Preview: Jayhawks and Spartans meet in NCAA second round Sunday on CBS
GAME 34
NCAA Second Round
Date Sunday, March 19
Time 4:15 p.m. Central
Location Tulsa, Okla.
Venue BOK Center
Notes KU Game Notes
Notes KU News Clippings
Notes MSU Game Notes
Notes Big 12 Game Notes
LIVE COVERAGE
TV CBS
Video March Madness Live
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Radio Westwood One
Stats Live Stats
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Kansas (29-4, 16-2 Big 12) advanced to the NCAA Tournament round of 32 with a 100-62 win against No. 16 seed UC Davis on Friday at BOK Center. Kansas will face No. 9 seed Michigan State (20-14, 10-8 Big Ten), Sunday at 4:15 p.m. Central, on CBS. Michigan State advanced with a 78-58 win against No. 8 seed Miami (Fla.) March 17.
Kansas is making its 46th NCAA Championship appearance and its 28th-consecutive trip to the tournament, the longest active streak in the nation and the longest in tournament history surpassing North Carolina’s 27 from 1975-2001. The Jayhawks have advanced to the round 32 each of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments starting in 2007.
This marks the eighth-straight season that the Jayhawks have earned a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. In head coach Bill Self’s 14 seasons in Lawrence, KU has never been seeded lower than fourth. Since seeding began in 1979, Kansas has been a No. 1 13 times, including seven times under Self (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2017).
KU, which is ranked No. 3 in the latest Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches polls, has won 13-straight, 17 Big 12 and an NCAA best 60 regular-season conference championships, including the 2017 title. The 13-consecutive titles ties for the longest streak in NCAA Division I history with UCLA (1967-79)
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas is 15-3 in games not played in Allen Fieldhouse this season. The Jayhawks average 83.2 points per game and has a +11.2 scoring margin. Kansas leads the Big 12 with a 48.9 field goal percentage. KU leads the league with a 40.6 3-point field goal percentage. KU averages 39.0 rebounds per contest, which also leads the Big 12. KU has a +4.5 rebound margin. The Jayhawks also average 16.4 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.7 blocked shots per contest.
The 2017 Big 12 Player of the Year, who has already earned numerous National Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors, senior G Frank Mason III leads the conference in scoring with a 20.8 average. His 21.0 points per game in league play were also tops in the Big 12. He is the only conference player averaging 20 points or more this season. After his 22 points against UC Davis (3/17), Mason has 20 games of 20 points or more, including his last four and nine of his last 11 contests. Mason has led Kansas in scoring in 24 games this season. Mason also leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 48.4 percent and with his 5.2 assists per game is vying to become the first player in Big 12 and KU history to average 20 or more points and 5.0 or more assists in the same season.
Also listed on numerous All-America teams is freshman G Josh Jackson, the 2017 Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Joining Mason on the All-Big 12 First Team and a seven-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in 2016-17, Jackson is second on the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game. The two-time Big 12 Player of the Week has seven double-doubles in his last 11 outings. Jackson’s 7.2 rebounds per game are second on the team and he leads KU with 52 steals and 34 blocked shots. Jackson was impressive in his NCAA Tournament debut with 17 points and seven rebounds against UC Davis (3/17).
An All-Big 12 Second Team selection, junior G Devonte’ Graham averages 13.2 points per game after his 16 against UC Davis (3/17). Graham has made 14 3-pointers in his last four games and multiple treys in 14 of his last 15 contests. He has made 43 threes in KU’s last 15 outings. Graham leads KU with 85 3-pointers and is second on the team in assists with 141 and steals with 51, one behind Jackson.
Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk averages 9.8 points per game after his 16 points against UC Davis (3/17). He has scored 34 points in his last two games with six 3-pointers made. A two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection, Mykhailiuk has made 65 3-pointers for the season.
An All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, senior C Landen Lucas is coming off his second-straight and fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds against UC Davis (3/17). Lucas has pulled down 10 or more rebounds 12 times this season with all 12 in KU’s last 22 contests. An Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection, Lucas finished second the Big 12 in league games in rebounding at 10.0 boards per outing. In all games, he is fourth in the Big 12 in rebounds with an 8.5 average and is scoring 8.1 points per game. Lucas leads KU with a 64.0 field goal percentage.
