Jayhawks Head to Oklahoma State Tuesday in Men’s Hoops

Jayhawks Hit Road to Oklahoma State Tuesday
No. 1/1 Kansas (15-2, 4-1) hits the road to take on Oklahoma State (9-8, 1-4) Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. logjam at the top of the Big 12 standings through five games as four teams have 4-1 league records. Joining the Jayhawks atop the standings is Oklahoma, West Virginia and Baylor. KU has handed two of those losses out to OU and BU. Oklahoma State is looking to end a four-game losing skid after its 74-69 loss at Texas Jan. 19.
 
Kansas has lost each of its last two trips to Gallagher-Iba Arena and KU head coach Bill Self is 3-5 against his alma mater in Stillwater.
 
About Kansas
Ranked No. 1 for the 22nd week (Jan. 11) under head coach Bill Self, Kansas ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring at 85.8 points per game and second in scoring margin at +18.4. KU pulls down an average of 39.6 rebounds per game, which helps give the Jayhawks a +6.1 rebounding margin. The Jayhawks also average 17.5 assists, 8.0 steals and 4.5 blocked shots per contest.
 
Senior F Perry Ellis is averaging 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in Big 12 play. Overall, Ellis leads KU with a 15.9 scoring average and 7.0 rebounds per contest. Ellis is the only player in the Big 12 to average in the top five in scoring (fourth) and rebounding (tied for fifth). Junior G Wayne Selden Jr., is second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made at 2.6 and his 14.9 scoring average is sixth in the league. Selden has four 20-point efforts this season and his 49.4 3-point field goal shooting percentage is fourth in the Big 12. Junior G Frank Mason III is scoring 13.2 points per game which is 13th in the Big 12 and is third in the league with a 5.2 assist average and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.8. He has a team-high 29 steals. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is scoring 10.5 points per game. He is second on the team with 27 steals. Senior F Hunter Mickelson rounds out the KU starters, averaging 3.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and a team-high 20 blocked shots with his 1.2 blocks per game ranking eighth in the Big 12.
 
 
Junior G Brannen Greene is a 3-point specialist who scores 7.2 points per game off the bench. He is 18-for-31 (58.1 percent) from beyond the arc this season. Junior F Landen Lucas scores 4.3 points per game and is second on the team with a 4.6 rebound average. Senior F Jamari Traylor (2.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg) has started seven games in 2015-16. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made 19 3-pointers made this season, helping him average 6.2 points per game. Freshman F Cheick Diallo is coming off a nine-point, nine-rebound, career-high five blocked shots effort against TCU (1/16). Diallo scores an average of 4.8 points per contest and grabs 3.0 rebounds. Freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr., posted a career-high 10 points versus TCU (1/16) and is averaging 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for Kansas.
 
About Oklahoma State
Located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with an enrollment of 35,214, Oklahoma State is 9-8 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play. The Cowboys are 9-3 in Gallagher-Iba Arena this season. Though on a four-game losing streak, OSU’s last two games have been decided by five points at Texas (1/16) and two points versus No. 2/2 Oklahoma (1/13). OSU is coached by Travis Ford who is 152-99 in his eighth season at OSU and 342-245 in his 19th season overall. Oklahoma State averages 70.1 points per game and has a +4.6 scoring margin. The Cowboys average 36.4 rebounds per game. OSU is third in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 39.2 percent and blocked shots per game at 4.8. Oklahoma State also averages 12.8 assists and 5.9 steals per contest.
 
Freshman G Jawun Evans leads OSU in scoring at 12.4 points per game, which includes a 17.6 ppg in Big 12 play. Evans is fourth in the Big 12 with a 4.9 assists per game average and pulls down 4.3 rebounds per contest. Senior G Jeff Newberry leads OSU with 5.2 rebounds per game and with 25 steals. Newberry is second on the team with a 12.4 scoring average. Junior F Leyton Hammonds is second on the team with a 5.1 rebound average to complement his 10.3 points per game. He is second on the team with 15 3-pointers made this season. Sophomore F Jeffrey Carroll has started all five Big 12 contests and leads OSU with 20 3-pointers made this season. Carroll averages 8.8 points per game. Sophomore F Mitchell Solomon (3.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg) rounds out the OSU starters.
 
Senior F Chris Oliver averages 8.9 points per contest and is second on the team with 22 blocked shots. Sophomore F Tavarius Shine scores 6.0 in Big 12 play and 4.9 points overall. Sophomore F Joe Burton is another regular who averages 4.4 points per game, while senior C Anthony Allen is second in the Big 12 with 1.6 blocked shots per outing. Allen averages 4.2 points per contest. Sophomore G Tyree Griffin is second on the team with 48 assists. Griffin scores 3.9 points per game.
 
The Series
The Kansas-Oklahoma State series dates back to 1926 with KU holding a 110-56 all-time advantage. KU has won eight of the last 11 meetings. KU is 35-33 against OSU in games played in Stillwater, including a 33-33 mark in Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU has won the last two meetings in Stillwater and the series is 3-5 in games played in Gallagher-Iba Arena under head coach Bill Self, an OSU graduate, since 2004. Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas is 21-9 versus OSU: 16-7 in regular-season play and 5-2 in the Big 12 Championship. The Jayhawks have defeated the Cowboys in each of their last three Big 12 Championship meetings with identical scores, 63-62, in the 2011 quarterfinals and the 2006 quarterfinals and 77-70 in overtime last season. Self is 14-10 all-time against his alma mater, including a 13-7 record at Kansas, while Travis Ford is 4-9 versus KU.
 
