No. 3/3 Jayhawks to face Runnin’ Rebels Thursday in Vegas

 Game 12
 #3/3 KANSAS (10-1, 0-0 Big 12) at
 UNLV (7-5, 0-0 Mountain West)
Date Thursday, Dec. 22
Time 8 p.m. Central
Location Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena Thomas & Mack Center
 LIVE COVERAGE
TV CBS Sports Network
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Audio KUAthletics.com/radio
Stats UNLVRebels.com
 SOCIAL
Twitter @KUHoops | #kubball
Instagram @kuhoops | #kubball
Facebook /KansasBasketball
 STATS KU UNLV
 Points / game 88.0 74.1
 Opp. Points / game 68.8 73.4
 Field Goal % .524 .435
 3-Point Field Goal % .418 .367
 Free Throw % .600 .720
 Rebounds / game 40.9 38.4
 Assists / game 18.1 14.3
 Turnovers / game 12.8 14.7
 Steals / game 7.7 5.9
 Blocks / game 6.1 3.0

Notes Kansas Game Notes (.pdf)
Notes UNLV Game Notes (.pdf)
Notes Big 12 Game Notes (.pdf)

ROAD TRIP
Though 4-1 away from the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse, No. 3/3 Kansas (10-1) plays its first true road game of the season when it travels to Las Vegas to take on UNLV (7-5), Thursday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m. (Central). The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Kansas has won 10-straight after its 89-71 win against Davidson, Dec. 17, in Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. UNLV is coming off a 68-61 win against Southern Illinois Dec. 19.

ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas’ current 10-game winning streak ties for sixth longest in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks average 88.0 points per game and have scored 89 or more in each of their last six contests. KU has a +19.2 scoring margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 with a 52.4 field goal percentage, which is third nationally. KU also leads the league with a 41.8 3-point field goal percentage, which is 11th in NCAA Division I. KU averages 40.9 rebounds per contest with a +7.3 rebound margin. The Jayhawks also average 18.1 assists, 7.7 steals and 6.1 blocked shots per game.

Two-time Big 12 Player of the Week in 2016-17, senior G Frank Mason III has led Kansas in scoring in nine of 11 games this season, including each of the last four contests. He has six 20-point efforts, including two 30-point outings and has scored 18 or more points in all but one game this season. Mason is averaging 20.3 points per game, which ranks second in the Big 12. Mason also leads KU in 3-point field goal percentage at 52.1 percent, assists at 5.6 per game and his 25 3-pointers are second on the team. Freshman G Josh Jackson leads Kansas in rebounds with 6.3 per game, which includes eight boards against Davidson (12/17). A two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, Jackson averages 15.1 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 19 steals. His 15.1 points per contest lead the Big 12 freshman class. Jackson’s 16 blocked shots are second on the squad behind fellow freshman starter Udoka Azubuike’s 18. At center, Azubuike averages 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds and is making a team-best 62.9 percent of his shots from the field. Junior G Devonte’ Graham has made a team-high 27 3-pointers this season and is tied with Jackson for the team high in steals with 19. Graham averages 13.4 points and 4.5 assists per game. Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk started his first game of 2016-17 against Davidson (12/17) and responded with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals. Mykhailiuk averages 10.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game and is third on the team with 23 3-pointers made.

Sophomore G Lagerald Vick has started five games this season and is averaging 9.0 points and shooting 53.4 percent from the field. Included is a career-high 23 points, on 9-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range, against Long Beach State (11/29). Sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr. has also started five games this season and is second on the team with a 5.6 rebound average. Bragg averages 7.7 points per outing. Senior C Landen Lucas pulled down a season-high eight rebounds against Davidson (12/17) which followed a season-high 12 points versus Nebraska (12/10). Lucas averages 5.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest and is shooting 60.5 percent from the field for the season. Freshman F Mitch Lightfoot (1.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg) and junior F Dwight Coleby (1.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg) are also KU regulars off the bench.

