No. 11 Kansas begins New Year with No. 22/21 Texas Tech Tuesday

Junior G Lagerald Vick 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 11/11 Kansas (11-2, 1-0) opens its home portion of conference play when No. 22/21 Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0) comes to Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Jan. 2. The contest will feature the league’s two leaders in scoring margin, with both squads having beaten their opponents by an average of more than 20 points per game this season. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst) calling the action.
 
TIP-OFF

• No. 11/11 Kansas (11-2, 1-0) opens its home portion of conference play when No. 22/21 Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0) comes to Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
• Kansas is coming off its 27th-consecutive conference opening victory with a 92-86 win at Texas on Dec. 29. Texas Tech opened league play with a 77-53 win against No. 18/17 Baylor on Dec. 29 in Lubbock.
• Kansas has won its last 11-straight home conference openers, a streak which started in 2006-07. KU’s last Big 12 home-opening loss was to Kansas State, 59-55, on Jan. 14, 2006.
• Kansas leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.67. KU also ranks in the top-10 nationally in field goal percentage (fourth at 51.7), scoring margin (seventh at 20.6), 3-point field goal made per game (ninth at 11.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (ninth at 42.2).
• Kansas is one of six teams in NCAA Division I that have five players averaging 10.6 points for better. The others include Duke, Gonzaga, Villanova, TCU and William & Mary.
• Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding. Azubuike is ninth in scoring at 16.2 points per game and fourth in rebounding at 8.4 rpg. His four double-doubles are tied for fifth in the conference.
• Azubuike is second in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage at 75.8 percent. He is one of only three players nationally to shoot 70 percent or better with a minimum of five field goals made per game.
• Kansas has had four different players score 26 points or more in a game this season – Udoka Azubuike, Devonte’ Graham, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Lagerald Vick.
• Kansas is scoring 87.8 points per game. The last KU team to average that many was the 2001-02 Final Four team at 90.9 and before then, it was the 1989-90 team at 92.1 ppg.
• Kansas has won 60 all-time conference titles, which is more than any school in NCAA Division I history. Kentucky is next at 54 and Pennsylvania third at 37.

 
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas is ranked No. 11 in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches’ polls, released Dec. 26. The Jayhawks average 87.8 points per game and their plus-20.6 scoring margin is second in the conference and seventh in NCAA Division I. KU leads the conference in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.7), field goal percentage (51.7), 3-point field goals made per game (11.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.2). Besides the aforementioned, KU also ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring offense (second at 87.8), free throw percentage (third at 73.9) and assists (second at 19.9). Kansas pulls down 38.8 rebounds per game, has a plus-4.8 rebound margin and averages 4.6 blocked shots per contest.
 
Junior G Lagerald Vick is coming off his sixth 20-point game of the season with 21 points at Texas (12/29). He leads the team with a 17.4 scoring average which is fourth in the Big 12. Vick’s 6.4 rebounds per game are second on the team. Senior G Devonte’ Graham leads KU with 44 3-pointers made, 99 assists and 24 steals. Graham is scoring 17.2 points per game after his 23 at Texas (12/29). Senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has two of his four 20-point games in his last three outings after scoring 20 at Texas (12/29). He is just behind Graham with 43 3-pointers made. Mykhailiuk averages 16.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest.
 
Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike posted his team-high fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds at Texas (12/29). He has two 20-point efforts in his last four games and is second nationally with a 75.8 field goal percentage. Azubuike is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top 10 in scoring (ninth at 15.3 ppg) and rebounding (fourth at 8.4 rpg). Freshman G Marcus Garrett started his second game of the season at Texas (12/29). He averages 3.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest and is second on the team with 20 steals.
 
Redshirt sophomore G Malik Newman has started 11 games this season and is scoring 10.6 points per contest with 21 3-pointers made. Sophomore F Mitch Lightfoot leads Kansas with 21 blocked shots and he averages 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. His 1.6 blocks per game are seventh in the Big 12.
 
ABOUT TEXAS TECH
Located in Lubbock, Texas, with an enrollment of 37,010, Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0) is ranked No. 22 by Associated Press and No. 21 in the USA TODAY Coaches’ polls released Dec. 26. The Red Raiders are coached by Chris Beard who is 30-15 in his second season at Texas Tech and 201-65 in his ninth season overall. Texas Tech brings a six-game winning streak to Allen Fieldhouse after its 77-53 win against No. 18/17 Baylor on Dec. 29. Texas Tech leads the Big 12 and is second nationally in three statistical categories: scoring defense, giving up 58.2 points per game, scoring margin (plus-23.1) and field goal percentage defense (36.0). The Red Raiders average 81.3 points per contest and pull down 38.8 rebounds per game with a plus-7.8 rebound margin. Texas Tech is second in the Big 12 with 9.2 steals per outing and average 7.2 3-pointers made, 16.8 assists and 4.4 blocked shots per contest.
 
