LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 2 Kansas (11-1) will face Wichita State (8-4) in its final non-conference game of the regular season on Saturday, Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The contest will begin at 3 p.m. (Central) and will be televised on ESPN2.
Kansas takes a seven-game winning streak into Saturday’s contest which is the ninth longest nationally. KU is coming off a 75-60 win against Yale, which took place at Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 22. Wichita State will play its second-straight contest at the T-Mobile Center. The Shockers lost to Big 12 foe Kansas State, 69-60, on Dec. 21 in its last outing at the venue.
This will be the 16th meeting between Kansas and Wichita State with the Jayhawks holding a 12-3 all-time series advantage. WSU won the last meeting, 78-65, on March 22, 2015, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Omaha, Neb.
Kansas enters Saturday’s matchup averaging 79.1 points per game with a plus-13.9 scoring margin. The Jayhawks pull down 38.2 rebounds per outing with a plus-5.6 rebound margin. Kansas is second in the nation in assists per game at 21.4. KU is second in the Big 12 and is eighth nationally in field goal percentage (51.4%). KU also averages 7.5 steals and 4.8 blocked shots per contest.
Coming off a career-high 34 points against Yale (12/22), graduate G Kevin McCullar leads Kansas in scoring at 20.4 points per game which is first in the Big 12 and 16th nationally. His two triple-doubles are the most in the NCAA. McCullar also leads KU with 19 steals and 20 three-point field goals made. His 6.9 rebounds per game are second on the team.
Senior C Hunter Dickinson leads the Big 12 and is second nationally in rebounds per game at 12.5 rpg. His seven double-doubles also leads the Big 12 and are seventh nationally. A three-time Big 12 weekly award honoree this season, Dickinson is the only player in the Big 12 to average a double-double. He also leads KU with 16 blocked shots.
Junior F KJ Adams Jr. is second in the Big 12 and 21st nationally in field goal percentage at 62.4%. Adams is averaging 12.4 points and 3.7 rebounds for the season and has 38 assists.
Redshirt-senior G Dajuan Harris Jr. leads the Big 12 with 6.8 assists per game, which is eighth nationally. Harris averages 6.9 points per contest. Freshman G Elmarko Jackson (5.8 ppg, 3.0 assists per game) rounds out the KU starters.
Other KU regulars include freshman G Johnny Furphy (5.3 ppg, 12 3FGs), graduate-senior G Nicolas Timberlake (4.0 ppg, 10 3FGs, 13 points vs. Yale), graduate-senior F Parker Braun (3.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 10 blocked shots) and freshman G Jamari McDowell (2.1 ppg).
UP NEXT
Kansas will open up Big 12 play hosting TCU on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 1 p.m. (Central). The game from Allen Fieldhouse will be televised on CBS.
Kansas leads the overall series with TCU, 25-4, including an 11-1 record in games in Lawrence, 10-1 in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks have won three of the last four and 11 of the last 13 meetings against the Horned Frogs.
Kansas has won a mind-boggling 32 consecutive conference openers dating back to the 1991-92 season.