Sophomore G Lagerald Vick is one of the first Jayhawks off the bench and is averaging 7.3 points for the season. Vick averages 24.3 minutes per game and has made 31 3-pointers. Sophomore F Carlton Bragg Jr. is another first off the bench and averages 14.3 minutes, 5.6 points and 4.2 rebounds after his six points and five rebounds against UC Davis (3/17).
Junior F Dwight Coleby tied his career high with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting at Texas (2/25) in 13 minutes. He has appeared in 21 games and is averaging 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds this season. Freshman F Mitch Lightfoot has come off the bench in nine of the last 14 games. He averages 4.1 minutes, 0.8 points and 1.0 rebounds in 24 games played this season.
KANSAS-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
Michigan State leads Kansas 7-5 in the series that dates back to 1960. Michigan State has won three of the last four meetings, including a 79-73 win in the last meeting, Nov. 17, 2015, at the Champions Classic in Chicago. Kansas won the previous meeting with a 61-56 victory in the title game of the 2014 Orlando Classic at Disney’s Wild World of Sports during Thanksgiving weekend. The previous meeting was a 67-64 MSU win on Nov. 13, 2012, in the Champions Classic in Atlanta.
The teams met twice during the 2008-09 season with the Spartans claiming both matchups: 75-62 on Jan. 10, 2009 in East Lansing and 67-62 in a come-from-behind effort in the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. Before the two 2009 battles, the previous meeting had then-No. 6 Kansas defeating then-No. 3 Michigan State 81-74 on Nov. 25, 2003, in Allen Fieldhouse in Bill Self’s first season at KU. Some of the more memorable games include KU’s 96-86 overtime win against Michigan State in the 1986 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Sweet 16 game in Kansas City. KU then defeated North Carolina State to advance to the Final Four in Dallas. In the next meeting, Michigan State defeated Kansas 66-54 in the Great Eight in Chicago, Illinois, on Dec. 7, 1999.
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 30-4 and give KU 30 victories for the 14th time in school history with eight of those in the Bill Self era … Advance to the round of 16 for the 30th time, including nine times under Self… Make KU 16-3 away from Allen Fieldhouse this season… Make Kansas 102-44 all-time in NCAA Tournament games…Make the Kansas-Michigan State series 7-6 in favor of the Spartans … Make Self 415-87 while at Kansas, 622-192 all-time and 42-17 in the NCAA Tournament (32-12 while at KU)… Make Kansas 2,216-840 all-time.
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
End Kansas’ season at 29-5 … Make Kansas 15-4 away from Allen Fieldhouse this season … Make the Kansas-Michigan State series 8-5 in favor of the Spartans … Make Bill Self 414-88 while at Kansas, 621-193 all-time and 41-18 in the NCAA Tournament (31-13 while at Kansas)… Make Kansas 2,215-841 all-time.
UC DAVIS LEFTOVERS
• The Jayhawks are the third team to score 100 points in this year’s NCAA Tournament (North Carolina and Arizona) and the 38-point margin is second only to North Carolina’s 39-point win over Texas Southern earlier today (103-64). This was the eighth time that Kansas has scored 100 points in an NCAA Tournament game with is previous in the 2016 first round (105-79 vs. Austin Peay).
• Kansas shot 56.3 percent (36-of-64) from the floor, marking the 16th game this season they have shot better than 50 percent.
• Kansas is now 3-0 in the BOK Center, having also defeated Boston University (72-53) and Illinois (73-59) the last time the NCAA Championship was played in Tulsa in 2011.
• Kansas outrebounded UC Davis 45-27. The +18 was the fourth widest for KU this season.
• Up 50-28 at intermission, the game marked the fifth time this season that KU has led by 20 or more points at halftime. It was the fourth time that KU has scored 50 or more points in the first half this year and the seventh time they held an opponent to 28 points or less.
• With 22 points (11 in each half), senior G Frank Mason III has 20 games of 20 points or more this season (24th career), including his last four and nine of his last 11 contests. Mason has led Kansas in scoring in 24 games this season.
• Mason moved from ninth place to seventh place in career scoring at KU with 1,818 points.
• Junior G Devonte’ Graham has made 13 three-pointers in his last four games and multiple treys in 14 of his last 15 contests. He has made 42 threes in KU’s last 15 outings. He leads KU with 84 3-pointers on the year.
