Old conference foes to meet up Saturday in Shelter Insurance Showcase

Notes Kansas Game Notes (.pdf)
Notes Nebraska Notes (.pdf)
Notes Big 12 Conference notes (.pdf)
Tickets Ticket Information

Old League foes meet
Old conference foes Kansas and Nebraska will meet on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN in Allen Fieldhouse in the Shelter Insurance Showcase. No. 3/3 Kansas is 8-1 on the season and won its eighth-straight game with a 105-62 win against UMKC Dec. 6. The victory was the 600th career win for KU head coach Bill Self. Nebraska is coming off a 77-62 loss to No. 10/10 Creighton on Dec. 7.
 
On Jan. 12, 1907, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Washington in St. Louis were original members of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA). With a one-year hiatus in 1919-20 by Nebraska, KU and NU endured conference changes (Big Six from 1929-47, Big Seven from 1948-58, Big Eight from 1959-96 and Big 12 from 1997 to present) but remained in the same league together from 1907 until 2011 when Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference.
 
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas has the nation’s longest active home court winning streak of 47 games, which includes 45 in Allen Fieldhouse. After their season-high 105 points in the win against UMKC (12/6), the Jayhawks average 87.8 points per game and have a 19.6 scoring margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 with a 42.9 3-point field goal percentage, which is ninth nationally. Its 52.1 percent shooting is second in the league and fifth nationally. KU averages 41.2 rebounds per contest with a 7.8 rebound margin. The Jayhawks also average 18.8 assists, 7.4 steals and 5.6 blocked shots per game.
 
Senior G Frank Mason III tied his career high with 30 points against UMKC (12/6). He has six 20-point efforts, including two 30-point outings. Mason is averaging 20.8 points per game, which ranks second in the Big 12. The Nov. 14 Big 12 Player of the Week, Mason also leads KU in field goal percentage at 58.9 percent, assists at 5.3 per game and his 21 3-pointers are second on the team. Freshman G Josh Jackson posted his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds against UMKC (12/6). He leads KU with 6.1 rebounds per game to complement his 14.6 points per game. Jackson’s 15 steals are tied for first on the team and his 10 blocked shots are second. Jackson was named back-to-back Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (11/21, 11/28) and was the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 CBE Hall of Fame Classic, Nov. 21-22. Junior G Devonte’ Graham has made a team-high 25 3-pointers this season, including 11 in his last two games. He averages 13.7 points and 5.1 assists per game, two dimes behind Mason. He is tied with Jackson for the team lead in steals with 15. Sophomore G Lagerald Vick has started the last four games and is averaging 9.8 points and shooting 56.5 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). Like Vick, freshman C Udoka Azubuike has started the last four games for KU. He has five blocked shots in his last two games and leads the team with 14 blocks this season. Azubuike averages 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds.
 
Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made 11 3-pointers in his last four games and scores 9.4 points per contest. He pulled down a career-high seven rebounds against UMKC (12/6). Sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr. has started five games this season and is second on the team with a 5.3 rebound average. Bragg averages 7.8 points. Senior C Landen Lucas had three blocked shots, eight points and five rebounds against Stanford (12/3). Lucas averages 4.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest and started the first five games this season. Junior F Dwight Coleby (1.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg) is also a regular off the bench. He scored a season-high six points against UMKC (12/6).
 
ABOUT Nebraska
Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, with an enrollment of 25,260, Nebraska is 5-4 on the season after its 77-62 loss to No. 10/10 Creighton on Dec. 7. The Huskers are coached by Tim Miles who is 68-71 in his fifth season at NU and 351-291 in his 22nd year overall. Nebraska averages 68.3 points per game and has a 4.2 scoring margin. The Huskers pull down 39.8 rebounds per contest and have a 4.0 rebound margin. NU also averages 5.8 3-pointers made, 11.1 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.3 blocked shots per contest.
 
Senior G Tai Webster leads Nebraska in scoring with 17.2 points per game. He also leads the team with 41 free throws made and 34 assists. Webster’s 14 3-pointers, and 12 steals are second on the team. Sophomore G Glynn Watson Jr. is next in scoring at 13.2 points per game. He has a team-high 19 steals and is second on the team with 27 assists. making 89.5 percent from the free throw line. Sophomore F Ed Morrow Jr. leads Nebraska in rebounds with 8.1 per contest. He scores 10.1 points per game and has eight blocked shots. Sophomore G/F Jack McVeigh (8.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and sophomore F Michael Jacobson (6.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg) round out the NU starters. Jacobson has a team-high 13 blocked shots this season. Other Nebraska regulars include freshman C Jordy Tshimanga (3.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg), freshman F Isaiah Roby (3.1 ppg, six blocked shots), junior G Anton Gill (2.9 ppg) and junior G Evan Taylor (2.3 ppg).
 
