Ellis, No. 7 Kansas Shuts Down TCU, 95-65

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas sophomore forward Perry Ellis contributed a career-best 32 points and the Jayhawks used stout second-half defense to rout TCU, 95-65, inside Allen Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.
 
On a day that four Jayhawks scored in double-figures, Ellis was a near-perfect 13-of-15 from the field and snagged eight rebounds while defensively, No. 7 Kansas (19-6, 10-2 Big 12) limited TCU (9-15, 0-12) to just nine points in the first 10 minutes of the second half to blow open what was a single-digit halftime lead.
 
The Horned Frogs had led by as many as six points before intermission behind first-half 21 points from junior guard Kyan Anderson and trailed by seven at the break before Kansas bolted to a 20-point advantage three quarters of the way through the game. 
 
Freshman guard Andrew Wiggins followed Ellis with 17 points, while fellow freshman Wayne Selden, Jr., tallied 15 for the game after scoring 11 in the first half. Sophomore forward Jamari Traylor provided great hustle and energy off of the bench with a career-high 10 points and eight rebounds. As a team, Kansas shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field in the game, its highest shooting percentage since a 66.0 percent (31-47) efficiency in the Big 12 Tournament against Texas Tech (3/14/13).
 
TCU hung with the Jayhawks in the first 20 minutes of play thanks largely to Anderson’s eruption. Anderson only missed one of his eight shot attempts and nailed five first-half free throws. The rest of the Horned Frogs combined with Anderson to chalk up a 56.5 first half shooting percentage, but the tone changed in the second half as Anderson and TCU couldn’t find the right rhythm to hang with Kansas. The Jayhawks tightened up their defense and limited TCU to 33.3 percent in the second half, limited the once-hot Anderson to four second-half points, and forced 17 TCU turnovers in the contest.   
 
The Horned Frogs started the contest connecting on eight of their first 11 shots and led the Jayhawks, who started off 8-of-14 from the field, 22-16 near the midpoint of the first half. The hot start from the field didn’t translate over to the free throw line for Kansas which missed six of its first seven attempts from the charity stripe. Down by six at the 11-minute mark, the Jayhawks reeled off five-straight points to trail by one, 25-24, after Ellis’s first made three-point attempt of the season.
 
Even without the presence of freshman center Joel Embiid in the middle, KU flustered TCU down low in the first half. The Jayhawks grabbed seven offensive rebounds, scored 22 points in the paint and added five second-chance points to the scoreboard. Despite the well-rounded production of three Jayhawks scoring in double-figures in the first half, Kansas couldn’t decisively pull away from TCU due to Anderson’s offensive showcase.
 
In the waning seconds of the first half, Wiggins drained a three from the top of the key to push the KU lead to seven points, 47-40, going into the break. Kansas shot 21-for-34 from the field in the first half and kept the torrid pace after half.  
 
Just five seconds into the second half Kansas forced a TCU timeout on an inbounds play, then a second later KU blasted the tone for the rest of the game by forcing TCU into a turnover that finished with Ellis scoring in transition. The pieces quickly started to come together for the Jayhawks to build up an insurmountable second-half lead.
 
Kansas found the recipe to contain TCU’s offense, holding the Horned Frogs to make one of their first five second-half shots. The Jayhawks on the other hand, had no trouble building on their shooting streak, making 70 percent of their shots through the first eight minutes.
 
The Jayhawks tickled the crowd by putting up a few highlight lob plays on the offensive end of the floor. Senior forward Tarik Black opened the aerial show as he threw down a pass from Wiggins to build KU’s lead to 12 points, 52-40. The lead would keep expanding from there. KU quickly turned flipped the dozen into 19 after Ellis found a wide-open, cutting Wiggins for another crowd pleasing rim rattler.
 
TCU had no answer for the groove the Jayhawks found themselves in. Feeding off of the crowd, KU turned several hustle plays into points. Not even 10 minutes had passed in the second half when what was once a seven-point, halftime lead, ballooned to 25 points, 70-45, with 11:32 left to play.
 
Spurring chants of “Perry, Perry, Perry” from the crowd at multiple times during the second half, Ellis put the finishing touches on his career afternoon by draining his second three giving to push the lead to 27 points. The Wichita, Kan., native reached 30 points with a little more than four minutes left to play and added a pair of free throws on the next possession before leaving the action with 32. 
 
