Top-Ranked Jayhawks Head to Texas Tech Saturday

G15: #1/2 Kansas at rv/rv Texas Tech
Date/Time Jan. 9, 2016/8 p.m. (Central)
Location Lubbock, Texas
Arena United Supermarket Arena (15,098)
Series Kansas leads 29-4
Television ESPNU
Dave Armstrong, Brydon Manzer
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Bob Davis (Play-by-Play)
Greg Gurley (Analyst)
Bob Newton (Engineer)
Live Stats Texas Tech live stats
Notes Kansas
Texas Tech
Big 12 Conference
Stats at a Glance Kansas Texas Tech
Record 13-1, 2-0 11-2, 1-1
Rankings #1/2 rv/rv
Points/GM 89.8 76.2
Points Allowed/GM 67.9 66.1
FG% .505 .461
Rebounds/GM 39.2 38.0
Assists/GM 18.5 13.7
Blocks/GM 4.4 4.2
Steals/GM 8.5 5.2

KU Heads to Lubbock Saturday
No. 1/2 Kansas (13-1, 2-0) heads to Texas Tech (11-2, 1-1) for its first road game of league play on Saturday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Jayhawks have won 12-straight games and are coming off a 109-106 triple overtime victory against No. 2/1 Oklahoma on ESPN Big Monday. Texas Tech had its 10-game winning streak end with a 76-69 loss at No. 13/14 Iowa State Jan. 6.
 
About Kansas
Ranked No. 1 for the 21st time under head coach Bill Self, Kansas is second in nation in scoring at 89.8 points per game. The Jayhawks lead the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.3 percent. KU is also fourth nationally in scoring margin at +21.9 and ninth in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent. KU pulls down an average of 39.2 rebounds per game, which helps give the Jayhawks a +5.9 rebounding margin. The Jayhawks also average 18.5 assists, which stands 12th nationally, 8.5 steals and 4.4 blocked shots per contest.
 
Senior F Perry Ellis is coming off his first double-double of the season when he had season highs  of 27 points and 13 rebounds against Oklahoma (1/4). Ellis ranks fourth in the Big 12 in scoring average at 16.1 and his 6.6 rebounds per contest are ninth in the league. Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. posted his second-straight 20-point game with 21 against Oklahoma (1/4). He has four 20-point efforts this season and his 15.9 points per game are fifth in the Big 12. Selden is second in the league with 2.8 3-pointers made per game and a 54.2 3-point field goal shooting percentage. Junior G Frank Mason III had 15 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in the OU contest. He is scoring 13.2 points per game and is third in the Big 12 in assists at 5.6 per contest. Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham had a career-high 22 points versus Oklahoma and is scoring 11.3 points per game. Graham and Mason is tied for the team lead with 26 steals and their 1.9 average are tied for fifth in the Big 12. Senior F Hunter Mickelson rounds out the KU starters, averaging 3.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and a team-high 19 blocked shots.
 
Junior G Brannen Greene is a 3-point specialist who scores 8.6 points per game off the bench. He is 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) from beyond the arc this season. Senior F Jamari Traylor (3.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) has started seven games in 2015-16. Junior F Landen Lucas scores 4.8 points per game and is second on the team with a 5.0 rebound average. Sophomore G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is third on the team with 16 3-pointers made this season, helping him average 6.5 points per game. Freshman F Cheick Diallo scores an average of 5.4 points per contest and grabs 2.8 rebounds. Freshman F Carlton Bragg Jr. (4.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) rounds out the KU regulars.
 
About Texas Tech
Located in Lubbock, Texas, with an enrollment of 35,893, Texas Tech is 11-2 on the season, including 1-1 in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders are receiving votes in both national polls and are 9-0 at home in the United Supermarkets Arena. Texas Tech is coached by Tubby Smith who is 38-39 in his third season at Tech and 549-265 in his 25th season overall. Texas Tech averages 76.2 points per game and has a +10.1 scoring margin. The Red Raiders pull down 38.0 rebounds per contest and have a +4.1 rebound margin. Tech also averages 13.7 assists, 5.2 steals and 4.2 blocked shots per game.
 