Texas Tech is deep as 10 players average 13 or more minutes per contest and balanced in that no Red Raider averages more than 5.1 rebounds per game but they collect 38.8 boards per contest. Senior G Keenan Evans leads Texas Tech in scoring at 16.6 points per game which is tied for sixth in the Big 12. Evans also leads the team with 22 3-pointers made, 47 assists and is tied for the team high with 20 steals. Freshman G Zhaire Smith is a nonstarter but is second on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game. He leads Tech with a 65.0 field goal percentage, pulls down 4.1 rebounds and is tied for the team lead with 15 blocked shots. Freshman G Jarrett Culver has only two starts and averages 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. He is second on the team with 20 3-pointers made and tied with Evans for the team lead with 20 steals. Senior G Niem Stevenson is a starter who averages 8.7 points per game and he is second on the team with 26 assists. Senior F Zach Smith (7.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and senior G Justin Gray (5.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg) join Evans, Stevenson and Zach Smith in the starting lineup. Other Texas Tech regulars include Redshirt senior Tommy Hamilton IV (6.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg), freshman G Davide Moretta (5.5 ppg) redshirt junior Norense Odiase (4.3 ppg, team high 5.1 rpg) and redshirt junior Brandone Francis (4.2 ppg).
 
THE SERIES
Kansas leads the overall series with Texas Tech, 33-4, which began in 1959. The Jayhawks have won 16 straight in the series since Jan. 16, 2010. Kansas is 17-0 against Texas Tech in games played in Lawrence, with all 17 contests in Allen Fieldhouse. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, Kansas is 26-4 against Texas Tech; 23-4 in regular-season match-ups and 3-0 in conference championship meetings. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 20-6 all-time against Texas Tech, including 19-3 while at Kansas. Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard is 0-2 against Kansas.
 
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 12-2 or better for the third-straight year … Give Kansas its 2-0 record in conference play 12th-straight year, starting in 2006-07 … Give Kansas its 17th-straight win against Texas Tech and make the series 34-4 in favor of KU … Make Kansas 18-0 against TTU in games played in Lawrence … Make Kansas 7-1 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 227-11 under Bill Self and 764-111 all-time in the venue … Make Bill Self 21-6 all-time against Texas Tech, 428-90 while at Kansas and 635-195 for his career … Make Kansas 2,229-843 all-time.
 
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Make Kansas 11-3 on the season … Make Kansas 1-1 in conference play for the first time since the 2005-06 season … End a Kansas 16-game winning streak against Texas Tech … Make the KU-TTU series 33-5 in favor of the Jayhawks … Make KU 17-1 against Texas Tech in games played in Lawrence … Give Kansas two losses inside Allen Fieldhouse in a season for the first times since 2006-07 and the third time in the Bill Self era … Make KU 226-12 in Allen Fieldhouse under Bill Self and 763-112 all-time in the facility … Make Bill Self 20-7 versus Texas Tech, 427-91 while at Kansas and 634-196 as a head coach … Make KU 2,228-844 all-time.
 
TEXAS LEFTOVERS & NOTABLES

• The win gave Kansas a 1-0 record in conference play for the 27th-straight season, starting in 1991-92.
• Kansas’ 17 3-pointers were the second-most ever by a KU team in a game and the most by a Jayhawk squad in a conference game.
• KU has now made 16 or more 3-pointers three times this year. The Jayhawks accomplished that feat just once in the 21 seasons since the beginning of the 3-point line in the 1986-87 season.
• Kansas’ 11 treys in the second half were the second-most ever by a KU team in a single half. The Jayhawks hit a program record 12 threes in the first half against Texas Southern (11/21) earlier this season.
• The Jayhawks also tied a program high with 20 3-point attempts in the second half.
• KU featured three players score 20 or more points for the first time since Frank Mason III (22), Devonte’ Graham (21) and Josh Jackson (20) each surpassed 20 points against Oklahoma State on Jan. 14, 2017. 
• Kansas’ 86.7 percent (13-of-15) clip from the free throw line was the team’s best in a game this year with a minimum of 10 attempts. It also marked the first time in five games the Jayhawks notched double-digit free throws.
• With their 92 points, the Jayhawks moved to 4-0 this season when scoring 90 or more points and 61-1 in the Bill Self era when surpassing the 90-point plateau.
• Texas center Mohamed Bamba’s eight blocks marked the most by a Jayhawk opponent since Oregon’s Jordan Bell also swatted eight against Kansas in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on March 25, 2017.
• Bamba’s eight rejections were the most by a KU conference opponent since the 1988-89 season.

