 0-4 in true road contests. Texas averages 69.6 points per game with a +1.7 scoring margin. The Longhorns lead the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 29.3 percent, while Kansas leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.2 percent. Texas averages 35.3 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.8 blocked shots per game.

Sophomore G/F Tevin Mack leads Texas in scoring at 14.8 points per game. He has made a team-best 34 3-pointers and pulls down 4.8 rebounds per game. Mack has not played in UT’s last two games after being suspended indefinitely on Jan. 12. Freshman F Jarrett Allen leads UT and is fifth in the Big 12 with 7.8 rebounds per game. Allen scores 11.9 points and has a team-high 29 blocked shots. Sophomore G Kerwin Roach Jr., has a team-high 60 assists and 24 steals for the Longhorns. Roach averages 11.1 points per game and has made 12 3-pointers this season. Senior F Shaquille Cleare is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game to complement his 7.7 scoring average. Freshman G Andrew Jones has started 12 games this season and scores 10.3 points per contest. Jones is second on the team with 21 3-pointers made and 22 steals. Other UT regulars include sophomore G Eric Davis Jr. (6.9 ppg, 17 3-pointers, eight starts), senior G Kendal Yancy (5.7 ppg), freshman G Jacob Young (4.1 ppg) and freshman C James Banks (1.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg).

THE SERIES
Year-in and year-out, the Kansas-Texas battles are some of the best in the Big 12, and nationally, in a series that dates back to 1938. Kansas leads the all-time series 27-8, including a 14-1 record in games played in Lawrence, 12-1 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has won five straight, 10 of the last 11 meetings, and 13 of the last 15 matchups, starting with the 2008 Big 12 Championship title game. KU and UT have met in four of the last nine Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship title games with KU claiming all four match-ups: 80-68 in Dallas in 2006, 88-84 in overtime in Oklahoma City in 2007, 84-74 in Kansas City in 2008 and 85-73 in Kansas City in 2011. Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas holds a 23-7 record against Texas with an 19-6 mark in regular-season play and 4-1 record in the Big 12 Championship. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 17-8 all-time against Texas, including 17-6 while at KU. Texas head coach Shaka Smart is 1-2 versus Kansas. Smart’s 2011 VCU team defeated Kansas, 71-61, in the NCAA Tournament Southwest Region championship game in San Antonio.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD …
Make Kansas 18-1 or better for the sixth time in the Bill Self era and first since the 2012-13 Jayhawks went 19-1 … Make KU 7-0 in Big 12 play for the ninth time in the 21-year history of the league … Give KU its 18th-straight win, which would tie for the second-longest winning streak in the Self era … Give Kansas its sixth-straight win against Texas, including fourth consecutive in Allen Fieldhouse … Make the KU-UT series 28-8 all-time in favor of KU, including a 13-1 record inside Allen Fieldhouse … Extend the nation’s longest active home court winning streak to 53 games, including 50 in Allen Fieldhouse … Make KU 10-0 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 755-109 all-time in the venue, including 216-9 under Self … Improve Self to 403-84 at KU and 610-189 overall … Make KU 2,204-837 all-time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD …
End a 17-game winning streak, making KU 17-2 overall and 6-1 in Big 12 play … End a KU five-game winning streak against Texas, making the series 27-9 all-time in favor of KU … End a KU three-game winning streak against Texas in Allen Fieldhouse, making the series 12-2 in favor of Kansas in the venue … End the nation’s longest active home court winning streak at 52 games  … Make Texas the first team to win two games in Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self era … Make Kansas 9-1 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 753-110 all-time in the venue, including 215-10 under Self … Make Self 402-85 while at KU and 609-190 overall … Make KU 2,203-838 all-time.