ABOUT UNLV
Located in Las Vegas, Nevada, with an enrollment of 29,000, UNLV is 7-5 on the season after its 68-61 home win against Southern Illinois on Dec. 19. The Runnin’ Rebels are 6-2 at Thomas & Mack Center this season. UNLV is coached by Marvin Menzies who is in his first season with the Runnin’ Rebels at 7-5 and his 10th season overall with a 205-116 record. UNLV averages 74.1 points and has a +0.7 scoring margin. The Runnin’ Rebels make 7.5 3-pointers per contest and pull down 38.4 rebounds per game with a +3.3 rebound margin. UNLV also averages 14.3 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.0 blocked shots per outing.

Sophomore G Jalen Poyser leads UNLV in scoring at 14.6 points per game. He has a team-high 26 3-pointers made and also leads UNLV with 45 assists. Poyser’s 12 steals are second on the team behind fellow starter senior G Uche Ofoegbu’s 15. Ofoegbu averages 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. Senior F Tyrell Green is coming off a 23-point effort against Southern Illinois (12/19) and he is second on the team with a 14.1 points per game average and pulls down 6.4 rebounds. Green is just behind Poyser with 25 3-pointers made this season. Sophomore G Kris Clyburn is a starter who averages 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Freshman F Cheickna Dembele (3.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg) has started three of eight games played this season.

Two UNLV leading scorers, junior F Dwayne Morgan (9.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and senior F Christian Jones (10.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) have been out the last three games due to injuries. Other UNLV regulars include junior G Jovan Mooring (9.0 ppg, 34 assists), freshman F Troy Baxter Jr. (4.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and freshman G Zion Morgan (2.7 ppg). Mooring is second on the team with 34 assists, while Baxter’s eight blocked shots this season are second on the team as well.

THE SERIES
Kansas has won all five meetings with UNLV in a series which started in 1989 in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT in Madison Square Garden, a KU 91-77 win, on Nov. 22. Two days later Kansas defeated St. John’s, 66-57, to win the 1989 Preseason NIT. In the 1997 Preseason NIT second round, KU defeated UNLV, 92-68, in Allen Fieldhouse on Nov. 21, 1997. Once again, the Jayhawks went on to win the event. In the third matchup, Kansas defeated UNLV, 78-50, in the Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Nov. 27, 1998. En route to the 2008 NCAA National Championship, Kansas defeated UNLV, 75-56, in the event’s second round in Omaha, Nebraska. The upcoming Dec. 22 contest is a home-and-home return trip for Kansas which defeated UNLV, 76-61, on Jan. 4, 2015, in Allen Fieldhouse. In the win, current Jayhawk Frank Mason III led all scorers with 18 points to go along with seven assists and four steals. The only other current KU player to face UNLV that day was Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (two minutes, one rebound, one assist, one steal). Kansas head coach Bill Self is 4-2 all-time against UNLV, including 2-0 while at Kansas. UNLV coach Marvin Menzies was 0-2 versus Kansas when he was the head coach at New Mexico State.

DAVIDSON LEFTOVERS
• The Jayhawks have scored 89 points or more in six-straight games. It is the longest streak of 89 points or more since posting six-consecutive games with 91 or more points from Jan. 4-18, 1990.
• KU’s 10 steals tied for the most in a game this season. The Jayhawks also swiped 10 possessions from UAB (11/21) and Long Beach State (11/29).
• The Jayhawks turned in their third-best free throw percentage of the season at 70.8 (17-of-24).
• The Jayhawks extended the nation’s active home court winning streak to 49 games, including 46-straight in Allen Fieldhouse.
• Kansas trailed Davidson at halftime, 43-42. It is just the second time this season Kansas trailed at halftime. Kansas recovered from a five-point halftime deficit against Duke (11/15) before defeating the then-No. 1 Blue Devils, 77-75.
Senior G Frank Mason III finished with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
• Mason’s 18 points moved him past Mario Chalmers for 28th on KU’s all-time scoring list with 1,355.
Freshman G Josh Jackson finished with co-team highs of 18 points and eight rebounds. He has led KU in scoring twice and rebounding four times this season.
Junior G Devonte’ Graham registered a career-high two blocks in 32 minutes.
Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk made his first start since Dec. 10, 2014 at Georgetown and with 13 points has  scored 10-plus points in five-straight games.
Senior C Landen Lucas grabbed a season-high eight rebounds to co-lead the Jayhawks.

