Kansas Heads South for Ezybonds Global Payments Virgin Islands Paradise Jam

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas continues its four-game road trip by heading south to the EZ Global Payments Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Nov. 28-30. The Jayhawks are set to play three games in three days against Central Michigan, Xavier and No. 2 Duke over the Thanksgiving holiday tournament. KU opens the tournament with Central Michigan on Nov. 28 at 2:30 p.m.

All three games will be on the Jayhawk Radio Network with Nate Bukaty calling the plays. Additionally, Jayhawk fans can watch the games through Paradise Jam on YouTube Live or follow live stats. A link to stats and live streaming for all three games can be found at paradisejam.com.

ABOUT THE PARADISE JAM
The Paradise Jam Tournament began in 2000 and offers teams a chance to play top competition early in the season in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Paradise Jam is split into two divisions which are the Island Division and Reef Division. Kansas is in the Island Division along with Central Michigan, Xavier and Duke. The Reef Division features Texas, Texas A&M, Memphis and Syracuse.

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands has been the host of the Paradise Jam since its inception in 2000. The Virgin Islands is an unincorporated territory of the United States located east of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in the Carribean Sea. The Virgin Islands is home to 106, 405 and Charlotte Amalie is the capital. The U.S. Virgin Islands consists of three islands: St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John.

KANSAS VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN: THE SERIES
The Jayhawks lead the overall series against the Chippewas, 1-0. The first meeting between the two programs was on Dec. 4, 1993 and KU won, 81-65. Both Angela Aycock (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Charisse Sampson (11 points, 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Jayhawks. It is the first meeting on a neutral court for the Jayhawks and Chippewas as the first was played in Allen Fieldhouse.

SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan is 1-2 heading into the Paradise Jam and coming off a loss to Marquette, 84-72, on Nov. 21. The Chippewas opened the season with a win, 105-61, over Massachusetts. Junior guard Crystal Bradford leads the squad with 22.5 points per game and has a field goal percentage of 40.0 percent. Junior forward Jas’Mine Bracey leads the team with 11 rebounds per game and eight blocks in three games. CMU averages 83.7 points per game and has a field goal percentage of 38.6, while averaging 49.7 rebounds, 8.3 steals and 4.7 blocks per game.

KANSAS VS. XAVIER: THE SERIES
The Musketeers have a 2-1 advantage in the series. Xavier won the first meeting, 72-63, in 2006 and the last meeting, 76-71, in 2009. Kansas’ first win over the Musketeers was in 2008, 62-60. It is the second time the two programs will meet on a neutral court as the last time they faced each other was in the Bahamas.

SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
Xavier comes into the tournament with a 2-2 record and most recently lost to Longwood, 67-64. In their second game of the season, the Musketeers defeated Michigan, 79-75, in overtime. Senior Shatyra Hawkes leads the team with 21.5 points and 3.3 assists per game, while sophomore Jenna Crittendon is averaging a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. The Musketeers are averaging 75 points per game on 38.4 percent field goal shooting, while grabbing 39.5 rebounds and 7.5 steals per game.

KANSAS VS. DUKE: THE SERIES
The Jayhawks face Duke for the first time in program history on Saturday, Nov. 30. Kansas has faced other teams from North Carolina such as University of North Carolina, North Carolina State and UNC-Asheville.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Duke enters the tournament undefeated at 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in both the USA Today and Associated Press polls. The Blue Devils opened the season with a win over No. 9 Cal on the road on Nov. 10. Senior guard Tricia Liston leads the offense with 17.2 points per game, while senior forward Haley Peters is averaging 10 rebounds a game. Senior guard Chelsea Gray has recorded a team-high 47 assists and 18 steals in the Blue Devils’ first five games. Duke averages 90.2 points and 44.6 rebounds per game. Duke has a field goal percentage of 50.9 and is shooting 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils are also averaging 13.4 steals and 5.0 blocks per game.

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