No. 2 Kansas set to host Washington in Jayhawk Shootout

Freshman guard Marcus Garrett 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 2 Kansas (7-0) will look for its 10th-straight regular-season victory inside Kansas City’s Sprint Center when it plays host to the Washington Huskies (6-2) on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. in the Jayhawk Shootout presented by Shawnee Mission Health. The Jayhawks, who are out to their best start since in seven seasons, will take on the Huskies on ESPN2. Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst) will call the action.
 
TIP-OFF

• Playing its 44th game in Sprint Center Kansas will host Washington in the Jayhawk Shootout on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
• The Jayhawks and Huskies are meeting for the 10th time, including the third time in Kansas City. In the last meeting, the Jayhawks defeated the Huskies, 73-54, on Nov. 24, 2008, in the semifinals of the CBE Hal of Fame Classic at Sprint Center.
• Kansas is ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll. Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 166 AP polls dating back to Feb. 3, 2009, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
• Kansas is ranked No. 4 in the first RPI of the season released by the NCAA on Dec. 4. It marked the 12th-straight index that had the Jayhawks inside the top-5 dating back to Jan. 9 of last season. KU has been in the top-10 in 29 of the last 30 RPI lists dating back to the 2015-16 season.
• At 7-0, Kansas is one of 13 teams in NCAA Division I to remain undefeated, through games of Dec. 3. TCU is the only other Big 12 team to be undefeated.
• Five Jayhawks are averaging double figures in scoring with senior Devonte’ Graham leading the way at 18.6 point per game. Senior Svi Mykhailiuk is next at 17.1 ppg, followed by junior Lagerald Vick (16.4 ppg), sophomore Udoka Azubuike (14.6 ppg) and sophomore Malik Newman (11.9).
• Graham received numerous national and Big 12 Player of the Week honors after his back-to-back 35-point efforts against Toledo (11/28) and Syracuse (12/2). Graham entered last week with averaging 12.0 ppg and now is third in the Big 12 with an 18.6 ppg.
• Graham has tallied 56 assists in his first seven games of the season and is second in the Big 12, fifth nationally, with 8.0 assists per game.
• Azubuike is second in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage at 77.0 percent. Through seven games, Azubuike is 47-for-61 which includes 26 dunks.
• Kansas is averaging 91.9 points per game, which is second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally. The last time KU averaged 90-plus points for a season was the 2001-02 Final Four season when the Jayhawks scored 90.9 ppg.

 
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas uses a small lineup with only eight scholarship players available for the fall semester. Senior G Devonte’ Graham leads the team in scoring and is third in the Big 12 at 18.6 points per game. Graham is coming off back-to-back 35-point games in which he has been named Big 12 and national players of the week. Graham also leads KU in assists at 56 and steals (16) and pulls down 4.6 rebounds per contest. Senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is next in scoring at 17.1 points per contest, which is fifth in the conference, and he has made a team-high 25 3-pointers, five ahead of Graham, and pulls down 4.0 rebounds per game.
 
Junior G Lagerald Vick is tied for the team lead with sophomore C Udoka Azubuike with a 7.0 rebound average, which is eighth in the Big 12. Vick averages 16.4 points per game and his 15 3-pointers are third on the team. He is second on the squad with 30 assists. Azubuike scored 14.6 points per contest and he is second nationally in field goal percentage at 77.0 percent. His 10 blocked shots are second on the KU team. Sophomore G Malik Newman (11.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg) has made 12 3-pointers and rounds out the KU starters.
 
Off the bench, freshman G Marcus Garrett is 11th in the Big 12 in rebound average at 6.4 rpg. Garrett averages 5.7 points per game. Also off the bench, sophomore F Mitch Lightfoot (5.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) leads KU with 15 blocked shots and his 2.1 per game average are third in the conference.
 
ABOUT WASHINGTON
Located in Seattle, Washington, with an enrollment of 46,081, Washington has won four straight games and is 6-2 on the season after its 86-73 win against Omaha, Dec. 3. The Huskies are 6-0 at home and 0-2 on neutral floors this season. UW is coached by Mike Hopkins who is 6-2 in his first head coaching job. Washington averages 81.4 points per game and has a +2.8 scoring margin. The Huskies pulled down 35.6 rebounds per game with a +4.1 rebound margin. UW make 21.1 free throws per game and also average 12.0 assists, 9.1 steals and 4.4 blocked shots.
 