 
JAW DROPPERS
Here are some jaw-dropping notables for Kansas basketball heading into league play:

• Kansas holds the longest active streak of 169-consecutive weeks ranked in the Associated Press poll, a streak which started Feb. 3, 2009.
• With its 92-86 win at Texas (12/29), Kansas has won 27-straight conference openers, a streak which started in 1991-92 during the Big Eight era.
• Kansas has a current run of 265-consecutive sellouts in Allen Fieldhouse, a streak which started the second game of the 2001-02 season.
• Kansas has won an NCAA-record-tying 13-straight conference regular-season titles, a streak which began in 2004-05.
• Kansas has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 28-consecutive seasons, the longest streak, active and all-time, in NCAA history.
• Kansas has notched 25 or more victories for each of the last 12 seasons (starting in 2005-06) and 20 or more wins for 28 seasons (beginning in 1989-90). Both are the longest active streaks in the NCAA.
• Kansas has won at least 12 league games for 17-straight seasons, the longest active streak in the nation.

 
DE SOUSA CLEARED TO COME TO KANSAS
Power forward Silvio De Sousa has been cleared to come to KU and practice. De Sousa joined the team Dec. 26.
 
De Sousa, who will wear jersey No. 22 at Kansas, signed a National Letter of Intent to play at KU during the early signing period in November. He then pursued graduating from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, early to join the Jayhawks and play the spring semester. De Sousa was ranked No. 18 nationally by Rivals.com, No. 28 by ESPN100 and No. 31 by the 247Sports.com national recruiting services. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Luanda, Angola, native was living in Florida for nearly four years.
 
NATIONAL NUMBERS
Kansas is fourth nationally in field goal percentage at 51.7 percent. KU also ranks in the top-10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (fifth at 1.7), assists per game (sixth at 19.6), scoring margin (seventh at 20.6), 3-point field goals made per game (ninth at 11.2) and 3-point FG percentage (ninth at 42.2).
Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike is second the NCAA in field goal percentage at 75.8 percent, while senior G Devonte’ Graham is sixth nationally in assists per game at 7.6.
 
KU FROM DOWNTOWN
After its 17 3-pointers at Texas (12/29), Kansas is averaging 11.2 3-point field goals made per game with a 42.2 3-point field goal percentage. Last season, KU set the school single-season 3-point record, making 318 from beyond the arc for 8.8 per game. Three of the last eight Jayhawk squads have averaged more than seven treys per game, with both of the last two KU teams hitting an average of eight or more threes per contest.
 
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Udoka Azubuike ranks second in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage at 75.8 percent going 94-of-124 in his first 13 games of the 2017-18 season.
 
History has shown that it isn’t easy to lead the nation in a statistic. In fact, checking the NCAA Records Book of annual leaders, only twice has a Jayhawk led the country in a season stat and both were KU All-Americans. KU legend Clyde Lovellette led the NCAA in scoring average in 1951-52 at 28.6 points per game. More recently, Thomas Robinson led the country in double-doubles with 27 during the 2011-12 season. Under Lovellette’s leadership KU won the 1952 NCAA National Championship and Robinson led the Jayhawks to a runner-up finish in 2012.
 
With a minimum of 175 attempts, the Kansas single-season field goal percentage record is 64.6 percent by Mark Randall in 1988-89. Last year, Landen Lucas shot 63.1 percent from the field, which ranks fourth on the KU single-season list. On the NCAA level, with a minimum of five makes per game, there have been only 12 players who have shot 70 percent or better in a season, with the most recent being Devontae Cacok of UNC-Wilmington, who set the NCAA record last season (2016-17) at 80.0 percent.
 
DEVONTE’ + SVI = THREES
The senior pairing of Devonte’ Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is beginning to establish itself as one of the top long-range shooting duos in KU history. Already this year, the two Jayhawk guards have combined for 87 KU’s 146 3-pointers. The prolific outside shooting from these two is nothing new as they continue to move up the all-time KU 3-point charts.
 
