Jayhawks to Face UCLA in Maui Invitational Semis

Maui Jim Maui Invitational
No. 5/7 Kansas (2-1) will face UCLA (3-1) in the semifinals of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 9 p.m. (Central) on ESPN. Kansas advanced to the semis with a 123-72 win versus host Chaminade. UCLA edged UNLV, 77-75, to reach the semifinals. The last time these two historic teams met was in the semifinals of the 2011 Maui Invitational with Kansas winning 72-56. Kansas ranks second all-time in NCAA Division I history with 2,155 wins, while UCLA is seventh with 1,806 victories. UCLA is second with 17 Final Four appearances, while Kansas is fifth with 14.
 
Kansas is going for its second-straight, eight-team bracket tournament title. Last year the Jayhawks won the Orlando Classic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando posting a 3-0 record over the Thanksgiving week.
 
2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational * Lahaina Civic Center * Lahaina, Hawaii
All times are Central
Monday, Nov. 23
Vanderbilt 92, St. John’s 55
Wake Forest 82, Indiana 78
KANSAS 123, Chaminade 72
UCLA 77, UNLV 75
 
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Indiana vs. St. John’s, 1 p.m., ESPN2
Chaminade vs. UNLV, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
KANSAS vs. UCLA, 9 p.m., ESPN
 
Wednesday, Nov. 25
7th-8th place game, 1:30 p.m., ESPNU
5th-6th place game, 4 p.m., ESPN2
3rd-4th place game, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
Championship game, 9 p.m., ESPN
 
About Kansas
Kansas rebounded from its first loss of the season against current-No. 3 Michigan State last Tuesday with a 123-72 win versus Chaminade in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Jayhawks had seven players score in double figures in what was the sixth-most points ever scored in KU history and the most in the Bill Self era at KU. Through three games, Kansas is averaging 101.7 points and has a +27.3 scoring margin. The Jayhawks are making 11.0 3-pointers per game and shooting 52.0 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. KU averages 41.3 rebounds per game with a +7.7 rebound margin. Kansas also averages 23.7 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.0 blocked shots per game.
 
Senior F Perry Ellis leads Kansas with a 16.0 scoring average. He is third on the team with a 5.0 rebound average and has made a team-high 11 free throws this season. Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. leads Kansas with nine 3-pointers made through three games. He is second on the team with a 15.0 scoring average. Junior G Frank Mason III leads KU with 19 assists and he is third on the team with a 13.0 scoring average. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham has a team-best six steals to complement his 10.7 points per game. Senior F Jamari Traylor rounds out the KU starters. Traylor is second on the team with a 5.7 rebound average and scores 6.0 points per contest.
 
Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is coming off a career-high 18 points against Chaminade where he made six 3-pointers. Mykhailiuk scores 9.0 points per game and is second on the team with seven 3-pointers made this season. Posting his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds vs. Chaminade, junior F Landen Lucas leads KU with 7.3 rebounds per game. Lucas scores 7.7 points per outing. Other key contributors include freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. (6.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg), freshman G Lagerald Vick (4.5 ppg) and senior F Hunter Mickelson (4.3 ppg and a team-high five blocked shots).
 
About UCLA
Located in Los Angeles with an enrollment of 43,239, UCLA is 3-1 on the season after its 77-75 win against UNLV Monday. The Bruins lost in overtime to Monmouth to open the season and take a three-game winning streak into the Kansas contest. UCLA is coached by Steve Alford who is 53-24 in his third season at UCLA and 516-259 in his 25th season overall. UCLA went 22-14 last season, finished fourth in the Pac-12 Conference with an 11-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Through four games, UCLA averages 81.8 points and has a +4.5 scoring margin. The Bruins average 45.5 rebounds per contest and have a +10.3 rebound margin. Three of UCLA’s four games have been decided by five points or less.
 
Junior G Bryce Alford leads UCLA with a 19.8 scoring average after his 20-point effort against UNLV. He has made a team-best eight 3-pointers and his 20 assists are also a team high. Sophomore C Thomas Welsh, 7-0, is next in scoring at 15.0 ppg and he is second on the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. Welsh, who also had 20 points against UNLV, leads UCLA with seven blocked shots. Freshman G Aaron Holiday scores 13.3 points per game with a team-high 10 steals, while senior F/C Tony Parker averages 13.0 points and leads UCLA with 12.8 rebounds per outing. Junior G Isaac Hamilton (8.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg) rounds out the UCLA starters. Other contributors for UCLA include freshman G Prince Ali (6.3 ppg) and sophomore G/F Jonah Bolden (4.7 ppg).
 
The Series
UCLA holds a 10-7 advantage over Kansas in a series which started in 1958. After UCLA won the first eight match-ups, Kansas is 7-2 against the Bruins in their last nine meetings. KU has won the last three battles with the last being in the semifinals of the 2011 Maui Invitational, a KU 72-56 win. The two meetings before 2011 were part of the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series with KU winning both contests in 2009 and 2010. Kansas and UCLA have met four times in the NCAA Tournament including the 1971 NCAA semifinals, a UCLA 68-60 win in Houston, the 1974 NCAA consolation game, a UCLA 78-61 win in Greensboro, North Carolina, the 1990 East Regional in Atlanta, a UCLA win 71-70, and the 2007 West Regional final in San Jose, a UCLA 68-55 win.
 