WHAT’S TRENDING
• Kansas leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally in field goal percentage at 52.4 percent. The Jayhawks also lead the league, and are 10th nationally, in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.8 percent. Besides those, KU ranks in the upper half in the Big 12 in won-loss percentage (second at 90.9), scoring (third at 88.0), scoring margin (fourth at +19.2), rebounding (second at 40.9), rebounding defense (fifth at 33.6), rebound margin (third at +7.3), assists (second at 18.1), blocked shots (second at 6.1) and 3-point average (second at 8.8).
• Kansas has benefited from balanced scoring this season with four or more double-figure scorers in nine of its 11 games.
Senior G Frank Mason III has led Kansas in scoring in nine of 11 games this season, including each of the last four KU contests.
• In his last six games, Mason has averaged 19.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and boasts a 4.1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span.
• Mason ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring at 20.3 ppg and tied for second in assists (5.6). He is third in 3-point field goal percentage (.521), sixth in field goal percentage (.560) and fifth in 3-pointers made (2.5).
Junior G Devonte’ Graham has made 13 3-pointers in his last four games. He leads Kansas with 27 3-pointers made this season and his 2.7 3-pointers made are third in the Big 12.
• Graham has six games with multiple steals and he is tied with Josh Jackson for the team lead with 19 steals.
Freshman G Josh Jackson has averaged 18.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots in his last three games. His 16 blocked shots are second on the team behind freshman C Udoka Azubuike’s 18.

IN THE POLLS
Kansas is remained ranked No. 3 both the Associated Press and No. 3 the USA Today Coaches’ polls, released Dec. 19. KU entered the 2016-17 season No. 3 in the AP poll and No. 2 in the coaches’ poll.

Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 147 AP polls dating back to the 2008-09 season, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.

Kansas was ranked in the preseason for the 25th time in time in the 28-year history of the coaches’ poll. The No. 2 preseason ranking marked the sixth time KU has been preseason No. 2 or higher in the coaches’ poll.

The AP ranking marked the highest preseason rank for the Jayhawks since entering the 2009-10 season No. 1. This is the fourth-straight season KU has been ranked No. 5 or higher by the AP preseason poll. KU was No. 4 last season in the AP preseason poll and No. 5 in 2014-15 and 2013-14. It is also the seventh time in the last eight seasons that the Jayhawks have entered the season No. 7 or higher by the AP.

15 TIMES
With its 89-71 win against Davidson, Kansas posted its 10th-straight win. Under head coach Bill Self, KU has won 10 or more straight games 15 times.

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      Jan. 30, 2016-March 24, 2016
16      Feb. 27, 2008-Nov. 24, 2008
14      Nov. 13, 2009-Jan. 6, 2010
14      Feb. 7, 2007-March 22, 2007
14      Nov. 19, 2004-Jan. 19, 2005
13      Nov. 23, 2015-Jan. 9, 2016
13      Jan. 13, 2010-Feb. 22, 2010
11      Feb. 19, 2011-March 25, 2011
10      Nov. 15, 2016-present
10      Dec. 22, 2011-Jan. 23, 2012
10      Dec. 4, 2006-Jan. 15, 2007
10      Nov. 21, 2005-Feb. 21, 2006

Limited space available for Kansas Men’s Basketball Holiday Clinic Dec. 27
Kansas’ men’s basketball program will hold its annual Men’s Basketball Holiday Clinic for boys and girls, ages first through sixth grade, on Tuesday, Dec. 27, from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Participants of the yearly event will receive fundamental instruction from current KU players, coaches and staff, an official camp T-shirt, a “Junior” Jayhawk basketball and one general admission ticket to KU’s Jan. 7 home game against Texas Tech. Additionally, there will be an autograph session with the current KU team and coaches following the clinic.

The cost of the clinic is $85 and pre-registration must be done online at www.billselfbasketballcamp.com. No walk-up registration will be taken on the date of the clinic. Families with a child attending the clinic can purchase a maximum of two additional tickets to the Texas Tech matchup at a reduced rate of $50 per ticket. These can be purchased with cash or credit card at check-in and cannot be purchased online.