Washington is deep as nine regular players average nine-plus minutes per game. Freshman G Jaylen Nowell leads Washington in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Nowell pulls down 3.9 rebounds per game and has 21 assists and 13 steals. Junior F Noah Dickerson is next in scoring at 16.4 points per game and he has a team-high 8.0 rebound average. Dickerson makes 6.1 free throws per game. Junior G David Crisp scores 13.3 points per game and he leads the team with 15 3-pointers made and 24 assists, one more than junior G Matisse Thybulle’s 23. Thybulle is second on the team with 12 3-pointers made and leads UW with 28 steals. Sophomore F Sam Timmins (5.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg) rounds out the Washington starters. Other Washington regulars include freshman F Nahziah Carter (5.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg), sophomore G Carlos Johnson (4.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg), junior F Dominic Green (20.1 minutes, 3.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and freshman F Hameir Wright (2.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg).
 
THE SERIES
Kansas holds an 8-1 series record against Washington with the first meeting on March 17, 1953, a KU 79-53 win, in the NCAA semifinals at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas would lose the following night to Indiana, 69-68, in the 1953 title game. Kansas won the first four meetings from 1953 to 1957 and Washington’s lone win came Dec. 14, 1974, 74-68, in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has won the last four matchups with Washington with the most recent being a 73-54 win at Sprint Center on Nov. 24, 2008, in the semifinals of the CBE Classic.
 
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 8-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season, when the Jayhawks opened that year 18-0 … Make KU 8-0 for the fifth time under head coach Bill Self … Make the KU-Washington series 9-1 in favor of Kansas … Make Kansas 3-0 in games away from Allen Fieldhouse this season … Make Kansas 36-8 in games played in Sprint Center and 222-82 in all-time games played in Kansas City … Make Bill Self 2-0 versus Washington, 424-88 while at Kansas and 631-193 for his career … Make Kansas 2,225-841 all-time.
 
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Make Kansas 7-1 for the fourth-straight season … Make Kansas-Washington series 8-2 in favor of KU … Make Kansas 2-1 in games not played in Allen Fieldhouse this season … Make Kansas 35-9 in games played in Sprint Center and 221-83 in all-time games played in Kansas City … Make Bill Self 1-1 versus Washington, 423-89 while at Kansas and 630-195 as a head coach … Make KU 2,224-842 all-time.
 
 
SYRACUSE LEFTOVERS & NOTABLES

• Kansas forced 12 Syracuse turnovers in the first half. It marked the fourth time this season a Jayhawk opponent committed 10 or more turnovers in the first half.
• The Jayhawk defense held Syracuse to just five field goals in the first half. It was the fewest by a KU opponent in a half since Holy Cross also netted just five shots from the field in the second frame against the Jayhawks on Dec. 9, 2015.
• Syracuse’s 18 field goals for the game were the fewest by a KU opponent since TCU had 14 in the contest in Fort Worth on Feb. 6, 2016.
• Kansas tallied 22 assists on its 27 field goals. On the season, the Jayhawks have posted assists on 58 percent (142 on 245) of its field goals.
• With 35 points, senior G Devonte’ Graham became the first player since Andrew Wiggins in 2014 to score 30 or more points in back-to-back games. Wiggins scored 41 at West Virginia (3/8/14) and 30 vs. Oklahoma State (3/14/17) in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals.
• Graham’s seven 3-pointers were the most by a Jayhawk since Mario Chalmers connected on eight treys against Texas on March, 16, 2008.
• Graham moved past Aaron Miles on KU’s all-time scoring chart to No. 44, now with 1,205 career points. He also moved to No. 5 on KU’s all-time 3-point chart with 206 treys. He moved past Terry Brown (200) and Brandon Rush (205).
• Junior G Lagerald Vick scored 20 or more points for the fourth time in his career and the third time this season.
• Senior Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk was 3-for-7 from the 3-point line, marking the 23rd time in his career and the sixth time this season he has hit three or more from beyond the arc.

 
THESE JAYHAWKS CAN SCORE!

