No. 2 Jayhawks, No. 16/17 Sun Devils set for top-25 tilt Sunday

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Junior guard Lagerald Vick  

 GM 9: vs. #16/17 Arizona State
  Dec. 10
  1 p.m.
  Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
  Watch
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  Live Stats
  Game Notes

 

 Stats KU ASU
 Record 7-1 8-0
 Pts/GM 88.5 91.4
 FG% 52.5 52.2
 3FG% 41.7 41.6
 FT% 71.7 73.1
 Reb/GM 39.0 36.0
 Ast/GM 20.3 16.4
 Blk/GM 5.0 2.8
 Stl/GM 8.6 6.5
 Pts Allowed/GM 62.9 73.1
 FG% Defense 37.0 42.2
 3FG% Defense 30.5 35.8
 Rebound Margin +5.5 +3.1
 Ast-TO Ratio 1.7 1.4

 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 2-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (7-1) will look to rebound from their first loss of the 2017-18 campaign when they return to the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse to host the unbeaten No. 16/17 Arizona State Sun Devils (8-0). The contest, which will feature two squads that score over 88 points per game, is set for 1 p.m., and will be televised on ESPN. Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Bill Walton (analyst) will call the action.
 
TOYS FOR TOTS
The Kansas-Arizona State game will feature the annual Toys for Tots contest where new, unopened and unwrapped toys or cash donations will be accepted at drop-offs just outside Allen Fieldhouse entrances this Sunday. The U.S. Marines will once again be manning the donation stations.
 
TIP-OFF

  • At No. 16 in the AP poll, Arizona State is the first ranked team to come to Allen Fieldhouse this season and the first since No. 3 Kansas defeated No. 9 Wester Virginia, 84-80 in overtime, on Feb. 13, 2017.
  • Arizona State is the second ranked foe Kansas will have played this season with the other being a KU 65-61 win against then-No. 7 Kentucky in Chicago on Nov. 14. Under Bill Self, Kansas is 83-41 against Associated Press Top-25 teams, including 37-4 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has won its last 19-straight games against ranked foes on Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Kansas and Duke are the only two NCAA DI programs that can boast five players averaging at least 11.4 points per game. Arizona State is just behind with five players averaging 11.1 plus-points or more.
  • The Jayhawks and Sun Devils are meeting for the 10th time with KU holding a 5-4 series edge. KU won the last meeting, 108-76, on March 22, 2003, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City.
  • Kansas is 78-10 following a loss in the Bill Self era, which began in 2003-04. Since 2013-14, KU is 28-2 following a loss. Of those 10 losses, only one has been in Allen Fieldhouse, a 63-61 loss to Iowa State on Feb. 19, 2005. The Jayhawks are 43-1 in Allen Fieldhouse in the Self era following a loss and have won the last 37 such instances.
  • Five Jayhawks are averaging double figures in scoring with junior Lagerald Vick leading the way at 17.9 points per game, which is tied for third in the Big 12. Kansas is the only school in the league to have five players ranked in the Big 12’s top-25 in scoring.
  • Vick is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding. He is tied for third (17.9 ppg) and ninth (6.8 rpg), respectively.
  • Azubuike is first in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage at 77.6 percent. Through eight games, Azubuike is 52-for-67, which includes 30 dunks.
  • Kansas sophomore Sam Cunliffe played at Arizona State last season starting ASU’s first 10 games before transferring to KU after the fall semester. Cunliffe, who will become eligible for the Dec. 16 game at Nebraska, averaged 9.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg for ASU.

 
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas uses a small lineup with only eight scholarship players available for the fall semester. Junior G Lagerald Vick is coming off a career-high 28 points against Washington (12/6) and leads Kansas in scoring at 17.9 ppg, which is tied for third in the Big 12. Vick’s 6.8 rebounds are second on the team as are his 37 assists. Senior G Devonte’ Graham is next in scoring at 16.6 points per contest and he leads Kansas with 61 assists and 18 steals. Graham’s 21 3-pointers are second on the team behind senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk’s 27. Mykhailiuk averages 16.0 points per game and make 50 percent (27-54) from beyond the arc.
 
Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike leads the NCAA in field goal percentage at 77.6 percent. He averages 14.0 points per game and leads KU with 7.3 rebounds per contest, which is seventh in the Big 12. Sophomore G Malik Newman is a starter who averages 11.4 points and 4.4 rebounds and has made 14 3-pointers.
 
Freshman G Marcus Garrett comes off the bench and averages 5.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He is second on the team with 14 steals. Sophomore F Mitch Lightfoot (5.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg) rounds out the KU regulars. Lightfoot leads KU with 15 blocked shots and his 1.9 per game are third in the Big 12.
 
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
Located in Tempe, Arizona, with an enrollment of 104,310, Arizona State entered the Dec. 8 contest with St. John’s as one of eight teams undefeated in NCAA Division I at 7-0. The Sun Devils are coached by Bobby Hurley who is 37-35 in his third season at ASU and 79-55 in his fifth season overall. Arizona State averages 92.7 points per game, which is fourth in the nation, and has a plus-19.1 scoring margin. The Sun Devils rank third nationally in field goal percentage at 53.1 percent. ASU makes 9.7 3-pointers per game and averages 35.7 rebounds with a plus-3.1 rebound margin. The Sun Devils also average 16.4 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.1 blocked shots per game.
 
Like Kansas, Arizona State has five players averaging in double figures. Senior G Tra Holder leads ASU in scoring at 22.1 points per game which leads the Pac-12 Conference and is 17th nationally. Holder averages 6.0 rebounds per game and he and senior G Shannon Evans II are tied for the team lead with 21 3-pointers made, 36 assists and 13 steals. Evans scores 18.7 points per game. Freshman F Romello White leads ASU in rebounds at 9.3 per contest, which is third in the Pac-12. White scores 15.7 points per game and is making 69.0 percent of his shots. Senior G Kodi Justice scores 15.0 points per game and is right behind Holder and Evans with 19 3-pointers made. Redshirt-freshman F Vitality Shibel (2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg) rounds out the ASU starters. Off the bench, junior F De’Quon Lake is second on the team with a 7.6 rebound average. Lake scores 11.1 points per game, has a 78.9 field goal percentage and leads the team with eight blocked shots. Freshman G Remy Martin is another regular who averages 9.1 points per game and has 17 assists and 12 steals on the season.
 
THE SERIES
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. KU would go on to finish runner-up in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. This series dates back to 1961 with Arizona State winning the first three matchups and Kansas the next three. KU has won five of the last six matchups, which includes the only two meetings in Allen Fieldhouse (63-62 on Nov. 30, 1981, and 90-67 on Dec. 22, 1989).
 
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 7-1 for the fourth-straight year … Make Kansas 79-10 following a loss in the Bill Self era, including 44-1 when those occur in Allen Fieldhouse … Make the Kansas-Arizona State series 6-4 in favor of KU … Make Kansas 6-0 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 226-10 under Bill Self and 763-110 all-time in the venue … Make Bill Self 424-89 while at Kansas and 631-194 for his career … Make Kansas 2,225-842 all-time.
 
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Make Kansas 7-2 … Be the first time KU has had consecutive losses in a span of 146 games dating back to Dec. 7 and 10, 2013, in losses at Colorado and at Florida … Tie the Kansas-Arizona State series at 5-5 and would be ASU’s first win in Allen Fieldhouse … Make Kansas 5-1 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 225-11 under Bill Self and 762-111 all-time in the venue … Make Self 423-90 while at Kansas and 630-195 as a head coach … Make KU 2,224-843 all-time.
 
