Dec. 8, 2012

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NO. 9/9 KANSAS 90, RV/RV COLORADO 54
Postgame Notes
Dec. 8, 2012 

KU STARTERS (Season/Career Starts): C Jeff Withey (8/48), G Elijah Johnson (8/54), G Ben McLemore (8/8), F Travis Releford (8/50), F Kevin Young (5/5)

SERIES INFO: Kansas leads 123-39

ATTENDANCE:  16,300

KANSAS' WIN:

• Made Kansas 7-1 on the season, giving the team a 7-1 or better start for the fifth time in the last six seasons

• Extended the Jayhawks’ home win streak to 26, which is the second-longest among Division I teams (Syracuse, 27)

• Makes the all-time series between the schools 123-39 in favor of KU and the Jayhawks 19^th-straight win against Colorado

• Handed KU a 53-5 record against Colorado in Allen Fieldhouse

• Gives KU its 11th-straight win against Pac-12 competition

• Makes KU 16-4 versus the Pac-12 in the Bill Self era

• Moved Coach Self to 276-54 at Kansas and 483-159 overall

• Made KU 2,077-807 all-time

TEAM NOTES:

• KU scored seven points in the first 65 seconds of the game, thanks to a three-pointer from RS freshman G Ben McLemore and a layup from RS senior G Travis Releford within nine seconds of each other.

• Kansas shot 78 percent through the first five minutes (7-for-9). The Jayhawks would climb to as high as 82 percent (9-for-11), powering an 18-3 run in the opening five minutes.

• The Jayhawks hit 90 points for the first since defeating Baylor, 92-74, last season (1/16/12).

• KU shot 60 percent from the field in the second half (18-for-30), marking the third time this year that the Jayhawks shot over 60 percent in a half.  The Jayhawks shot 64 percent in the first half versus Washington State and 62 percent against Oregon State in the first half.

• The Jayhawks set a new season high in field goals made with 34 (34-for-62).

• Having never trailed in five-straight games, Kansas has held a lead for its last 203 minutes, 51 seconds, going back to the 13:51 mark of the second half against Chattanooga (Nov. 15).

• During KU’s 25-8 run to start the game, the Jayhawks caused seven Buffalo turnovers while committing none in that span. Kansas converted that into a 13-0 points off turnover advantage by the 11:49 mark. The Jayhawks finished with a 26-17 edge in that category.

• Kansas did not commit its first turnover until the 7:27 mark, after Colorado already had eight. The Jayhawks turned the ball over twice in the first half – the fewest since recording zero turnovers in the second half against Towson (11/11/11).

• KU opened the second half on a 9-0 run and did not allow Colorado to score until the 16:21 mark.

• A jump shot from RS Freshman F Jamari Traylor gave Kansas a 74-34 lead, marking the second opponent to face a 40 or more point deficit this season (Washington State, 11/19).

• Kansas has had four players with double-digit points for three-straight games, a stretch KU hasn’t put together since the 2010-11 season (Games 23-25: at Nebraska, 2/5/11, vs. Missouri, 2/7/11, vs. Iowa State, 2/12/11)

• KU held Colorado to a season-low 54 points and 37 percent shooting (20-for-54).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• Senior F Kevin Young recorded back-to-back double-digit scoring performances for the first time at Kansas (16 vs. Colorado, 10 vs. Oregon State). His 16 points were a KU career-high (actual career-high, 27 points with Loyola Marymount).

• RS Freshman G Ben McLemore needed less than nine minutes (8:45) to reach the double-figure mark, when his pair of free throws at the 11:15 mark in the first half gave him 10 points. He finished with 24 points, leaving him a point shy of his career high.

• McLemore had 17 points by the end of the first half – Colorado had 22 total points in the opening frame.

• McLemore and Young answered a 5-0 run from Colorado (that cut the lead to 29-18) with a 9-0 rally of their own – stretching KU’s lead to 38-18, its first 20-point lead of the game. After the first media timeout – Colorado never got closer than 11 for the remainder of the game.

• Senior G Elijah Johnson passed former Jayhawk Paul Pierce (108) for 19^th all-time for three-point field goals made. Johnson now has 110 or his career. His 312 career three-point attempts passed former Jayhawk Aaron Miles (307) for 17^th all-time.

• Senior C Jeff Withey rejected five shots, giving him 45 for the season – more than doubling the Big 12’s second-place shot blocker (Cory Jefferson, Baylor; Cameron Ridley, Texas - tied, 21).

• Senior G Travis Releford tied his career-high with six assists.

• Releford’s 5-for-8 shooting performance pushes him to 70.5 shooting percentage (31-for-44) for a total of 83 points in his last five games.

• Freshman F Perry Ellis recorded his first block of the game at the 11:22 mark, snapping a three-game streak without one.

• Freshman G Tyler Self made his first appearance in Allen Fieldhouse at the 1:44 mark. His layup with two seconds remaining were his first as a Jayhawk – and gave KU 34 made field goals to set a new season high for field goals in a game.

• Withey now has 210 career block shots. He needs eight more to tie former Jayhawk Scot Pollard (218) for fifth all-time at Kansas.

• RS Freshman F Jamari Traylor recorded a block against the Buffaloes, giving him at least one in seven of eight games this season. He also became just the second Jayhawk to foul out of a game this season (Elijah Johnson vs. Southeast Missouri State, 11/9).