Senior G Devaugntah Williams leads Texas Tech in scoring at 14.8 points per game, which ranks eighth in the Big 12. He is averaging 16.5 ppg in two Big 12 contests. Williams leads Texas Tech with 16 steals and is second on the team with 19 3-pointers made this season. Senior G Toddrick Gotcher scores 11.8 points per outing and has made a team-high 27 3-pointers. Gotcher pulls down 4.6 rebounds per game. Williams and Gotcher are outstanding at the line as Williams is second in the league with an 88.7 percent free throw percentage and Gotcher is making 85.7 percent. Sophomore F Zach Smith leads Texas tech with 6.5 rebounds per game, which is 11th in the Big 12. Smith scores 10.2 points per game and his 1.5 blocked shots per contest are seventh in the league. Sophomore C Norense Odiase scores 9.8 points per game and is second on the team with a 5.0 rebound average, while sophomore G Keenan Evans (8.5 ppg) rounds out the Tech starters. Evans has a team-high 38 assists this season.
 
Off the bench, sophomore F Justin Gray averages 7.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Junior F Aaron Ross scores 6.9 points and pulls down 4.5 rebounds per outing. Other Tech regulars include junior G Devon Thomas (3.5 ppg, 19 assists) and junior F Matthew Temple (2.2 ppg).
 
The Series
Kansas leads the overall series with Texas Tech 29-4 as the Jayhawks have won 12-straight in the series beginning on Jan. 16, 2010. Kansas is 11-4 against Texas Tech in games played in Lubbock, including a 7-3 record in United Supermarkets Arena. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, Kansas is 22-4 against Texas Tech; 19-4 in regular-season match-ups and 3-0 in conference championship meetings. The first meeting between the two schools took place in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 7, 1959, an 85-71 Kansas victory. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 16-6 all-time against Texas Tech, including 15-3 while at Kansas. Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith is 2-7 versus Kansas, 0-4 while at TTU.
 
Oklahoma Leftovers
• The game marked the 40th time since the Associated Press poll came out that No. 1 played No. 2. No. 1 now holds a 22-18 advantage in those matchups. Kansas is 1-4 in No. 1 vs. No. 2 battles.
• The contest was the second-ever triple overtime contest in NCAA history with the other being Kansas vs. North Carolina in the 1957 NCAA title game.
• Kansas extended its win streak to 12 games, the longest since the 2012-13 squad won 18 straight.
• KU’s winning streak inside Allen Fieldhouse increased to 32 games, including an 8-0 mark this season. 
• The win made Kansas 16-9, 6-2 under Bill Self, as the No. 1-ranked team in the Associated Press Poll.
• The game marked the third triple overtime game in Kansas history, and there have been two quadruple overtime games. The last triple overtime contest for KU was a 76-73 loss at Oklahoma State, Feb. 4, 1981.
• The contest marked the longest game (in game minutes) ever played in Allen Fieldhouse – no other contest had gone longer than double overtime.
• OU scored the most points (106) by a Kansas opponent inside Allen Fieldhouse and third-most ever against KU. KU’s 100-point effort against OU and 102-point win over Baylor on Jan. 2 gave the Jayhawks back-to-back triple-digit-efforts for the first time since the 2002-03 season when the team posted 102 and 100 in back-to-back blowout wins over UNC Asheville (1/2) and UMKC (1/4), respectively.
• No. 2 Oklahoma marked KU’s highest-ranked opponent (Associated Press) defeated since the Jayhawks beat then-No. 2 Memphis in the 2008 NCAA Championship game (3/7/08).
• The 109 points scored by the Jayhawks were also the most in a conference game since KU dropped 109 on Texas Tech in a 109-51 win in Allen Fieldhouse (3/3/08).
 
