Preview: Kansas heads to nation’s capital for Big East showdown

December 10, 2014 Rock Chalk Blog

On the Road Again
Kansas men’s basketball hits the road for a non-conference game at Georgetown (5-2) Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 6 p.m. (Central) at the Verizon Center on Fox Sports 1. Kansas is 6-1 on the season and the Georgetown contest will be KU’s fifth game away from Allen Fieldhouse but its first true road game. Kansas is coming off a 71-65 come-from-behind victory against Florida in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Georgetown ended a two-game losing skid with a 78-46 win versus Towson on Dec. 7.

About Kansas
No. 11/11 Kansas (6-1) won its fifth-straight game against Florida on Dec. 5. The Jayhawks average 69.4 points per game and have a +6.7 scoring margin. Kansas has outrebounded six of seven opponents this season and has a +7.9 rebound margin. KU averages 12.0 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.4 blocked shots per game. KU has nine players who average 10 or more minutes per game.

Junior F Perry Ellis, who was the Big 12 Player of the Week and CBSSports.com National Player of the Week for Dec. 1, leads KU with 14.6 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per contest. Ellis has two double-doubles this season and has scored 17 or more points in four of his last five games. Sophomore G Frank Mason III leads Kansas with 24 assists and nine steals through seven games. He is scoring 10.1 points per contest and pulls down 4.1 rebounds. Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr., is just behind Mason with 23 assists to complement his 9.6 scoring average. He is coming off a season-high 21 points against Florida (12/5). Selden is tied with Mason having made seven three-pointers which is second-most on the team. Rounding out the KU starters are freshman G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and sophomore F Landen Lucas. Mykhailiuk has made a team-high eight three-pointers and scores 5.6 points per game, while Lucas is averaging 3.7 points and 4.1 rebounds, which includes a career-high six boards against Florida (12/5).

Freshman F Cliff Alexander is coming off his first double-double as a Jayhawk with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Florida. He is third on the team in scoring at 10.0 ppg, second in rebounding at 6.6 rpg and is tied for the team-high with nine blocked shots. Freshman G Devonte’ Graham is second on the team with six steals. Graham is scoring 5.8 points per game. Sophomore G Brannen Greene is tied with Mason and Selden with seven three-pointers made. Greene scores 4.6 points per contest. Junior F Jamari Traylor is tied with Alexander with nine blocked shots which complements his 3.3 scoring and 3.9 rebounding averages. On Dec. 8, head coach Bill Self announced Traylor will not play against Georgetown due an off-the-court issue. Freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., is another regular who is scoring 2.1 points per outing. Ellis, Selden, Alexander and Oubre are on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list as KU is one of only two schools, Kentucky being the other, to have four on the list.

About Georgetown
Located in Washington, D.C., with an enrollment of 15,318, Georgetown is 5-2 on the season after its 78-46 win against Towson (12/7). The Hoyas are coached by John Thompson III who is 232-105 in his 11th season at Georgetown and 300-147 in his 15th season overall. Georgetown, who is 4-0 at home in the Verizon Center this season, averages 72.6 points per game and is outscoring opponents by 10.7 points. GU is making 50.1 percent from the field and averages 5.1 three-pointers made per game. GU averages 35.9 rebounds per contest with a +5.0 rebound margin and also averages 7.4 steals and 4.7 blocked shots per contest.

Junior G D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera leads Georgetown in scoring at 14.4 points per game, three-pointers made with 10, assists with 23 and steals with nine. He also has made a team-high 25 free throws and is shooting 89.3 percent from the charity stripe. Senior C Joshua Smith is tied with senior F Mikael Hopkins for the team lead with 6.9 rebounds per game. Both are starters with Smith, averaging 12.7 points per game and Hopkins, 5.0 ppg. Hopkins has a team-best 13 blocked shots. Rounding out the GU starters are freshman F L.J. Peak, who scores 8.6 points per game and senior G Jabril Trawick, who averages 7.4 points and is second on the team with 16 assists.