Check-in will be from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the south end of Allen Fieldhouse. Parents are welcome to watch and take pictures from the second level of Allen Fieldhouse during the clinic.

GOOD COMPANY
Senior G Frank Mason III is 28th in KU men’s basketball history with 1,355 all-time points and 12th with 451 career assists. Mason is only the seventh Jayhawk to rank that high in both categories.

Name (KU seasons)    Rank/Points    Rank/Assists
Sherron Collins (2007-10)    1,888/5th      552/8th
Darnell Valentine (1978-81)  1,821/6th      609/5th
Kirk Hinrich (2000-03)         1,753/11th     668/4th
Kevin Pritchard (1987-90)    1,692/12th     499/10th
Tyshawn Taylor (2009-12)   1,580/15th     575/6th
Adonis Jordan (1990-93)      1,373/26th     568/7th
Frank Mason III (2014-pres.)         1,355/28th   451/12th

MASON’S 30-POINT GAMES
Senior G Frank Mason III tied his career high with 30 points against UMKC on Dec. 6. He also scored 30 in the season opener against then-No. 11 Indiana (11/11) in the  Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu. In the Bill Self era at Kansas, Mason’s 30-point efforts are the 21st and 22nd time a Jayhawk has surpassed the 30-point mark for a game. Additionally, Mason is also one of six KU players to have accomplished the feat multiple times in the Self era.

30-POINT GAMES UNDER BILL SELF
41 – Andrew Wiggins at West Virginia (3-8-14)
39 – Elijah Johnson at Iowa State (2-25-13)
36 – Ben McLemore vs. West Virginia (3-2-13)
33 – Wayne Selden Jr. vs. Kentucky (1-30-16)
33 – Ben McLemore vs. Iowa State (1-9-13)
33 – Marcus Morris vs. Iowa State (1-12-11)
33 – Sherron Collins vs. Cornell (1-6-10)
33 – Julian Wright at Missouri (2-10-07)
32 – Perry Ellis vs. TCU (2-15-14)
32 – Sherron Collins vs. North Dakota State (3-20-09)
32 – Wayne Simien vs. Oklahoma State (2-27-05)
31 – Xavier Henry vs. LaSalle (12-12-09)
31 – Wayne Simien vs. Missouri (3-7-04)
30 – FRANK MASON III VS. UMKC (12-6-16)
30 – FRANK MASON III VS. INDIANA (11-11-16)
30 – Perry Ellis vs. Iowa State (3-14-14)
30 – Andrew Wiggins vs. Oklahoma State (3-13-14)
30 – Ben McLemore vs. Kansas State (2-11-13)
30 – Thomas Robinson vs. North Dakota (12-31-11)
30 – Mario Chalmers vs. Texas (3-16-08)
30 – Wayne Simien vs. Oklahoma State (3-12-05)
30 – Wayne Simien vs. UAB (3-26-04)

30-Point Breakdown (under Bill Self)
4 – Wayne Simien
3 – Ben McLemore
2 – Frank Mason III, Perry Ellis, Andrew Wiggins, Sherron Collins

SOME THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN 2016-17
Bill Self has 395 wins at Kansas (five shy of 400). When he wins No. 400 he will be the third KU coach to accomplish the feat: Phog Allen (590-219 in 39 seasons) and Roy Williams (418-101 in 15 seasons).
•Kansas has the nation’s longest active home court winning streak at 49 games entering 2016-17; 46 of those in Allen Fieldhouse. The 46 straight is the fourth-longest in Allen Fieldhouse history and nine from third.
•KU has sold out of 249-straight games in Allen Fieldhouse, approaching 250.
•Kansas has won 2,196 all-time games, approaching 2,200, which is second all-time in NCAA history. Kentucky is first at 2,215 and North Carolina is third at 2,187.
• 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).

UP NEXT
Kansas opens Big 12 play at TCU on Friday, Dec. 30, at 8 p.m., on ESPN2. The Jayhawks have won a mind-boggling 25 conference openers dating back to the 1991-92 season. The last time KU lost a conference opener was at Oklahoma, 88-82, on Jan. 8, 1991. Kansas will return home to host Kansas State, Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 8 p.m., on ESPN2 in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown.

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