Anderson scored 25 to pace TCU and was joined in double figures by Amric Fields, who added 12. Kansas out-rebounded TCU 35-18 and out-muscled the Horned Frogs with a 56-18 scoring difference in the paint.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will travel to Texas Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. on the Big 12 Network. The Jayhawks will then host Texas on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU and Oklahoma in their fourth ESPN Big Monday appearance of 2013-14 on Feb. 24 at 8 p.m.

Game Notes
KU STARTERS (Season/Career Starts): Jr. Naadir Tharpe (22/22), Fr. Wayne Selden, Jr. (25/25), Fr. Andrew Wiggins (25/25), So. Perry Ellis (25/28), Sr. Tarik Black (9/69)

SERIES INFO: Kansas leads 7-1

ATTENDANCE: 16,300 (209th-consecutive sellout)
 
KANSAS’ WIN…

  • Improved KU to 19-6 on the season, against the nation’s most difficult strength of schedule.
  • Made Kansas 10-2 in Big 12 play, the 20th-straight year the Jayhawks have won 10 or more conference games (beginning in 1994-95).
  • Gave the Jayhawks their third-straight win against TCU and pushed the all-time series to 7-1 in favor of KU.
  • Handed Kansas its 112th-consecutive win against unranked opponents inside Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Made Bill Self 11-4 all-time against TCU (5-1 at KU), 319-65 while at Kansas and 526-170 overall.
  • Made KU 2,120-818 all-time.

TEAM NOTES

  • KU’s 95-65 win marks the sixth 90-point effort of the year, which is the most 90-point regular-season games (home or away) since the 2010-11 team chalked up seven 90+ games.
  • The 95 points were also a season-high for the Jayhawks – and the most in a regulation game since chalking up 100 points in their 2011-12 season opener against Towson (11/11/11).
  • For the second time this season, KU defeated an opponent by a 30-point margin (88-58 vs. Towson (11/22/12).
  • Three different Jayhawks (Wayne Selden, Jr., Andrew Wiggins, Perry Ellis) were in double-figures by halftime – all with 11 points – the first such occurrence this season.
  • The Jayhawks shot 61.5 percent (40-65) for the game, its highest shooting percentage since a 66.0 percent (31-47) efficiency in the Big 12 Tournament against Texas Tech (3/14/13).
  • Kansas’ 40 field goals are the most this season and the most by a Jayhawk squad since they made 41 field goals against Towson (11/11/11).
  • KU outrebounded TCU, 35-18 (21-7 in the second half), marking the seventh time in Big 12 play – and 12th time overall – that the Jayhawks’ held a double digit rebounding margin.  
  • TCU’s 18 rebounds were the fewest by a Kansas opponent since Oklahoma brought down just 16 boards on Feb. 26, 2011.
  • Kansas held TCU to 41 shot attempts, the fewest since Colorado shot just 38 times against the Jayhawks on March 12, 1993 in the Big Eight Conference Tournament. The 41 attempts marked the fewest in a regular-season conference game since Nebraska tallied 39 attempts on Feb. 16, 1988.
  • Kansas opened the second half on a 13-1 scoring run, powering KU’s lead to 25 points just eight minutes into the final frame. That marked the second-largest lead in conference play this season (26 vs. Kansas State, 1//11/14).
  • ·         On the flip side, Kyan Anderson’s 21 first-half points are the most Kansas has given up to a single player by halftime this season, topping Jabari Parker of Duke, who tallied 19 points in the first half against KU (11/12/13).
  • TCU reached double-figures at the 15:39 mark in the first half. In the Horned Frogs’ last visit to Allen Fieldhouse, they didn’t surpass 10 points until the second stanza, down 38-9 at half on Feb. 23, 2013.
  • In fact, only Iowa State (43, 1/29/14) has scored more points by halftime in Allen Fieldhouse than TCU’s 40 on Saturday.
  • Kansas started the game 0-for-6 from the free throw line. Redshirt freshman F Landen Lucas made the Jayhawks’ first with 11:33 remaining in the first half, sparking Kansas to shoot 10-of-11 for the rest of the game to finish 10-for-17.
  • TCU scored the first points of the game and led for nearly eight minutes (17:20-9:29) in the first half, extending its lead to as high as six points before Kansas regained the lead.
  • A jumper from sophomore F Perry Ellis returned the lead to the Jayhawks (26-25, 9:29) and they never trailed again.
  • With two key players unavailable on Saturday in freshmen Joel Embiid and Brannen Greene, head coach Bill Self used a multitude of combinations on the court. Eight minutes into the game, nine different Jayhawks saw time. By the end of the afternoon, all 14 available Jayhawks checked into the game.
  • Kansas forced its fourth five-second call of the year against the Horned Frogs in the first half.  It then tallied is fifth in the second half.
  • TCU junior G Kyan Anderson had more than half of those, scoring 21 in the first half. He was the only Frog with more than six points in the opening 20 minutes. He scored just four points on one field goal in the second half.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

