No. 12 Kansas Hosts No. 7 Houston Saturday in a Big 12 Battle

LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 12/11 Kansas (14-4, 5-2 Big 12) hosts No. 7/5 Houston (15-3, 7-0 Big 12) on Saturday, Jan. 25. The contest from Allen Fieldhouse will start at 5:30 p.m. CT and be televised on ESPN.

During the Houston contest, Kansas will honor the life of KU great Walt Wesley at halftime with Wesley's wife, Denise, and other family members present. Wesley passed away on March 28, 2024 and Wesley's KU coach, Ted Owens, will also be recognized on the court as KU will celebrate his contributions to the university as he turned 95 last summer.

Also at the Houston contest, Kansas will recognize Jayhawk baseball great, and longtime business leader and philanthropist, Forrest Hoglund, who on Jan. 22 was selected for the George H.W. Bush Distinguished Alumnus Award as selected by the College Baseball Foundation.

Prior to the Houston game there will be a moment of silence remembering Kansas' Team IMPACT team member, JP Bemberger, who passed away on Jan. 21 after a long battle with cancer. Bemberger joined the KU program in 2020 and had been active with the team since.

Kansas is coming off a 74-61 win at TCU on Jan. 22, in which the Jayhawks trailed by 14 points in the first half. Houston won its 11th consecutive game with a 70-36 win against Utah on Jan. 22. Kansas leads the overall series with Houston, 6-3, including a 3-1 mark in Lawrence, with all four contests played in Allen Fieldhouse.

KU is No. 9 in the NET report by the NCAA through games of Jan. 22. The No. 9 rank is third in the Big 12 behind No. 3 Houston and No. 5 Iowa State. Kansas leads the Big 12 and is 11th nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio at 1.67. KU is second in the league, 11th nationally, in assists per game at 18.2.

Graduate C Hunter Dickinson is first in the Big 12 in double-doubles with nine, which is eighth nationally. He is also first in the Big 12 and 10th nationally in rebounds per game at 10.2 rpg. Dickinson leads Kansas in scoring at 15.8 ppg and rebounding at 10.2 rpg. Dickinson most recently posted a 16-point, nine-rebound stat line against TCU on Jan. 22.

Senior G Zeke Mayo is next in scoring for Kansas at 14.9 ppg and leads the team in three-pointers made with 40 on the season. Mayo also leads the team in FT% with an 84.2 percent clip (32-38). Graduate G Dajuan Harris Jr. is third in the Big 12 and 19th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.16. Harris is also third in the conference, 40th nationally, with 5.4 assists per game. Harris is averaging 9.7 ppg and is averaging 5.4 apg with a team-high 25 steals.

Senior F KJ Adams is a starter who is scoring 8.2 points per game. Adams pulls down 4.6 rebounds per game and has 37 assists and 16 blocked shots. Adams has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury.

Junior G AJ Storr is coming off a 12-point effort at TCU, which included 10 second-half points. Storr has started four games and he is scoring 7.0 points per contest. Coming off his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds at TCU, freshman F Flory Bidunga leads Kansas with 27 blocked shots, including four at TCU in his last outing. Bidunga is second on the team with a 5.5 rebound average, scores 6.4 points per game and is shooting 80.0 percent (52-for-65) from the field.

Junior G Rylan Griffen is second on the team with 20 threes. Griffen is averaging 6.4 ppg and has started seven games this season. Senior G David Coit has three starts and he is third on the team with 18 threes made. Coit averages 4.3 points per game. Other KU regulars include graduate G Shakeel Moore (4.7 ppg), redshirt-junior F Zach Clemence (1.4 ppg) and freshman G Rakease Passmore (1.1 ppg). Moore has started the last six games for Kansas and is averaging 7.2 ppg, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals in that span.

UP NEXT
Kansas concludes its two-game homestand hosting UCF on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The contest from Allen Fieldhouse will start at 7 p.m. (Central) and will be televised on ESPN+.

Kansas and UCF are 1-1 in men's basketball meetings, which includes a KU 99-48 win at UCF on Jan. 5 in Orlando. UCF won the first meeting last season, 65-60, on Jan. 10, 2024, in Orlando.

No. 12 Kansas Hosts No. 7 Houston Saturday in a Big 12 Battle

Next Event

Players Mentioned

KJ Adams

Flory Bidunga

Zach Clemence

David Coit

Hunter Dickinson

Rylan Griffen

Dajuan Harris Jr.

Zeke Mayo

Shakeel Moore

Rakease Passmore

AJ Storr

University of Kansas Athletics

No. 12 Kansas Hosts No. 7 Houston Saturday in a Big 12 Battle

Next Event

Players Mentioned

KJ Adams

Flory Bidunga

Zach Clemence

David Coit

Hunter Dickinson

Rylan Griffen

Dajuan Harris Jr.

Zeke Mayo

Shakeel Moore

Rakease Passmore

AJ Storr

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