LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 7 Kansas (16-3, 4-2) men’s basketball plays at No. 23 Iowa State (15-4, 4-2) on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip from Hilton Coliseum will be at 12:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on CBS.
Sponsored by Coaches vs. Cancer and the American Cancer Society, Jan. 22-28 is Suits And Sneakers week. The annual event encourages cancer screening and bringing awareness to the fight against cancer.
Kansas, Iowa State, Houston and Kansas State sit tied for second in the Big 12 standings at 4-2, a half-game behind league leader Texas Tech (4-1).
Iowa State will be the sixth Associated Press ranked team Kansas will face in 2023-24. KU is 4-1 versus ranked foes this season, including 3-1 against Top-10 teams.
In its last outing, Kansas defeated Cincinnati, 74-69, on ESPN Big Monday on Jan. 22. The Jayhawks have won three of their last four games. Iowa State defeated Kansas State, 78-67, on Jan. 24 to improve to 12-0 at home this season. The Cyclones have won four of their last five outing.
Kansas enters the Iowa State contest averaging 79.2 points per game with a plus-11.5 scoring margin. The Jayhawks pull down 36.8 rebounds per outing with a plus-4.2 rebound margin. Kansas leads the nation in assists per game at 20.8. KU leads the Big 12 and is fourth nationally in field goal percentage (50.8%). KU also averages 7.6 steals and 4.3 blocked shots per contest.
On most every mid-season All-America team, graduate G Kevin McCullar Jr. leads the Big 12 in scoring at 20.0 points per game, which is 26th nationally. His two triple-doubles are the most amongst the NCAA. McCullar also leads KU with 30 three-point field goals made. His 6.3 rebounds per game are second on the team and he ranks in 11 Big 12 statistical categories.
A Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 selection, senior C Hunter Dickinson leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in rebounds per game at 11.1. His 10 double-doubles lead the Big 12 and are eighth nationally. A five-time Big 12 weekly award honoree this season, Dickinson is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double. He also leads KU with 27 blocked shots and has 23 steals.
Junior F KJ Adams Jr. leads the Big 12 and is 18th nationally in field goal percentage at 62.3%. Adams is averaging 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in Big 12 play and 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for the season. He has 60 assists in 2023-24.
Redshirt-senior G Dajuan Harris Jr. leads the Big 12 with 6.8 assists per game, which is eighth nationally. Harris averages 7.1 points per contest and has a team-high 31 steals.
Freshman G Johnny Furphy (7.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 25 threes made) is coming off his first career double-double where he had a career-highs in points, with 23, and rebounds, with 11, against Cincinnati (1/22). Furphy has started the last four games and is averaging 14.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg with 10 threes made in that span.
Other KU regulars include freshman G Elmarko Jackson (4.7 ppg, 43 assists, 15 starts), graduate-senior G Nicolas Timberlake (3.8 ppg, 13 3FGs), graduate-senior F Parker Braun (2.6 ppg, 15 blocked shots) and freshman G Jamari McDowell (1.6 ppg).
UP NEXT
Kansas returns home to host Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 8 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN.
Kansas leads the overall series with Oklahoma State, 124-60, including a 66-12 record in Lawrence meetings, 52-10 in Allen Fieldhouse. Earlier this season, Kansas won at Oklahoma State, 90-66, on Jan. 16.