Freshman F Paul White is second on the GU team with five three-pointers made and has dished out eight assists. White scores 7.3 points per game. Senior F Aaron Bowen has eight steals to complement his 6.6 scoring average. Other key contributors include freshman F Isaac Copeland (5.4 ppg, four three-pointers), freshman G Tre Campbell (2.4 ppg) and sophomore F Reggie Cameron (1.9 ppg).

The Series
Kansas leads the series with Georgetown 2-1. Two of the three meetings between the national powers have been at neutral venues. Last year, Kansas defeated Georgetown, 86-64, in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 21. No current Jayhawks scored in double figures for the game. Georgetown won the first meeting 70-57 on March 19, 1987, in the Sweet 16 of the Southeast Region NCAA Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. KU won the second meeting, 67-63, in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 21, 2011.

What’s Trending

In Kansas’ five-game winning streak, the Jayhawks have outscored opponents by 13.8 points per game and have outrebounded foes by 9.8 boards. Also in that span, KU has averaged 13.8 assists and has shot 46.9 percent from the field.
Kansas has shot 72 percent or better from the free throw line in four of its last five games. Included was a season-best 84.4 percent (27-32) against Florida (12/5).
Kansas has outrebounded six of seven opponents this season and has a +11.8 rebound margin in its last four games.
Sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr.’s 21 points against Florida (12/5) were a season high and the fourth time in his KU career he has scored 20 or more points. Selden was 0-for-10 versus Michigan State (11/30) and 9-for-15 (60.0 percent) against Florida (12/5).
Freshman F Cliff Alexander was 8-for-8 from the free throw line in recording his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Florida (12/5). Alexander has two games with multiple blocked shots and has at least one swat in five of seven outings this season.
Sophomore G Frank Mason III has scored in double figures in each of his last four games and five of seven contests in 2014-15. Mason is shooting 55.6 percent from the field in his last three games.
Junior F Perry Ellis is pulling down 9.0 rebounds in his last three games. He has scored 17 or more points in four of his last five contests.
Freshman G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has made at least one three-pointer in four of his last five games.
Sophomore F Landen Lucas pulled down a career-high six rebounds against Florida (12/5). Lucas is shooting 64.7 percent from the field for the season, including 4-for-5 (80.0 percent) in his last two games.

In the Polls
In the Dec. 8 national polls, Kansas men’s basketball is ranked No. 10 in both the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches’ polls. The Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the last 109 Associated Press polls dating back to the 2008-09 season, including in the top five 50 times. In the coaches’ poll, the Jayhawks have been ranked in each of the past 115 polls and in the top five on 53 occasions.

Kansas Men’s Hoops to Holst Holiday Clinic Dec. 28
Kansas men’s basketball program will hold its annual Men’s Basketball Holiday Clinic for boys and girls ages first through sixth grade on Sunday, Dec. 28, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., in Allen Fieldhouse. The annual clinic, hosted by current KU players, coaches and staff, will include fundamental instruction, an official camp T-shirt, a Junior Jayhawk basketball and one general admission ticket to KU’s Dec. 30 home game against Kent State. Additionally, there will be an autograph session with the current KU team and coaches following the clinic.

The cost of the clinic is $85 and pre-registration must be done online at www.billselfbasketballcamp.com. No walk-up registration will be taken on the date of the clinic. Families with a child attending the clinic can purchase a maximum of two additional Kent State tickets at check-in on Dec. 28 ($50/per ticket). These can be purchased only at check-in (cash or credit card) and will not be available to be purchased online. Check-in begins at 11 a.m., and lasts until 11:50 a.m., in the south end of Allen Fieldhouse. Parents are welcome to watch and take pictures from the second level of Allen Fieldhouse during the clinic.

Up Next
On Saturday, Dec. 13, KU will head to Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, to host No. 13/14 Utah in the Kansas City Shootout. The game will start at 2:15 p.m., and be televised on ESPN. KU will then take a week off for final exams before hosting Lafayette on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 2 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.