• Kansas is the only NCAA DI program that can boast five players averaging at least 11.9 points per game.
• The Jayhawks rank among the top-10 of NCAA DI in five offensive categories: First in scoring margin (+30.6), first in field goals per game (30.6), third in field goal percentage (53.5), third in assists per game (20.3), sixth in points per game (91.9) and 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (43.5). Kansas also ranks 11th in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (11.6).
• No Kansas team has averaged more than 94 ppg in its opening six contests of a season since the 2000-01 Jayhawks and no KU team has scored more points in its first six outings since the 1988-89 squad that averaged 95.2 ppg in the opening six games of Roy Williams’ tenure at KU.
• KU features four players that are shooting over 50 percent from the field (w/ min. of 3 attempts per game), including, Udoka Azubuike, who boasts a 76 percent clip, the second-best mark in NCAA DI .
• Kansas is averaging 51.7 points in the first half and is outscoring its opponents by an average of 22.8 points in the opening 20 minutes of its games.
• The Jayhawks have also proved to be an efficient offense, scoring an average of 1.18 points per possession. Only five other DI programs boast a higher figure.

 
KANSAS IN KANSAS CITY
Kansas City has been a second home for KU over the years. The Jayhawks’ first-ever game — a 16-5 loss to Kansas City YMCA on Feb. 3, 1899 — was played in Kansas City. The Dec. 6, 2017, game against Washington will mark KU’s 303rd all-time game played in Kansas City, and its 44th in Sprint Center. Excluding exhibition contests, KU is 35-8 in Sprint Center including winning the 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016 Big 12 Championships in the venue and the 2012 and 2016 CBE Hall of Fame Classics.
 
GRAHAM’S BIG WEEK
Senior G Devonte’ Graham scored a career-high 35 points twice last week in Kansas victories against Toledo (11/28) and Syracuse (12/2). Graham entered the Toledo contest averaging 12.0 points per game and now ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring with an 18.6 average.
 
Graham is not just leading Kansas scoring, he ranks second in the Big 12 in assists at 8.0, fourth in steals (2.3), third in free throw percentage (92.3), fifth in 3-point field goals made (2.9), seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8) and tied for third in double-doubles with two.
 
For his efforts last week, Graham was named the Big 12 Player of the Week, an honor he has earned for the second time in his career with the other being Feb. 15, 2016 when he scored his previous career high of 27 points at Oklahoma. He was also named the national player of the week by numerous media outlets.
 
The pair of 35-point efforts marked the first back-to-back 30-point efforts by a Jayhawk since Andrew Wiggins toward the end of the 2013-14 season. It also was the 25th and 26th time a Jayhawk has scored 30 or more points in a game in the Bill Self era.
 
MORE ON KU IN KC

• Beginning in 1984-85, Kansas has played at least one regular-season game, be it in a tournament or a home contest, in Kansas City in 30 of the last 33 seasons. KU only missed 1987-88, 1990-91 and 1996-97 and in those seasons the Jayhawks played league tournament or NCAA Tournament postseason games in KC.
• KU is 221-82 in games played in Kansas City.
• KU played 106 games in Kemper Arena with an 81-25 record. Kansas went 26-4 in Kemper Arena from 1997 until 2006, when it played its last game in the venue. Included in that run were Big 12 Championship titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
• Kemper Arena was the host of the 1988 NCAA Final Four when the Jayhawks won the national championship.
• Kansas has won a mind-boggling 26 conference tournaments (13 holiday conference tourneys and 13 postseason league titles) with 24 of those in Kansas City. The lone two titles not in KC were in 2006 in Dallas and 2007 in Oklahoma City.

 
KU IN SPRINT CENTER
Kansas is 33-6 in Sprint Center. Below is a breakdown of how Kansas has fared in the venue. Not included are three exhibition victories when KU, two versus Canada while prepping for the 2015 World University Games, and this past October in a fundraising win against Missouri.
 
Season Record (notes)
2007-08 4-0 (Big 12 Championship title)
2008-09 1-2
2009-10 4-0 (Big 12 Championship title)
2010-11 4-0 (Big 12 Championship title)
2011-12 1-2
2012-13 8-0 (CBE Classic title, Big 12 Championship title, NCAA First/Second Round wins)
2013-14 2-1
2014-15 3-1 (Big 12 Championship finalist)
2015-16 4-0 (Big 12 Championship title)
2016-17 4-2 (CBE Hall of Fame Classic title)
Overall 35-8 (81.4 winning percentage)
 
DEVONTE’ + SVI = THREES
The senior duo of Devonte’ Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk are beginning to establish themselves as one of the top long-range shooting duos in KU history. Already this year, the two Jayhawk guards have combined for 45 KU’s 81 3-pointers. The torrid 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 three other Kansas duos have tallied more  or as many threes as the 353 that Graham and Mykhailiuk have combined for over their three-plus seasons as teammates. 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 for three seasons from 2000-02. Graham is also one half of another sharp-shooting pair after he and Frank Mason III combined for the third-most threes (353) among KU duos during the last three seasons (2015-17).
 