WASHINGTON LEFTOVERS & NOTABLES

  • The loss ended the Jayhawks’ 24-game non-conference home winning streak.
  • Kansas moved to 2-1 in games not played in Allen Fieldhouse this season.
  • Kansas is now 35-9 in games played in Sprint Center and 221-83 in all-time games played in Kansas City.
  • The Jayhawks trailed at halftime for the first time this season (36-34).
  • KU was outscored in both halves after outscoring its previous seven opponents in every half this season.
  • Kansas’ two first-half 3-pointers were its fewest in a half this season. Kansas was 2-of-9 (22 percent) over the first 20 minutes.
  • Kansas set team lows in total points (65), points in a half (31 – 2nd), field goals (28), free throws (4), 3-point field goals (5) and 3-point field goal percentage (25 percent).
  • KU’s 20 assists marked the fifth time in its eight outings this season that the Jayhawks notched 20 or more assists.
  • Junior G Lagerald Vick set career highs in points (28), in field goals (12), field goal attempts (23) and minutes (39) and tied a career high with seven assists.
  • Vick scored the Jayhawks first 12 points to start the second half.
  • Vick tallied 20 or more points for the third time this season and the fifth time in his career.
  • Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike posted another efficient shooting night from the field, going 5-of-6 for 10 points and came within a rebound of posting the third double-double of his career.
  • Senior G Devonte’ Graham moved into 37th on the KU career scoring list, currently with 1,208 points. He passed Jacque Vaughn (1,207 from 1994-97).

 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

  • Kansas and Duke are the only two NCAA DI programs that can boast five players averaging at least 11.4 points per game. Arizona State is just behind with five players averaging 11.1 plus-points or more.
  • The Jayhawks rank among the top-10 of NCAA DI in four offensive categories: first in scoring margin (+25.6), sixth in field goal percentage (52.5), fourth in assists per game (20.3) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.71).
  • KU features four players who are shooting over 50 percent from the field (w/ min. of 3 attempts per game), including Udoka Azubuike, who boasts a 77.6 percent clip, the best mark in NCAA DI .
  • Kansas is averaging 49.5 points in the first half and is outscoring its opponents by an average of 20.6 points in the opening 20 minutes of its games.
  • The Jayhawks have also proven to be an efficient offense, scoring an average of 1.16 points per possession. That number is among the top-15 in the nation.
  • On the defensive front, Kansas boasts the Big 12’s best defensive field goal percentage at 37 percent. That number ranks KU 14th in the NCAA. The Jayhawks’ 8.6 steals per game are the third-most in the league so far in 2017-18 and 32nd in the nation.

 
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 in 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 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.
 
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 48 KU’s 86 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 threes over a three-year stretch as the 324 that Graham and Mykhailiuk have combined for since the 2015-16 season. 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 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. They have teamed up to shoot 41.1 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 DATE IN KANSAS BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 20-4 all-time on Dec. 10
Dec. 10, 2011: In game that featured two top-25 teams, No. 13 Kansas defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 78-69, in Lawrence. Junior forward Thomas Robinson led all scorers with 21 points, his third 20-point performance of the season. Robinson, along with junior center Jeff Withey, led all players in rebounds, pulling down seven boards each. Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor recorded 13 of KU’s 18 assists, a career high. Kansas would go on to post a 32-7 record in 2011-12, winning the Big 12 regular-season with a 16-2 mark and advancing to KU’s 14th all-time Final Four before falling to Kentucky in the NCAA title game in New Orleans.
 
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 423 victories, which is second-most among the eight men who have roamed the sidelines in Lawrence. Self’s 423 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 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 Dec. 4.
 
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 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.
 
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 eight opponents to shoot just 37.0 percent. That number has KU among the top-15 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

  • 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 207-506 all-time from 3-point range. Additionally, Graham has surpassed the 150 plateau in steals, now boasting 153 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 take a week off for final exams before heading north to meet former conference foe, Nebraska in Lincoln for the Shelter Insurance Showcase on Saturday. Dec. 16. Tip-off from Pinnacle Bank Arena is slated for 7 p.m. on FS1.
 
The teams will renew a series that dates back to 1900. The Jayhawks and Cornhuskers met 214 times as members of the Missouri Valley, Big Six, Big Seven, Big Eight and Big 12 conferences until 2011. KU and NU met last season in Lawrence, an 89-72 Jayhawk victory. KU now leads the all-time series, 171-71.

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