LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 3 Kansas (15-2, 3-1 Big 12) men’s basketball plays at Big 12 foe West Virginia (6-10, 1-2) on Saturday, Jan. 20. The contest from WVU Coliseum will tip at 3 p.m. (Central) and will be televised on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ with Mark Neely and King McClure calling the action.
Kansas has won two straight after its 90-66 win at Oklahoma State on Jan. 16. West Virginia is looking to rebound after a 77-63 loss at No. 15 Oklahoma on Jan. 17.
Kansas enters Saturday’s matchup averaging 79.2 points per game with a plus-12.9 scoring margin. The Jayhawks pull down 38.2 rebounds per outing with a plus-5.9 rebound margin. Kansas is second in the nation in assists per game at 20.9. KU leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in field goal percentage (50.9%). KU also averages 7.4 steals and 4.6 blocked shots per contest.
Kansas leads the overall series with West Virginia, 19-6, and KU has won the last six meetings versus WVU.
Named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, graduate G Kevin McCullar Jr. leads the Big 12 in scoring at 19.8 points per game, which is 30th nationally. His two triple-doubles are the most amongst the NCAA. McCullar also leads KU with 25 steals and 26 three-point field goals made. His 6.5 rebounds per game are second on the team and he ranks in 11 Big 12 statistical categories.
Also a Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 selection, senior C Hunter Dickinson leads the Big 12 and is fourth nationally in rebounds per game at 11.7. He has three double-doubles in his last five games and his 10 double-doubles lead the Big 12 and are fifth nationally. A five-time Big 12 weekly award honoree this season, including Jan. 8 Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week, Dickinson is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double. He also leads KU with 24 blocked shots and has 20 steals.
Junior F KJ Adams Jr. has two double-doubles in his last four games and is averaging 14.8 points over his last four games. Adams leads the Big 12 and is 20th nationally in field goal percentage at 62.2%. Adams is averaging 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds for the season and has 55 assists.
Redshirt-senior G Dajuan Harris Jr. leads the Big 12 with 6.9 assists per game, which is seventh nationally. Harris averages 7.2 points per contest and has 24 steals, which is one behind McCullar. Freshman G Johnny Furphy (6.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 19 threes made) has started the last two games and is averaging 11.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg with four threes made in that span.
Other KU regulars include freshman G Elmarko Jackson (5.0 ppg, 43 assists, 15 starts), graduate-senior G Nicolas Timberlake (3.5 ppg, 11 3FGs), graduate-senior F Parker Braun (2.9 ppg, 15 blocked shots) and freshman G Jamari McDowell (1.8 ppg).
UP NEXT
Kansas plays its first of three ESPN Big Mondays for the 2023-24 season when it hosts new Big 12 member on Jan. 22. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN. At halftime of the contest, Kansas will be retiring the jersey of Bill “Skinny” Johnson who played at KU from 1931-33 and is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
In a series that dates back to 1949, Kansas leads the all-time series with Cincinnati, 4-3. The series is tied at 1-1 in games played in Lawrence. The teams last met on Dec., 4, 1996, at the Great Eight in Chicago, resulting in a 72-65 KU win.
