Kansas to Face Michigan State for Orlando Classic Title Sunday

Orlando Classic – overnight update – Kansas vs. Michigan State
No. 11/12 Kansas improved to 4-1 on the season with an 82-67 win against Tennessee in the semifinals of the Orlando Classic, Nov. 28, at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney World. The Jayhawks will face No. 20/19 Michigan State (5-1) in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 30, at 12 p.m. (Central) on ESPN. Michigan State defeated Marquette, 79-68, to advance to the finals. Kansas is looking to win its sixth in-season tournament in the Bill Self era and its first with an eight-team field playing three straight days.
 
2014 Orlando Classic
HP Field House * Orlando, Fla. * All times Central
 
Thursday, November 27
Tennessee 64, Santa Clara 57 
KANSAS 76, Rhode Island 60
Michigan State 77, Rider 45
Marquette 72, Georgia Tech 70
 
Friday, November 28
Semifinal #1 – KANSAS 82, Tennessee 67
Consolation #1 – Rhode Island 66, Santa Clara 44
Consolation #2 – Georgia Tech 61, Rider 54
Semifinal #2 – Michigan State 79, Marquette 68
 
Sunday, November 30
7th-place game – Santa Clara vs. Rider, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN3)
Championship Game – KANSAS vs. Michigan State, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
3rd-place game – Marquette vs. Tennessee, 3 p.m. (ESPN2)
5th-place game – Georgia Tech vs. Rhode Island, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
 
About Kansas
No. 11/12 Kansas (4-1) won its third straight game with an 82-67 win versus Tennessee on Nov. 28 in the semifinals of the Orlando Classic. KU has won its two games in the Orlando Classic by an average of 15.5 points. For the season, the Jayhawks average 70.8 points and have a +7.2 scoring margin. KU is outrebounding foes 40.2 to 32.5 and averaging 13.4 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.6 blocked shots per game. Kansas has 10 players who average nearly 10 or more minutes per game.
 
One of four Jayhawks on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 for 2014-15, junior F Perry Ellis is lighting it up in Orlando where he is averaging 20.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in KU’s two victories. Included was his second double-double of 2014-15 with 24 points and 13 rebounds against Tennessee which are both season highs for a Jayhawk. For the season, Ellis leads KU with 15.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He has made a team-high 31 free throws. Sophomore G Frank Mason III is a starter who scores 9.8 points per game. He is averaging 11.5 points in the Orlando Classic and leads KU with 12 assists in the two wins of the event. For the season, Mason is averaging 9.8 points and is second on the team with 17 assists. Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., scored a season-high 12 points versus Tennessee. He is averaging 8.2 points per game and has a team-best 20 assists through five games. Rounding out KU’s last three games starters is freshman G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and sophomore F Landen Lucas. Mykhailiuk scores 5.0 points per game, while Lucas averages 3.6 points and 4.0 rebounds. Lucas tied his season high with five rebounds against Tennessee.
 
Freshman F Cliff Alexander is second on the team in scoring at 10.4 points per game after his season-high 16 points against Tennessee. His 5.6 rebounds per game are second behind Ellis and his five blocked shots are second behind junior F Jamari Traylor’s nine. Traylor has two starts this season and is averaging 3.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. Freshman G Deveonte’ Graham scores 6.5 points per game, while sophomore G Brannen Greene is a 6.4 ppg. Greene leads KU with seven three-pointers including two each in his last three games. Freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., has one start and averages 2.6 points per game. Selden, Alexander and Oubre join Ellis on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list as KU is one of only two schools, Kentucky being the other, to have four on the list.
 
About Michigan State
Located in East Lansing, Michigan, with an enrollment of 49,300, Michigan State (5-1) takes a four-game winning streak into Sunday’s game with Kansas. The Spartans are coached by Tom Izzo who is 473-188 in his 20th season as a head coach, all at Michigan State. MSU averages 76.2 points per game and is outscoring opponents by 16.7 points per contest. Michigan State has a +9.7 rebound margin, is shooting 51.5 percent from the field and holding opponents to a 37.5 field goal percentage. The Spartans average 18.7 assists, 4.8 steals and 4.7 blocked shots per game.
 