Since the advent of the 3-point line prior to the 1986-87 season, only two other Kansas duos have tallied more threes over a three-year stretch than the 363 that Graham and Mykhailiuk have combined for since the 2015-16 season. That mark is the third most for a duo in a three-year stretch. Jeff Boschee and Kirk Hinrich are the most prolific 3-point shooting duo in school history as they netted 405 treys while they played together from 2000-02. Graham is also one half of another sharp-shooting pair after he and Frank Mason III combined for the fourth-most threes (353) among KU duos during the last three seasons (2015-17).
 
Graham and Mykhailiuk are also among the most-accurate Jayhawk pairs. They have teamed up to shoot 41.7 percent from beyond the arc in that same three-year span, the third-best mark among KU teammates who have combined for 700 or more attempts. Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers boast the best combined percentage with a 42.7 percent (385-of-901) clip coming during their three seasons in Lawrence from 2006-08.
 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS BASKETBALL HISTORY
The Jayhawks are 18-4 all-time in games played on Jan. 2
Jan. 2, 1933: Kansas defeated Stanford 34-28 behind the leadership of Coach Phog Allen to earn the 400th victory in school history. That season, the Jayhawks went 13-4 and finished first in the Big Six Conference with an 8-2 record. Kansas center Bill “Skinny” Johnson went on to be named as an All-American First Team selection. Johnson, who at 6-foot-4 was considered a giant during that era, was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1976.
 
SELF MOVES TO NO. 2 IN ALL-TIME WINS AT KU
Bill Self surpassed yet another coaching milestone early this season. Now in his 15th year at the helm of the Jayhawks, Self has amassed 427 victories, which is second-most among the eight men who have roamed the sidelines in Lawrence. Self’s 427 wins surpassed his predecessor, Roy Williams, who reached 418 victories in 15 years (1988-2003) at KU. Self sits only behind the all-time winningest coach in Kansas history, Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen, who amassed 590 victories in 39 seasons with the Jayhawks. 
 
DOMINATING DEFENSE
In Bill Self’s first 14 seasons at Kansas, the Jayhawks led the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense nine times and finished no lower than fourth. Nationally, Self-coached Jayhawks have ranked eighth or higher in all but four seasons in field goal percentage defense and have ranked in the top five on eight occasions, including first in 2005-06 and 2012-13.
 
After posting its highest field goal percentage defense numbers in Self’s 14 seasons a year ago (42 percent), the stingy KU defense appears to be back on the right track, having allowed its first 13 opponents to shoot just 39.0 percent. That number is the lowest for KU since the Jayhawks held opponents to an NCAA-leading 36.1 in 2012-13.
 
KANSAS IN THE POLLS
Kansas men’s basketball enters this week at No. 11 in the Associated Press and No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches’ polls released on Dec. 26.
 
Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 169 AP polls dating back to Feb. 3, 2009, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. Kansas was preseason No. 4 by AP entering 2017-18. Under 15th-year and Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self, this is the 12th time that Kansas entered the season ranked seventh or higher in the Associated Press preseason poll and historically, the No. 4 ranking marks the 20th time since the 1992-93 season that Kansas entered the season seventh or higher. Last season, KU entered the year No. 3 nationally in the Associated Press poll and ended at No. 3.
 
At No. 3 in the coaches’ preseason poll, 2017-18 marked the fourth-straight year the Jayhawks have opened the season in the top five in the coaches’ poll. Kansas is ranked in the preseason for the 26th time in time in the 29-year history of the coaches’ poll. The No 3 ranking marked the eighth time KU has been preseason No. 3 or higher in the coaches’ poll. Additionally, it is the 12th time in the Self era the Jayhawks have been preseason seventh or higher, including each of the last six seasons. In 2016-17 Kansas opened the year No. 2 in the preseason coaches’ poll and ended No. 4.
 
At No. 3 in the coaches’ preseason poll, 2017-18 marked the fourth-straight year the Jayhawks have opened the season in the top five in the coaches’ poll. Kansas is ranked in the preseason for the 26th time in time in the 29-year history of the coaches’ poll. The No 3 ranking marked the eighth time KU has been preseason No. 3 or higher in the coaches’ poll. Additionally, it is the 12th time in the Self era the Jayhawks have been preseason seventh or higher, including each of the last six seasons. In 2016-17 Kansas opened the year No. 2 in the preseason coaches’ poll and ended No. 4.
 