Graham and Mykhailiuk are also among the most-accurate Jayhawk pairs, as they have teamed up to shoot 40.7 percent  from beyond the arc, the third-best mark among KU teammates who have combined for 700 or more attempts. Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers can 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 DATE IN KANSAS BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 11-7 all-time on Dec. 2.
Dec. 6, 1989: Junior guard Terry Brown scored 14 points off the bench, including 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, to lead Kansas past SMU 86-53 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. Five other Jayhawks scored in double figures. The Jayhawks shot 57.1 percent from the floor and 88.2 percent from the free throw line and held SMU to just 37.7 percent from the floor. In Roy Williams’ second season as head coach, the Jayhawks pushed the tempo of the game to average a school-record 92.1 points per game. KU finished the season 30-5 overall and tied for second in the Big Eight Conference with an 11-3 league record.
 
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 421 victories, which is second-most among the eight men who have roamed the sidelines in Lawrence. Self’s 421 wins surpassed his predecessor, Roy Williams, who also 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.
 
KANSAS VS. RANKED TEAMS
With Kansas’ win over then-No. 7 Kentucky on Nov. 14 in the Champions Classic, the Jayhawks collected their 83rd win over a top-25 foe under current head coach Bill Self. In his first 14 seasons, Self’s Jayhawks have collected four wins or more over top-25 ranked foes in 11 of those seasons, which includes a 29-13 record from 2014-present. Kansas’ record against top-10 ranked opponents is even more impressive. KU is 13-3 against foes ranked inside the top-10 of the AP poll since the 2013-14. This number includes the Jayhawks victory over Kentucky on Nov. 14. Since Bill Self’s first season, the Jayhawks are 13-2 against AP top-10 teams inside Allen Fieldhouse, which includes KU’s current streak of nine-straight home victories against top-10 foes.
 
KANSAS IN THE POLLS
Kansas men’s basketball enters this week at No. 2 in both the Associated Press and the USA TODAY Coaches’ polls released on Nov. 27.
 
Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 166 AP polls dating back to Feb. 3, 2009, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. 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 will enter the season seventh or higher. Last season, KU entered the year No. 3 nationally in the Associated Press poll and ended at No. 3.
 
This is 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 marks 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.
 
DOMINATING DEFENSE
In Bill Self’s 14 seasons at Kansas, the Jayhawks have 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 seven opponents to shoot just 35.4 percent. That number has KU among the top-5 in the NCAA so far this season.
 
PRESEASON NATIONAL HONORS
Kansas guards Devonte’ Graham and Malik Newman have both been named to preseason watch lists by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Graham is one of 20 candidates for the 2018 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, while Newman is one of 20 on the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch lists for each award.
 
Named after Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor, now in its 15th year, recognizes the top point guard in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. Graham is vying to become the second-straight Jayhawk to win the award as Frank Mason III was KU’s first-ever Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award winner last season.
 
Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor, in its fourth year, recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men’s college basketball.
On Nov. 6, the USBWA named Graham one of 32 on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List, an award also won by Mason last season.
 
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

• When senior G Devonte’ Graham is quickly moving up the school’s all-time 3-point charts. Against Syracuse on Dec. 2, he became only the sixth player in KU history to have made 200 threes for his career. Graham is 206-501 all-time from 3-point range. Additionally, Graham is surpassed the 150 place in steals, now boasting 151 thefts as a Jayhawk.
• 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 play its second-straight Pac-12 opponent when it hosts Arizona State on Sunday, Dec. 10, at 1 p.m. (Central). The game will be televised on ESPN with Roxy Bernstein and Bill Walton calling the action. Kansas leads the all-time series edge with Arizona State, 5-4, and won the last meeting, 108-76, on March 22, 2003, in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City. The Arizona State game will be the annual Toys for Tots contest where new, unopened and unwrapped toys will be accepted at drop-offs just outside Allen Fieldhouse entrances. 

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