No. 2/1 Jayhawks head to No. 18/18 West Virginia Tuesday in men's hoops

GAME 20

Date Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017
Time 6 p.m. Central
Location Morgantown, W.Va.
Venue WVU Coliseum
Notes Game Notes

LIVE COVERAGE
TV ESPN
Video WatchESPN
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Audio SiriusXM 81
Audio Audio Stream
Stats Live Stats

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 HOW THEY COMPARE

Road Trip
No. 2/1 Kansas (18-1, 7-0) hits the road for the first of two games against ranked foes starting at current-No. 18/18 West Virginia (15-4, 4-3) Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN. Kansas won its 18th-straight game with a 79-67 victory against Texas Jan. 21. West Virginia is looking to snap a two-game losing streak after its 79-75 loss at Kansas State Jan. 21.
 
Through seven conference games, Kansas remains the only Big 12 team undefeated in league play as the Jayhawks hold a one-game edge over Baylor. KU’s 7-0 record ties for its sixth-best start in the 21-year history of the league. KU has won 16 Big 12 regular-season titles, including the last 12 straight starting in 2004-05.
 
About Kansas
Kansas’ 18-game winning streak is tied for the longest in NCAA Division I with Gonzaga (18). The 18-game streak is tied for the second longest in Bill Self’s 14 seasons at Kansas. KU averages 85.4 points per game and has scored 80 or more in 14 of 19 games this season, including five of the last seven contests. KU has a +15.2 scoring margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 and is eighth nationally with a 50.2 field goal percentage. KU leads the league with a 41.6 3-point field goal percentage, which is fifth in NCAA Division I. KU has outrebounded each of its last three and four of its last five opponents and averages 40.7 rebounds per contest with a +6.6 rebound margin. KU is coming off a season-high 14 steals against Texas (1/21) and averages 7.3 steals per game. KU also averages 17.5 assists and 5.2 blocked shots per contest.
 
Two-time Big 12 Player of the Week in 2016-17, senior G Frank Mason III is having a national player of the year season. He leads the conference in scoring with a 20.1 average and his 20.9 points per game in league play are also tops in the Big 12. Mason has 10 games of 20 points or more and has led Kansas in scoring in 15 of 19 games this season. Mason leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 53.7 percent. He is fourth in 3-pointers made at 2.3 per game. Freshman G Josh Jackson has been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week each of the last two weeks. His 15.1 scoring average is eighth in the Big 12 and first among conference freshmen. Jackson is ninth in the Big 12 in rebounds at 6.7 boards per contest. He has earned Big 12 Player of the Week once and Big 12 Newcomer of the Week a KU record-tying four times this season. Jackson leads KU with 26 blocked shots and he is tied for first on the team with 32 steals. Junior G Devonte’ Graham had 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and no turnovers against Texas (1/21). He was also 6-for-10 from the field, including four 3-pointers made. Graham averages 13.5 points and he is tied with Jackson for the team lead with 32 steals. Graham leads KU with 46 3-pointers and his 2.6 made are third in the Big 12. His 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio is third in the conference. Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) from the field in his last two games with five 3-pointers made in that span. Mykhailiuk averages 11.0 points per game. Senior C Landen Lucas leads the Big 12 in conference games in rebounding at 11.4 rpg and field goal percentage at 65.2 percent. Lucas pulled down 14 boards against Texas (1/21) to mark his sixth game this season with 12 or more rebounds.
 
Sophomore G Lagerald Vick has started five games this season and is averaging 7.9 points per game. He has pulled down five rebounds in two of his last three games and averages 3.5 boards per contest. Sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr., has averaged 9.0 points in his last two games. He is averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game on the season. Freshman F Mitch Lightfoot came off the bench against Texas (1/21) to score two points and pull down two rebounds in four minutes of action.
 
About West Virginia
Located in Morgantown, West Virgina, with an enrollment of 32,348, West Virginia is 15-4 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers are coached by Bob Huggins who is 190-105 in his ninth season at WVU, his alma mater, and 780-316 in his 34th season overall. West Virginia is 10-1 at WVU Coliseum this season. The Mountaineers lead the Big 12 in scoring (88.3), scoring margin (+23.6), steals (12.0), turnover margin (+11.5) and offensive rebounds (15.6). WVU forces an NCAA-leading 23.2 turnovers per game.
 
West Virginia has a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging between 9.1 and 12.0 points per game. Junior G Jevon Carter leads the way with 12.0 points per game. He also leads WVU with 60 steals and his 3.2 steals per game are tops in the Big 12. Carter’s 4.6 assists per game are seventh in the Big 12 and he has made a team-high 27 3-pointers. Carter also averages 4.1 rebounds per contest. Sophomore F Esa Ahmad is next in scoring at 11.3 points per game. He pulls down 4.5 rebounds per game and has 12 blocked shots. Senior F Nathan Adrian leads West Virginia with 6.4 rebounds per contest and averages 10.6 points per outing. Junior G Daxter Miles Jr., averages 10.3 points per game and has made 22 3-pointers. Senior F Brandon Watkins (6.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) rounds out the WVU starters.
 