TCU Leftovers
• With the win, Kansas has won seven-straight against TCU.
• KU improved to 55-9 following a loss in the Bill Self era, including a 31-6 record following a conference loss.
• The win made KU 9-0 in Allen Fieldhouse this season and extend its home court winning streak to 33 games, which tied for the fourth longest in school history.
• The Kansas bench contributed 29 of the Jayhawks’ 70 points and marked the 11th time this year KU has outscored its opponent’s bench. The KU bench is averaging 27.5 points per game this season.
• The Jayhawks out-rebounded the Horned Frogs by a tally of 44-37, marking the 13th time in 17 games Kansas has out-rebounded its opponent.
• Kansas amassed eight blocks against TCU, tying for its most of the season. KU also tallied eight rejections against Loyola (Md.) on Dec. 1, 2015.
• After allowing a season-high 17 fast-break points against Oklahoma on Jan. 4, Kansas has since allowed just eight fast-break points in its last three outings combined, including four against TCU.
• The Jayhawks scored 26 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds. In its previous five outings, Kansas had averaged just nine second-chance points and 13.6 offensive rebounds.
• Kansas saw five or more players score in double-figures for the sixth time this season.
• Senior F Perry Ellis came one rebound shy of his 16th-career double-double and third in four games. Ellis is averaging 9.8 rebounds per game in his last four outings.
• Ellis’ nine rebounds gave him 731 for his career, moving him past Mark Randall to No. 15 on the KU all-time list.
• Freshman F Carlton Bragg, Jr., posted a career-high 10 points, eight of which came in the first half.
• Freshman F Cheick Diallo posted career-highs in rebounds (nine) and blocked shots (five) and came within a point and a rebound of his first-career double-double.
• Diallo’s five blocks were the most by a Jayhawk this season.
• Sophomore G Devonté Graham connected on two of his four three-point attempts, marking the sixth time in his last seven outings that he has tallied multiple treys. Graham is shooting 53 percent (8-of-15) from beyond the arc during conference play.
• Junior G Frank Mason III added four assists, moving him past the 300-assist milestone and within 19 dimes of moving among KU’s all-time top-20 career assist leaders.
 
Kansas Notables
• Kansas ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring offense (second at 85.8), scoring margin (second at +18.4), field goal percentage (second at 49.3), 3-point field goal percentage (second at 44.9), 3-point field goals made (second at 8.8), assists (second at 17.5), turnover margin (second at +2.7), steals (tied for second at 8.0), rebounding defense (third at 33.6), and assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.5). KU’s 44.9 3-point field goal percentage is second nationally and is on pace to break the KU season record of 43.3 set in 1989-90. Its 85.8 scoring average is the best in the Self era and the highest since a 90.9 scoring average in 2001-02.
• Out of its 15 victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more points in 11 of those wins. Five of those wins have been by 30 points or more.
• Kansas has out-shot 16 of 17 opponents this season. The Jayhawks have also out-rebounded 13 of 17 foes.
• Kansas was 10-for-20 from 3-point range at West Virginia (1/12). KU has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range in 13 of its last 16 games.
• Kansas shot 87.5 percent at the free throw line (14-for-16) at Texas Tech (1/9). The Jayhawks have shot 75 percent or better at the charity stripe for six of its last eight games.
• The KU bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in 11 of 17 games this season.
• KU has made seven or more three-pointers in 13 of 17 games this season. KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers seven times, including 15 threes vs. Northern Colorado (11/13) and Chaminade (11/23), which were one off the school record.
• Senior F Perry Ellis is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top five in scoring (fourth at 15.9 ppg) and rebounding (tied for fifth at 7.0).
• In his last nine games, Ellis is 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) from 3-point range, 34-for-38 (88.4 percent) from the free throw line.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. is second the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.6 and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage at .494 for all games. He has made 13 3-pointers in his last five games.
• Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is fourth in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.5, while junior Frank Mason III is fifth at 2.8. Kansas is the only in Big 12 school to have two ranked in the top five in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Kansas is 31-6 when following a conference loss under Self with only one of those losses coming in Allen Fieldhouse, Feb. 19, 2005 vs. Iowa State.
 
Kansas Milestones
• Senior F Perry Ellis scored 21 points at West Virginia (1/12) an in the process became the 24th Jayhawk to reach the 1,400 point plateau. Ellis has 1,428 career points and is five shy of passing KU legend Wilt Chamberlain who is 23rd with 1,433 points. Earlier this month, Ellis became the 16th player in KU history to reach 700 career rebounds, currently 15th at 731. Ellis is on pace to become the eighth player in KU history to rank in the top 15 in both career points and career rebounds: Danny Manning (2,951 points/1,187 rebounds), Nick Collison (2,097 points/1,143 rebounds), Raef LaFrentz (2,066 points/1,186 rebounds), Clyde Lovellette (1,979 points/839 rebounds), Dave Robisch (1,754 points/815 rebounds), Mark Randall (1,627 points/723 rebounds) and Wayne Simien (1,593 points/884 rebounds).
• Ellis is 14th on the KU all-time double-doubles list with 15.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. has scored 933 points and is 67 shy from becoming the 57th Jayhawk to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Selden already ranks 16th on the KU career 3-pointers made list at 132 and 17th on the 3-pointers attempted list at 343.
• With his four assists against TCU (1/16), junior G Frank Mason III surpassed the 300 career assists mark, currently at 303. Mason has 96 career steals. 
 
Up Next
Kansas will host Texas on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. and head to Iowa State Jan. 25 for an ESPN Big Monday battle on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. KU will host Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and then host Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
 
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