THE SERIES
This 141-game series dates back to 1900 with Kansas leading 170-71. KU has won the last 17 meetings, from 2004 until its final league matchup in 2011. The Jayhawks have also won 26 of the last 27 meetings against the Huskers dating back to the 1999 season. The last NU win was 74-55 in Lincoln on Feb. 15, 2004. KU is 88-23 against NU in Lawrence, including 51-7 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has won the last 12 meetings in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas went 31-3 against Nebraska as members of the Big 12, i.e. since 1996-97 (27-3 in regular season and 4-0 in the Big 12 Championship).
 
UMKC Leftovers
• The win extended the nation’s longest home court winning streak to 47 games.
• Bill Self improved  to 393-84 (.824) while at Kansas and 600-189 (.760) all-time, making Self the ninth-fastest coach in NCAA Division I to reach 600 wins. Self is only the 46th coach to reach 600 all-time wins.
• Kansas’ 105-point output marked the 111th 100-point game in program history and the 19th in the Bill Self era.
• Kansas knocked down 15-of-27 (55.5 percent) shots from beyond the 3-point line, marking the fourth-straight game Kansas shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc.
• Kansas’ bench contributed 29 points, the highest output by the Jayhawk bench for the second time this season.
• The Jayhawks beat the UMKC by 43 points, 105-62, marking the fifth-straight double-digit victory.
• The Jayhawks set season highs for points (105), points at half (54 in the second), field goals (39), 3-point field goals (15), offensive rebounds (21) and total rebounds (53), they also tied a season high with 27 3-point attempts.
• Kansas shot 56 percent for the game marking the seventh time this season the Jayhawks have shot better than 50 percent, Kansas is 7-0 in those contests.
• Kansas’ 15 3-point field goals were the most since KU knocked down 15 treys against Chaminade in the Maui Classic on Nov. 23, 2015 and one shy of the school record. The 15 3-pointers did set the KU Allen Fieldhouse record, surpassing 14 made twice with the last against Tennessee Tech in 2009.
• Kansas has made double-digit 3-point field goals for four consecutive games, making 54 total treys and averaging 13.5 per game.
• Senior G Frank Mason III finished with 30 points, tying his career high, making it eight out of nine games this season with at least 18 points.
• With his 30 points, Mason moved past Walter Wesley (1,315) into No. 29 on Kansas’ all-time scoring list with 1,319 points.
• Mason’s 11 field goals tonight marked an individual season-high by a Jayhawk, surpassing Lagerald Vick’s nine field goals made against Long Beach State (11/29).
• Junior G Devonte’ Graham shot 75 percent (6-of-8) from three, his fourth-straight game shooting 50 percent or better from the 3-point arc.
• With his six three-point field goals made, Graham moved into 20th on KU’s all-time list with 117 threes.
• Freshman G Josh Jackson posted his second career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
• Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk recorded a career-high seven rebounds.
• Freshman F Mitch Lightfoot recorded a career-high five rebounds.
• Graham and Mason both drained six three pointers in tonight’s game, which were the most for a Jayhawk this season. 
 