Maui Invitational History
Kansas is participating in its sixth Maui Jim Maui Invitational where the Jayhawks have won the event once, 1996, and have a combined 12-6 record, 10-6 in games played in Maui. In KU’s 1988 NCAA National Championship season, the Jayhawks placed fourth in the event going 1-2. Kansas won the 1996 Maui Invitational defeating LSU, California and Virginia. Raef LaFrentz was named the MVP. In 2001, KU finished third in the event with a 2-1 record. Drew Gooden was a member of the all-tournament team and was the first Jayhawk on the Maui Invitational all-tourney list which began in 2000. KU has appeared in the invitational two times under Bill Self. In 2005, the Jayhawks placed seventh losing to Arizona and Arkansas before defeating Chaminade. In 2011, KU finished runner-up defeating Georgetown and UCLA before falling to Duke in the title game. KU would later advance to the 2012 Final Four finishing runner-up. Jayhawk Thomas Robinson was named to the 2011 Maui all-tournament team.
 
Hawaii-wise, Kansas has also played in three Rainbow Classics as well in 1986-87, 1992-93 and 1997-98. Next season, Kansas will play Indiana in the 2016 Armed Forces Classic on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at Pearl Harbor. The game will be part of a double-header with Arizona facing Michigan State.
 
CHAMINADE Leftovers

• 100-POINT GAME: Kansas reached 100 points in a game for the second time this season and the 109th time in program history. The offensive output marks the most points scored in the Bill Self era, the most points scored in a neutral site game, and the sixth-most points in a game in program history. KU is averaging 101.7 points per game this season after Monday night’s performance.
• 3-POINTERS: For the second time this season, KU made 15 3-pointers to tie for the second-most in program history. The Jayhawks also sank 15 treys against Northern Colorado in the season opener on Nov. 13. Through three games, Kansas is averaging 11.0 3-point field goals per game.
• ASSISTS: Kansas totaled 32 assists as a team – a game record during the Bill Self era and the most since dishing out 29 dimes against Yale on Jan. 4, 2006. The Jayhawks held a +2.3 assists-to-turnover ratio on Monday. (32 assists, 14 turnovers).
• IN THE PAINT & OFF THE BENCH: Kansas out-scored Chaminade 60 to 26 in points in the paint, and 61 to 29 in points off the bench.
   
  Junior G Frank Mason III
  • Scored the first seven points of the game for Kansas by the 17:27 mark of the first half.
  • Finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field with six rebounds and seven assists in 26 minutes.
  • Co-led the team in assists (seven) with Wayne Selden Jr..
   
  Senior F Perry Ellis
  • Finished with 11 points and eight rebound in 24 minutes.
  • Now has 628 career rebounds, tying Jeff Withey (2010-13) for 22nd on KU’s all-time rebounds list.
  • With 1,205 career points, sits two points away from passing Jacque Vaughn (1994-97; 1,207) on KU’s all-time points list for 35th-place.
   
  Junior G Wayne Selden Jr.
  • Scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with seven assists and five rebounds in 24 minutes.
  • Co-led the team in assists (seven) with Frank Mason III.
   
  Senior F Jamari Traylor
  • Tied a career-high three blocked shots for the eighth time.
   
  Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham
  • Finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, in 28 minutes.
   
  Sophomore G Svi Mykhailiuk
  • Scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. All of his 18 points came from 3-point field goals.
  • His career-high six 3-pointers are the most by a Jayhawk since Elijah Johnson made six at Iowa State on Feb. 25, 2013.
   
  Senior G Evan Manning
  • Scored three points on 1-of-1 shooting from 3-point range in three minutes of action.
  • With six points this season, Manning has eclipsed his total points from the last two seasons as a junior (five) and a sophomore (four).
   
  Junior F Landen Lucas
  • Tied his career highs in points (13) and rebounds (12) for his second career double-double. Led KU in rebounding and shot 4 for 4 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line in 17 minutes.
  • Also recorded 12 rebounds at Oklahoma on March 7, 2015.
  • Monday marked his third game with a career-high 13 points, also occurring at Oklahoma (3/7/15) and against TCU (3/7/15).
   
  In the Polls
  Kansas is ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls released Nov. 23. KU has been ranked in each of the last 126 AP polls which is the second longest active streak in NCAA Division I behind Duke’s 158. The last time Kansas was not ranked by AP was during the 2008-09 season.
   
  Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 212 weeks, which includes 150 weeks in the Top 10 and 83 times in the Top 5. In the coaches’ poll, under Self, Kansas has been ranked 225 times with 163 in the top 10 and 99 in the top five.
   
  Kansas entered the 2015-16 season ranked No. 4 by AP and No. 5 in the coaches’ polls. This season’s AP poll is the highest ranking for the Jayhawks since 2009-10 when they entered the season No. 1 in the country. The preseason ranking is the 10th time in the Bill Self era that the Jayhawks enter the season slotted seventh or higher, including each of the last four seasons – No. 5 in 2015-16 and 2014-15, No. 6 in 2013-14, and No. 7 in 2012-13.
   
  Last season, KU entered the year No. 5 nationally in the coaches’ poll and ended up No. 17. The Jayhawks were ranked in the top 10 in 12 times during the 2014-15 season.
   
  UP NEXT
  Kansas will face either Wake Forest, coached by former KU legend Danny Manning, or Vanderbilt, on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Should KU defeat UCLA, it would play at 9 p.m. (Central) on ESPN in the championship game. Should Kansas lose to UCLA, it would play at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

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