CELEBRATING 120 YEARS IN 2017-18
Kansas Athletics will host numerous events throughout the 2017-18 season to celebrate 120 years of KU men’s basketball and other Jayhawk basketball milestones. The first celebration will be for 120 years of Kansas basketball. It will be held Saturday, Feb. 3 when KU hosts Oklahoma State in Allen Fieldhouse. Players, coaches and staff from every era of KU basketball will be recognized during the game; the weekend’s festivities will also celebrate the 30-year anniversary of KU’s 1988 NCAA National Championship team.
 
The 2017-18 season marks the 10th anniversary of the 2008 NCAA National Championship team, which will be honored when KU hosts West Virginia on Saturday, Feb. 17. That weekend, which is also the NBA All-Star Game weekend, KU will retire the jersey of former Jayhawk All-American Cole Aldrich. Additionally, plans are in place to retire the jersey of 2010 Consensus All-America First-Team selection Sherron Collins on KU’s ESPN Big Monday game against Oklahoma on Feb. 19.
 
BILL SELF INDUCTED INTO NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
Kansas head coach Bill Self, along with 10 others, was officially enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Sept. 8 at Springfield Symphony Hall in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts.
 
Joining Self in the evening’s enshrinement festivities were the other 10 Class of 2017 inductees: Zack Clayton (player, posthumous), Nick Galis (player), Robert Hughes (coach), Mannie Jackson (contributor), Tom Jernstedt (contributor), Jerry Krause (contributor, posthumous), Tracy McGrady (player), Rebecca Lobo (contributor), George McGinnis (player) and Muffet McGraw (coach).
 
Self becomes the 19th person associated with Kansas basketball to be inducted, the last being coaching legend John McClendon, who was inducted in 2016 for the second time. As only the eighth coach in KU history, Self is the fifth KU mentor to be inducted into Hall joining James Naismith, Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen, Larry Brown and Roy Williams. Kansas has the highest percentage of coaches in the Hall of Fame, 63 percent, than any other school. KU’s five matches North Carolina’s five for the most inducted in college coaching with St. John’s third with four.
 
CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Including 2016-17, Kansas has won 17 of the 21 Big 12 regular-season titles (includes ties), including the last 13, which is tied for the NCAA record. Kansas’ 60 conference titles are the most in NCAA Division I. Kentucky is second with 54 and Penn third at 37. KU’s 13-straight league titles are the longest active streak in NCAA Division I and the longest streak in school history. Kansas is now tied with UCLA, which from 1967-79, also won the NCAA record of 13 straight, which was under two coaches. Kansas’ current run has been under head coach Bill Self.
 
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2017-18

• Senior G Devonte’ Graham is quickly moving up the school’s all-time career lists. Graham entered his senior season No. 45 on the KU scoring list with 1,075 points. Graham is one point from becoming the 31st player in KU history to score 1,300 career points as he ranks No. 31 with 1,299 points. He is 16 points from KU’s top 30 in scoring.
• Against Syracuse on Dec. 2, Graham became only the sixth player in KU history to have made 200 threes for his career.
• Graham is 230-549 (41.9 percent) all-time from 3-point range. His 3-pointers made are fifth most in KU history and his 549 attempts are fourth. He is two 3-pointers from fourth (232 by Sherron Collins) and six from third (236 by Kirk Hinrich).
• Graham has 449 career assists, which is 13th on the KU career assists list. Additionally, Graham has surpassed the 150 plateau in steals as his 159 are 18th on the KU career list, one shy of 16th.
• Entering 2017-18 with a 247-48 (83.7 percent) record since 2010, Kansas is the winningest program, by percentage, this decade: 1. KANSAS (247-48, 83.7%); 2. Gonzaga (239-47, 83.6%); 3. Kentucky (249-53, 82.5%); 4. Wichita State (233-53, 81.7); 5. Duke (238-56, 81.0%).
• The Jayhawks are pursuing their 14th-conseuctive Big 12 regular-season championship. A 14th-league title would break UCLA’s NCAA record mark of 13-consecutive conference championships from 1967-79.
• Should Kansas advance to the 2018 NCAA Tournament it would be its 29th-consecutive NCAA tourney appearance. The current 28 straight is the NCAA Tournament longest -consecutive appearance streak with North Carolina (1975-2001) second at 27.

 
UP NEXT
Kansas will hit the road and play at No. 10/8 TCU on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN2. Should the polls remain the same, TCU would be the second top-10 team the Jayhawks will have faced this season. KU defeated then-No. 7/4 Kentucky, 65-61, on Nov. 14 in the Champions Classic in Chicago.
 
Kansas is 14-2 all-time against TCU, including a 5-1 record at Schollmaier Arena. TCU won the last meeting, 85-82, in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Big 12 Championship at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri..
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