  • Sophomore F Perry Ellis was the first Jayhawk in double-digits en route to career-highs in points (32) and field goals (13-of-15). His 13 field goals were a season-high by any Jayhawk this season and the most since former guard Elijah Johnson chalked up 13 buckets at Iowa State (2/25/13).
  • Ellis is KU’s first 30-point scorer since Ben McLemore churned out 36 points against West Virginia (3/2/13).  It is the most by a sophomore since Julian Wright scored 33 at Missouri on February 10, 2007.
  • Ellis drained his fourth three-pointer of the season in the first half and his fifth in the second half. His personal-best two three-pointers made him 45.4 percent from beyond the arc (5-for-11) in 2013-14 and 50 percent for his career (7-for-14). The treys were also his first against a conference opponent since knocking down a long ball against Kansas State (1/22/13).
  • Between layups, dunks, jumpers, three-pointers and free throws, Ellis missed just two times all day. He was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, 2-for-2 from three-point range and 13-for-15 from the floor, including a perfect 8-for-8 in the second stanza, marking the best individual shooting performance of the season by a Jayhawk with at least 10 field goals made.
  • The Wichita, Kan., native scored 21 points in the second half, the most by a Jayhawk in a half since Travis Releford dropped in 21 points in the first half against Saint  Louis during the CBE Classic (11/20/12).
  • Ellis was in double-figures for the seventh time in Big 12 play and 17th time overall.
  • Sharing the love, Ellis dished out a career-high five assists.
  • Sophomore F Jamari Traylor has missed only seven shots in 12 conference games. He scored a career-high 10 points on Saturday on a 5-of-6 shooting effort, making him 24-of-31 in Big 12 games this season for a 77.4 shooting percentage.
  • Freshman G Andrew Wiggins chalked up 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and did not commit a turnover for the fourth time this season.
  • Wiggins’ 16.1 scoring average is currently the best all-time by a Kansas freshman.
  • Freshman G Wayne Selden, Jr. put up 15 points and swiped a career-high three steals.
  • Senior F Tarik Black made his first start since Dec. 7 at Colorado, replacing the injured freshman C Joel Embiid, who snapped a 16-game starting streak.
  • Black ended the game with seven points in only nine minutes of play.
  • Freshman G Conner Frankamp knocked down a three-pointer in the first half, his fifth Big 12 game with at least one trey.
  • Sophomore G Andrew White III drove the lane for a layup late in the second half, his first points since the Wake Forest game (11/28/13).

Quotes
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the energy in the second half:
“He (Perry Ellis) was great, made shots. It’s amazing that the side out of bounds defense is what got us going. We’ve talked about that all the time and there’s so little room at our place, we should be all up in them every time and we did a good job with that and attacked their zone pretty well. Of course, Perry had a huge game and everybody else was pretty solid.”

On Perry Ellis’ overall game:
“Yeah, he was great. This is probably the best offensive game that Perry has had, as far as most complete. He did a lot of different things, stretching it from beyond the arc, and of course, making face up shots. He went strong and on one of his misses he got it back and put it right in. He was good. We just didn’t guard (Kyan) Anderson at all in the first half and after we got in a little rhythm defensively we were much better.”

On if he changed anything coming into the second half:
“Well we told our guys, ‘Maybe this half we can try a little harder.’ So we did change a little on how we guarded but it really wasn’t effective, but all it was, was energy. So we did a good job on that. I thought defensively we had steals that led to baskets. There were a lot of things that happened pretty good defensively the second half and probably, just looking at the stat sheet, another thing that was great in the second half was rebounding. I think it was 21-7 in the second half from a rebound margin. We were pretty dominant in that area.”