Kansas Notables
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (89.8), field goal percentage (.506) and 3-point field goal percentage (46.3), which leads NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks also rank in the top three in the league in scoring margin (second at +21.9), 3-point field goals made (second at 9.0), assists (second at 18.5), turnover margin (second at +4.5), rebounding defense (third at 33.4), steals (second at 8.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (second at 1.6).
• Out of its 13 victories of the season, Kansas has won by 10 or more points in 10 of those wins. Five of those wins have been by 30 points or more.
• Kansas has outshot 13 of 14 opponents this season. The Jayhawks have also outrebounded 11 of 14 foes.
• Kansas has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range in 11 of its last 12 games. KU is 22-for-41 (53.7 percent) from beyond the arc in its last two games.
• The KU bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in 10 of 14 games this season.
• KU has made seven or more three-pointers in 11 of 14 games this season. With its 11 against Baylor (1/2) and Oklahoma (1/4), KU has made 10 or more 3-pointers six times, including 15 threes vs. Northern Colorado (11/13) and Chaminade (11/23), which were one off the school record.
• In his last five games, senior F Perry Ellis is 6-for-9 (66.7 percent) from 3-point range, 24-for-26 from the free throw line and averaging 19.2 points and 8.0 rebounds.
• Junior G Wayne Selden Jr. is second the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 54.2 percent and in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.8. He has made eight 3-pointers in his last two games with five versus Baylor (1/2) and three against Oklahoma (1/4).
• Sophomore G Devonte’ Graham is third in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.7, while junior Frank Mason III is fourth at 3.5. in Big 12 play, Selden has six assists with no turnovers.
• Mason has led KU in assists in each of the last 12 games, including ties, and 13 of 14 games this season.
• Senior F Hunter Mickelson has as least one blocked shot in seven of his last nine games and has multiple swats in four of his last seven contests. He had a team-high three blocked shots against Baylor (1/2).
 
In the Polls
Kansas is ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press and No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches’ polls released Jan. 4. The AP ranking is the first time since Feb. 14, 2011, that the Jayhawks have been the top-ranked team in the poll. KU has been ranked in each of the last 132 AP polls which is the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I behind Duke’s 164. The last time Kansas was not ranked by AP was during the 2008-09 season.
Under coach Bill Self, Kansas has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 218 weeks, which includes 156 weeks in the Top 10, 89 times in the Top 5 and 21 times at No. 1. In the coaches’ poll, under Self, Kansas has been ranked 231 times with 169 in the top 10 and 103 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.
 
Kansas vs. Ranked Teams
Including Kansas, there are four Big 12 teams ranked in the Associated Press and five in the USA Today Coaches’ polls released Jan. 4. ESPN Big Monday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle made Oklahoma the second-straight ranked foe KU faced as the Jayhawks defeated then-No. 23/21 Baylor, 102-74, Jan. 2. This season, KU is 3-1 against ranked foes; falling to then-No. 13 Michigan State, 79-73, in the Champions Classic on Nov. 17 and defeating then-No. 19/16 Vanderbilt, 70-63, in the title game of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25, Baylor Jan. 2 and OU, 109-106 in 3OT on Jan. 4.
 
In 2014-15, KU set some milestones against ranked foes. KU went 10-6 against Associated Press nationally-ranked teams at tip. The 10 wins were the most in a season for Kansas, surpassing the 9-1 record in the 1996-97 season. The 16 games versus AP-ranked foes were also the most in KU history. The previous high was 12 battles versus ranked foes in three different seasons (1994-95, 2002-03 and 2011-12). Prior to 2015-16, in each of the last five seasons, the Jayhawks have a winning record versus AP-ranked opponents, which included a 7-3 mark in 2013-14. Since the 2009-10 season, KU is 41-18 against AP-ranked teams.
 
Bob Davis Retiring
Bob Davis, for over three decades the play-by-play voice of Kansas Jayhawk football and men’s basketball, announced Nov. 24 that he will retire following the 2015-16 basketball season. Davis began with the Jayhawk Radio Network in fall 1984 and has broadcast eight of the Jayhawks’ 14 NCAA Final Four appearances, including KU’s 1988 and 2008 national championships, and half of KU’s 12 football bowl games, including the Jayhawks’ victory in the 2008 Orange Bowl. He has also served for many years as host of the weekly radio show “Hawk Talk,” featuring the Jayhawk football and basketball coaches.
 
A member of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB), Fort Hays State Athletics and Topeka West High School Graduate Halls of Fame, Davis has been named Kansas Sportscaster of the Year 13 times. In 1991 KAB presented him with its Hod Humiston Award for Contributions to Sports Broadcasting. The Kansas State High School Activities Association recognized him with the Oscar Stauffer Sports Broadcasting Award in 1975 and 1978 for his high school broadcasts. Davis has chaired KAB’s Sports Seminar has judged the Kansas Scholastic Press Association Sports Writing Competition. He has lectured numerous times at university broadcasting and journalism classes.
 
Up Next
Kansas will travel to West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m., Central on ESPN2. The Jayhawks return home to host TCU on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m., on ESPN and then travel to Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m., on ESPN2.
 
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