• Senior C Landen Lucas moved up four spots on the Kansas career rebounding chart tonight, moving from 20 to 17 after pulling down 11 boards to give him 684 in his career. He posted his ninth career double (fifth this season) with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
• Kansas placed five players (all starters) in double-figure scoring for the fifth time this season.
• Senior G Tyler Self appeared in his fourth NCAA Tournament game, scoring a career-high five points. It was Self’s first points in his four NCAA Tournament contests. While at Oklahoma State, KU head coach Bill Self played in only one NCAA Tournament game scoring eight points with four rebounds against Princeton in 1983.
WHAT’S TRENDING
• Kansas has nine games this season with double-digit deficits. KU is 7-2 in those contests with six of those victories against conference foes.
• KU has outrebounded five of its last six opponents. Kansas is 17-1 when outboarding foes this season.
• With 11 3-pointers against UC Davis, Kansas is averaging 8.8 3-pointers made per game with a 40.6 3-point field goal percentage. KU’s 290 3-pointers are second all-time for a season behind last year’s record-breaking 304 treys.
• Kansas averages 83.2 points per game which is the highest scoring average in the Bill Self era (2003-04 to present) and the highest since the 2001-02 Jayhawks also scored 90.9 points.
• Kansas has shot 50 percent or better three of its last four games and 16 times this season. The Jayhawks are 15-1 when shooting 50 percent or better in 2016-17.
• The Jayhawks are 149-for-197 (75.6 percent) from the free throw line in their last eight games. KU shot 70.8 percent at the charity stripe in Big 12 play. In nonconference games KU had a 58.9 free throw percentage.
• Senior G Frank Mason III leads the Big 12 in scoring at 20.8 points per game and 3-point field goal percentage (48.4).
• Mason is 88-for-105 (83.8 percent) from the free throw line in his last 12 games, making 7.3 charity shots per contest in that span.
• Mason made 50.0 percent (43-for-86) from 3-point range and 2.4 treys per game in Big 12 play.
• Mason has led KU in scoring in 24 of 33 games this season, including seven of the last eight and nine of the last 11 contests. Mason has 20 games of 20 or more points, including seven of his last eight and nine of his last 11 outings.
• Freshman G Josh Jackson has seven double-doubles in his last 12 games. His 11 double-doubles on the season, eight against Big 12 foes, rank fourth in the conference. His 11 DDs are a Kansas freshman record.
• In his last 12 outings (dating back to Jan. 28 vs. Kentucky), Jackson has scored 217 points and grabbed 100 rebounds for an average of 18.1 ppg and 8.3 rpg in that 12-game span.
• Jackson is 21-for-40 (52.5 percent) from beyond the arc in his last 13 games.
• Senior C Landen Lucas finished second in the Big 12 in league games with a 10.0 rebound average. Overall, Lucas’ 8.5 rpg are fourth in the Big 12.
• Lucas leads KU with a 64.0 percent field goal percentage for all games. Over his last 13 games, Lucas is shooting 66.7 percent (48-of-72) from the field.
• Junior G Devonte’ Graham has made four or more treys in eight games this season, including each of his last two contests and three of his last four outings.
• Entering the NCAA Tournament, Graham was 13th in the Big 12 in scoring (13.1), fifth in assists (4.3), 11th in steals (1.5), fourth in 3-point field goals made (2.5), 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (.379) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4).
• Against Oklahoma State (3/4), Graham became the 59th player in KU history to score 1,000 career points, currently ranking tied for 53rd at 1,028 with Bill Bridges (1959-61).
• Junior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk as made multiple 3-pointers in 11 of his last 16 games. His 4-for-8 effort against TCU (3/9) in the Big 12 Championship marked his fourth game with four treys this season.
THIS DATE IN KANSAS BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 2-1 all-time on March 19.
March 19, 2004: In Bill Self’s first season as head coach, Kansas defeated the University of Illinois Chicago, 78-53, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament where the Jayhawks led by as many as 32 points before the final buzzer sounded. J.R. Giddens led the team with seventeen points, followed by Wayne Simien with 13 points and seven rebounds and Keith Langford with 13 points and six rebounds. Despite a minor groin injury that required Simeon to leave the first half early, he went on in the second half to score his 1,000th career point in the victory.
UP NEXT
Should Kansas win, the Jayhawks will play the winner of the No. 4 seed Purdue vs. No. 5 seed Iowa State on Thursday, March 23, at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Tipoff time and TV information are to be determined.
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