Senior G Travis Trice leads MSU with 16.8 points, 39 assists and 17 three-pointers made. Trice also averages 4.7 rebounds per game. Junior G Denzel Valentine is next in scoring at 14.5 points per outing and he is second on the team with 16 three-pointer made, 26 assists and six steals. Senior F Branden Dawson leads MSU with 7.6 rebounds per game to complement his 10.6 scoring average. Dawson has a team-best seven steals. Junior G Bryn Forbes scores 9.3 points per game and has made 13 three-pointers. Junior F Matt Costello rounds out the MSU starters with the aforementioned. He is second on the team with 7.5 rebounds per game, scores 6.2 points per contest and is tied for the team high with seven blocked shots along with sophomore G Gavin Schilling (7.2 ppg). Freshman G Marvin Clark, Jr., scores 9.2 points per game and has made 11 threes. Rounding out the MSU regulars is freshman G Lourawis Naim, Jr. (1.7 ppg).
 
The Series
Michigan State leads Kansas 6-4 in the series that dates back to 1960. Michigan State has won the last three meeting with the last being 67-64 on Nov. 13, 2012, in the Champions Classic in Atlanta. The teams met twice during the 2008-09 season with the Spartans claiming both matchups: 75-62 on Jan. 10, 2009 in East Lansing and 67-62 in a come-from-behind effort in the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. Before the two 2009 battles, the last meeting had then-No. 6 Kansas defeating then-No. 3 Michigan State 81-74 on Nov. 25, 2003, in Allen Fieldhouse in Bill Self’s first season at KU. Some of the more memorable games include KU’s 96-86 overtime win against Michigan State in the 1986 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Sweet 16 game in Kansas City. KU then defeated North Carolina State to advance to the Final Four in Dallas. In the next meeting, Michigan State defeated Kansas 66-54 in the Great Eight in Chicago, Illinois, on Dec. 7, 1999.
 
Kansas’ In-Season Tournament History Under Bill Self
When Kansas hosted Rider in a non-bracket game of the 2014 Orlando Classic on Nov. 24, the Jayhawks began their 11th in-season tournament in the Bill Self era.
 
Including the Rider win on Nov. 24, under Self, Kansas has played in 10 regular-season tournaments and has amassed a 34-6 record for an 85.0 winning percentage. The Jayhawks have won five events in Self’s 11 seasons, including three of the last five tourneys but they have yet to win an eight-team, three-day event coming in seventh in the 2005 Maui Invitational, runner-up in the 2011 Maui Invitational and third in last year’s Battle 4 Atlantis. In the Self era, the Jayhawks have won: the 2006 Las Vegas Invitational, the 2007 Jayhawk Invitational, the 2009 Hall of Fame Showcase, the 2011 Las Vegas Invitational and the 2012 CBE Classic. Additionally, with the win versus Rhode Island, KU has now finished in the upper half in 10 of the 11 events.
 
Kansas Regular-Season Tournaments in the Bill Self Era
Season – Event (location) – place
2003-04 – Holiday Classic (Reno, Nevada) – second (1-1)
2005-06 – Maui Invitational (Lahaina, Hawaii) – seventh (1-2)
2006-07 – Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nevada) – first (4-0)
2007-08 – Jayhawk Invitational (Lawrence, Kansas) – first (4-0)
2008-09 – CBE Classic (Kansas City, Missouri) – second (3-1)
2009-10 – Hall of Fame Showcase (Lawrence, Kansas) – first (4-0)
2010-11 – Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nevada) – first (4-0)
2011-12 – Maui Invitational (Lahaina, Hawaii) – second (3-1)
2012-13 – CBE Classic (Kansas City, Missouri) – first (4-0)
2013-14 – Battle 4 Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas) – third (3-1)
2014-15 – Orlando Classic (Orlando, Florida) – (3-0)
 
Note: Records includes early round games played prior to final destination.
 
 
Up Next
Kansas return to Allen Fieldhouse to play No. 18/16 Florida on Friday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. (Central) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The KU-UF game will be televised on ESPN. Last year, Florida defeated Kansas 67-61 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge in Gainesville, Florida. KU will then travel to Washington, D.C., to face Georgetown on Wednesday, Dec. 10. The KU-Georgetown game will begin at 7 p.m. (Central) and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
 
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