On how Jamari Traylor stepped up:
“Oh he’s great. He had (10 points and eight rebounds) in limited minutes. Tarik looked like Tarik to start the season. The first two fouls we had were totally irrelevant with the play – I don’t know how he can make those plays and it totally took him out. Landen (Lucas) gave us some good minutes in the first half, just didn’t finish. Then of course, in the second half I thought Mari and Perry, when they were in there together, they were without question our best performers inside.”

On facing Texas Tech:
“That game today, I may be mistaken, but I thought it was a one-point game with just a minute or two left at Iowa State. We know how hard it is to win there. So yeah, they’re a lot better. Tubby’s (Smith) done a fabulous job, he and his staff – they’re playing hard. You look at their recent games, I mean they’re on a roll right now, even though they lost in Ames. They’re playing great. What they did in Norman, having them down 20 in the second half at OU, and we know how easy OU scores. It’s a weird league when OU can go to OSU and win, and Iowa State goes to OU and has them down 20. We know anything can happen, and certainly it’ll be sold out I’m sure, and it’ll be a totally different atmosphere from anything we’ve seen down there.”

TCU Head Coach Trent Johnson
On Kansas’ competitiveness:
“They are good, they are really good. What I like about them is that they are really competitive. They play for their jersey, they are selfless and very tough.”

On the physicality of the game:
“Kansas is very physical, they wore us down. Kyan started very strong, but like everyone else on our team, got worn down physically. We are not has deep or talented as them, and that’s a challenge. We’ve got to pick our poison when dealing with them.”

On Perry Ellis’ performance:
“I think his future is bright after college. We didn’t have a matchup for him at this point because he is a pro in my mind. For us, Ellis is a bad matchup.”
  Kansas freshman guard Wayne Selden, Jr.  On the changes KU made in the second half: “We knew we weren’t playing how we should have been playing. We had to get it together and Coach (Self) basically wanted us to pick up the defense. We weren’t really doing much, we were scoring but they were matching our points. We had to cut down their defense and we came out with intensity in the second half.” On how they guarded Kyan Anderson in the second half: “Stronger help was the biggest thing. He is a really fast guard. We just got stronger help and made other people have to make plays.” On Perry Ellis’ play: “He had a fantastic game, he played really well. He put the ball in the hoop whenever we gave it to him. He really produced for us today.” On rebounding from the loss on Monday night: “It wasn’t the offense; it was having a defensive mindset. If you come out and worry about the right things you play better.” On what Jamari Traylor brought tonight that they didn’t have Monday: “Energy, fire, defense, blocked shots and hustle. We all have that; we just didn’t display it on Monday and Mari (Jamari Traylor) usually gets us going.” On if having different guys get into the rotation makes play difficult: “No I don’t think so. Everybody on the team knows how to do their job and the job is going to get done no matter who is on the court.” Kansas junior forward Perry Ellis  On how he played today: “I really got into a rhythm. I wasn’t taking rushed shots and was trying to take the most shots in a rhythm so most of them could go in. I was not forcing shots.” On the lob pass to Andrew Wiggins: “I saw him and I knew he would go get it so I decided to throw it up.” On what they did offensively to force TCU to play man-to-man defense: “They were trapping the short corners a lot so I tried to catch the ball more in the mid-post area so that I could swing it around and get open shots and keep it out of the short corner mid-post area.” On if he feels like he is on a roll right now: “Definitely. The key is practice. I have to keep competing in practice and good things happen.” On how it felt to have the fans chant his name: “It felt good, it was great fan support. I’m just trying to go out there and play my best, that’s all I can do.” Kansas freshman guard Andrew Wiggins On the aspects of Perry Ellis’ game that he wishes he had: “Just the efficiency of all of his shots. He takes good shots and makes them. He’s aggressive enough and he always involves his teammates. He gave me the alley-oop and I would do the same for him. He’s aggressive the whole game attacking the hoop and making plays. He’s doing everything.” On getting past Monday night’s loss: “It was tough for some people because that game means a lot to a lot of people around here and we know that. So practice has been hard, we knew we had to prepare ourselves and get back on our feet and ready for the next game. Good teams never let one game decide how they are going to play the rest of the season.”