Five other Mountaineers average 10 or minutes per game led by senior G Tarik Phillip who is averaging 9.1 points per game. He is second on the team with 30 steals and has made 20 3-pointers this season. Other WVU regulars include senior G Teyvon Myers (7.8 ppg), freshman F Lamont West (6.1 ppg), freshman F Sagaba Konate (4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and junior F Elijah Macon (4.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg).
 
The Series
The Kansas-West Virginia series started when WVU joined the Big 12 in 2012-13 and Kansas holds a 6-3 advantage. West Virginia has won three straight in WVU Coliseum and is 3-1 overall against KU at home. Last year Kansas went 2-1 against West Virginia with a win in Allen Fieldhouse and in the title game of the 2016 Big 12 Championship at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. KU head coach Bill Self is 6-3 against West Virginia, with all nine meetings as Kansas’ coach. Bob Huggins is 3-10 all-time against Kansas, 3-6 while at WVU.
 
Texas Leftovers
• The win marked the 50th-straight victory for the Jayhawks inside Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas owns the longest home-court winning streak in NCAA Division I of 53 games, which includes three home games at Sprint Center. KU is 10-0 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 755-109 all-time in the venue, and 216-9 under Bill Self.
• Kansas extended its winning streak to 18 games. The streak ties for the second-longest winning streak during the Bill Self era.
• Kansas is 18-1 or better for the sixth time in the Bill Self era and first since the 2012-13 Jayhawks went 19-1.
• BIG 12 START: Kansas is 7-0 in Big 12 play for the ninth time in the 21-year history of the league.
• The Jayhawks had a season-high 14 steals, 10 in the first half. The last time KU had 10 steals in one half was January 5, 2011, against UMKC. The 14 steals were the most in a game since the Jayhawks had 14 against Oklahoma on January 7, 2012.
• Kansas has made 11 or more 3-pointers in three of its seven Big 12 games this season.
• Senior G Frank Mason III eclipsed the 1,500 career-point mark. With 17 points, he moved to No. 20 with 1,514 points.
• Senior C Landen Lucas’ 11 defensive rebounds were the most by a Jayhawk this season. His 14 rebounds marked  his sixth game of the season with double-digit rebounds, five of which have come against Big 12 opponents.
• Junior G Devonte’ Graham’s four 3-pointers moved him to 17th all-time for 3-point field goals made, currently at 138.
• Freshman G Josh Jackson’s four steals tied his own career high for the most by a Jayhawk this season.
 
What’s Trending
• Kansas leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 50.2 percent, 3-point field goal percentage at 41.6 percent and rebounding at 40.7 per game. KU is tied for first in the league with a 94.7 won-loss percentage. Additionally, KU ranks in the upper half in the Big 12 in scoring (third at 85.4), scoring margin (second at +15.2), field goal percentage defense (second at 40.6), rebound margin (second at +6.6), assists (second at 17.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (third at 1.4) and blocked shots (third at 5.2).
• During Big 12 play, KU is shooting 72.4 percent at the charity stripe. In nonconference games KU had a 59.2 free throw percentage.
• The Jayhawks have maintained a lead at the five-minute mark of every game this season.
• Senior G Frank Mason III leads the Big 12 in scoring at 20.1 points per game, 3-point field goal percentage (53.7) and is third in assists at 5.4 per game.
• Mason is making 60 percent (18-for-30) from 3-point range in Big 12 play.
• Mason has led KU in scoring in 14 of 19 games this season, including nine of the last 12 contests.
• Senior C Landen Lucas is averaging a double-double in Big 12 play with 10.6 ppg and 11.4 rebound averages, which is first in the league. Lucas’ 65.2 field goal percentage is also first in the league in conference games played.
• Freshman G Josh Jackson ranks eighth in the Big 12 in scoring at 15.1 ppg, which leads the conference freshman class. His 6.7 rebounds per game are ninth in the league and he is tied for eighth with 1.6 steals per game.
• Junior G Devonte’ Graham has two 20-point games this season with both against Big 12 foes. Graham’s 18 points against Texas (1/21) marked the first time this season he has led KU in scoring.
• Graham is 19-of-48 (39.6 percent) from 3-point range in Big 12 play.
• Graham has 22 assists and three turnovers in his last four games. He also has nine steals in that span.
• Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made multiple 3-pointers in three of his last four games. He is seventh in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made at 2.2 per game and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.8.
 
In the Polls
Kansas moved to No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll released Jan. 16. The Jayhawks remained No. 2 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 yet had more first-place votes (32) then top-ranked Villanova (28). KU was No. 1 in the coaches’ poll four times last season and has been No. 1 in that poll 57 times.
 
The Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the last 153 AP polls dating back to the 2008-09 season, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. Arizona is second at 89. KU has been ranked in each of the last 157 coaches’ polls.
 
Streaking
Here are some active Kansas streaks, all of which lead the nation:
• 12 Big 12 Conference regular-season titles
• 27 NCAA Tournament appearances
• 27 seasons with 20+ wins
• 53 wins at home, including 50 in Allen Fieldhouse
• 151 weeks ranked in AP Top 25
• Won at least 12 league games for 16-straight years.
 
Up Next
Kansas will travel to No. 5/5 Kentucky for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 5:15 p.m., on ESPN. ESPN College Gameday will originate from Lexington. The Jayhawks return home to host No. 6/6 Baylor on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m., on ESPN2.
 

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