WHAT’S TRENDING
• Kansas has averaged 13.5 3-pointers made in its last four games and is shooting 56.3 percent from 3-point range (54-96) in that span.
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (42.9) and 3-pointers made (9.3). The Jayhawks also rank in the upper half in the league in scoring offense (third at 87.8), scoring margin (fourth at 19.6), field goal percentage (second at 52.1), rebounding (second at 41.2), rebounding defense (fifth at 33.4), rebound margin (second at 7.8), blocked shots (second at 5.6), assists (second at 18.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (fifth at 1.4).
• Kansas is averaging 8.0 steals in its last six outings.
• The Jayhawks’ margin of victory has been 25.4 in their last seven games.
• Against UMKC (12/6), junior G Devonte’ Graham recorded four assists to one turnover increasing his turnover to 46-15 on the year. Frank Mason III dropped five dimes against 0 turnovers and now has 48 assists versus 21 turnovers. Combined, the starting back court holds a 2.61:1 assist to turnover ratio.
• Mason has 10 20-point games for his career, including six this season. Mason has led KU in scoring in seven of nine games in 2016-17. He is averaging 25.0 points in his last two contests.
• Graham has made 22 3-pointers in his last six games and is 22-for-43 (51.2 percent) from beyond the arc in that span.
• Freshman G Josh Jackson is averaging 16.0 points in his last two games and is 13-for-24 (54.2 percent) from the field in that span. Jackson has nine steals in his last four games.
• Since entering the starting lineup against UNC-Asheville (Nov. 25), sophomore G Lagerald Vick has shot 80 percent (20-of-25) from the field in his last four games.
• Freshman C Udoka Azubuike has a team-best 14 blocked shots, including five in his last two games.
 
Milestone Met
Kansas head coach Bill Self won the 600th game of his career with KU’s 105-62 win against UMKC on Dec. 6. Self is in his 24th season as a head coach with stints at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois before taking over at Kansas in 2003-04.
 
Bill Self’s Milestone Victories
Win     Date   School            Opponent      Score
1        11.26.93        Oral Roberts   Sam Houston State   78-66 
100     11.27.99        Tulsa   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   97-45 
200     2.22.03         Illinois  at Northwestern       73-61
300     2.10.07         Kansas at Missouri     92-74
400     2.13.10         Kansas Iowa State     73-69
500     2.25.13         Kansas at Iowa State 108-96 (ot)
600     12.6.16         Kansas UMKC  105-62
 
Not Bad Company
Senior G Frank Mason III is 30th in KU men’s basketball history with 1,289 all-time points and 13th with 432 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.)         1,319/29th   437/t12th
 
Lucas Nominated for NABC Good Works Team
Senior C Landen Lucas has been nominated for the 2017 Allstate NABC Good Works Team, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced Nov. 30.  Athletic departments and sports information directors across the country nominated the 181 NABC and the 97 WBCA student-athletes for the honor. Two special voting panels will select 10-member teams from both the NABC and WBCA, comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
 
IN THE POLLS
Kansas is currently ranked No. 3 both the Associated Press and No. 3 the USA Today Coaches’ polls, released Dec. 5. 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 146 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.
 
Jackson named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for second time
For the second week in a row, Kansas freshman guard Josh Jackson has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, the conference office announced Nov. 28.  
 
Named the Most Valuable Player of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, Jackson averaged 17.0 points and 7.3 rebounds as Kansas posted a 3-0 record last week with wins against UAB (11/21), Georgia (11/22) and UNC Asheville (11/25). The Detroit native made 51.4 percent of his field goals while adding four blocked shots.
 
In the two games at the CBE Hall of Fame Classic championship in Kansas City, Missouri, Jackson averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, including his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in Kansas’ 65-54 win against Georgia.
 
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 393 wins at Kansas (seven 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).
• KU is 749-109 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse, one win from No. 750 in the venue.
• Kansas has the nation’s longest active home court winning streak at 47 games entering 2016-17; 45 of those in Allen Fieldhouse. The 45 straight is the fourth-longest in Allen Fieldhouse history and 10 from third.
• KU has sold out of 248-straight games in Allen Fieldhouse, approaching 250.
• Kansas has won 2,194 all-time games, approaching 2,200, which is second all-time in NCAA history. Kentucky is first at 2,213 and North Carolina is third at 2,186.
• 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 19-5 all-time on Dec. 10.
Dec. 10, 2005: Behind a 17-point performance from sophomore C.J. Giles, Kansas defeated California, 69-56, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Down three at halftime, the Jayhawks used a 27-7 run to gain a comfortable margin. Freshman Brandon Rush scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Giles had nine rebounds, three steals and five blocks to go along with his game-high 17 points. Senior reserve Stephen Vinson was a spark off the bench and posted career highs in both points (six) and assists (six). KU would go on to win the 2005-06 regular season Big 12 title and the Big 12 Championship.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will conclude its six-game homestand when it plays Davidson in the Jayhawk Shootout at Sprint Center on Dec. 17, at 6 p.m., on ESPN2. KU will then play at UNLV on Dec. 22 at 8 p.m., (Central) on the CBS Sports Network.
 
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