WHAT’S TRENDING
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 50.4 percent, 3-point field goal percentage at 41.2 percent and rebounding at 40.7. KU is tied for first in the league with a 94.4 won-loss percentage. Additionally, KU ranks in the upper half in the Big 12 in scoring (third at 85.8), scoring margin (second at +15.3), field goal percentage defense (second at 40.5), rebound margin (third at +6.6), assists (second at 17.6), assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth at 1.4) and blocked shots (second at 5.3).
• During Big 12 play, KU is shooting 72.6 percent at the charity stripe. In nonconference games KU had a 59.2 free throw percentage.
• The Jayhawks have maintained a lead at the five-minute mark of every game this season.
• Senior G Frank Mason III leads the Big 12 in scoring at 20.3 points per game, 3-point field goal percentage (53.8) and is fourth in assists at 5.3 per game. He has led KU in scoring in 14 of 18 games this season, including nine of the last 11 contests.
• Senior C Landen Lucas is averaging a double-double in Big 12 play with 12.0 ppg and 11.0 rebound averages, which is second in the league. Lucas’ 71.4 field goal percentage is first in the league in conference games played.
• Freshman G Josh Jackson ranks eighth in the Big 12 in scoring at 15.1 ppg, which leads the conference freshman class. His 6.8 rebounds per game are ninth in the league.
• Junior G Devonte’ Graham has two 20-point games this season with both in the last four contests.
• Graham is 14-for-33 (42.4 percent) from 3-point range in his last four games. In the three games prior, Graham was 1-for-15 from beyond the arc.
• Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made multiple 3-pointers in five of his last seven games. He is seventh in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made at 2.2 per game and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.5.

IN THE POLLS
Kansas moved to No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll released Jan. 16. The Jayhawks remained No. 2 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 yet had more first-place votes (32) then top-ranked Villanova (28). KU was No. 1 in the coaches’ poll four times last season and has been No. 1 in that poll 57 times.

The Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the last 151 AP polls dating back to the 2008-09 season, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. KU has been ranked in each of the last 157 coaches’ polls.

STREAKING
Here are some active Kansas streaks, all of which lead the nation:
• 12 Big 12 Conference regular-season titles
• 27 NCAA Tournament appearances
• 27 seasons with 20+ wins
• 52 wins at home, including 49 in Allen Fieldhouse
• 151 weeks ranked in AP Top 25
• Won at least 12 league games for 16-straight years.

ON PACE
Kansas averages 85.8 points per game, the highest scoring average in the Bill Self era, which began in 2003-04. The 85.8 average is the highest since the 2001-02 Jayhawks averaged 90.9 points per game.

DOWNTOWN
Kansas is currently averaging 8.6 3-point field goals made per game with a 41.2 3-point field goal percentage. Last season, Kansas set the school single-season 3-point record, making 304 from beyond the arc for 8.0 per game. KU’s 41.8 3-point field goal percentage in 2015-16 tied for second on the single-season records list.

MASON & JACKSON RECOGNIZED BY CBSSports.com
Senior Frank Mason III and freshman Josh Jackson each earned CBSSports.com national recognition earlier this week. On Jan. 17, Jackson was the national freshman of the week with his efforts against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State where he averaged 14.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists. The following day, Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com moved Mason to No. 1 on the national player of the year list.

JACKSON TIES KU HISTORY IN BEING NAMED BIG 12 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
On Jan. 16, freshman G Josh Jackson was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the second-straight week and fourth time in 2016-17. Historically, Jackson’s four Big 12 Newcomer of the Week recognitions ties Tyshawn Taylor in 2010-11 for the most by a Jayhawk. On Dec. 27, 2016, Jackson was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and he joined former KU players Ben McLemore (2012-13) and Mario Chalmers (2005-06) in earning both league player and newcomer honors in the same season.

15 TIMES
With its 89-71 win against Davidson (12/17), Kansas posted its 10th-straight win. Under Bill Self, KU has won 10 or more straight games 15 times. KU’s current 17-game win streak ranks tied for fourth longest in the Self era.

KU 10-Plus Winning Streaks Under Bill Self (2003-04)
No.       Dates
20         Nov. 9, 2007-Jan. 26, 2008
18         Nov. 15, 2012-Jan. 28, 2013
18         Nov. 12, 2010-Jan. 17, 2011
17         Nov. 15, 2016-present
17         Jan. 30, 2016-March 24, 2016

THIS DATE IN KANSAS BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 10-8 all-time on Jan. 21.
Jan. 21, 1986: Led by sophomore Danny Manning’s double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Kansas defeated Oklahoma, 98-92, in front of 15,200 fans in Allen Fieldhouse. Senior Ron Kellogg added 20 points, while senior Greg Dreiling posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 14 boards. The victory occurred during a stretch where the Jayhawks won 23 of 24 games. Kansas finished the season with a 13-1 conference record to win its only Big Eight regular-season title under head coach Larry Brown. KU also won the Big Eight Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in Dallas. Kansas finished the season ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll with its 35-4 record.

UP NEXT
Kansas will play three nationally-ranked teams with the first one at No. 7/8 West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2. Kansas will travel to No. 5/5 Kentucky for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m., on ESPN. The Jayhawks return home to host No. 6/6 Baylor on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m., on ESPN2.

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