Missouri is riding high after its 77-74 win against Kansas State
Saturday. The Tigers have won two of their last three games entering
the KU contest.
Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas improved to 25-5 in games following
a loss as the Jayhawks won at Colorado Saturday following its lone loss
of the season at No. 22/24 Kansas State Jan. 30. Kansas leads the Big
12 and ranks in the top five nationally in scoring margin at +22.8
points per outing (82.5 to 59.7). The Jayhawks are 35-2 in their last
37 games, including a 21-1 mark in 2007-08. Sophomore forward Darrell Arthur leads the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game –
16th in the Big 12 – and 37 blocked shots. He is second on
the team with 5.8 rebounds per contest (15th in the league). Forward
Darnell Jackson is having a solid senior season as he leads the Big 12,
and ranks in the top five nationally, in field goal percentage at 65.9
percent to complement his 12.8 points per game. He leads KU in
rebounding with 7.0 boards per contest which are eighth in the
conference. Junior guard Brandon Rush has stepped up his game in Big 12
play with a team-best 15.1 scoring average. He averages 12.3 points and
5.1 rebounds per game overall and leads the Big 12 in three-point field
goal percentage at 43 percent with his team-high 40 treys. Junior guard
Mario Chalmers leads the Big 12 in steals at 2.57 per game and in
assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.89. He is scoring 12 points per game and
has a team-best 101 assists. Senior guard Russell Robinson (6.9 ppg)
rounds out the starters. He is second on the team in assists with 98
and steals with 49. Senior center Sasha Kaun (7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg) leads
the team in field goal percentage at 67 percent. Off the bench,
sophomore guard Sherron Collins scores 9.2 points per game, while
senior guard Rodrick Stewart (3.8 ppg) and freshman center Cole Aldrich
(2.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg) round out the KU regulars.
About Missouri
Missouri has come up with big victories despite its 13-9 (3-4 Big 12)
record. The Tigers have defeated conference foes Texas and Kansas State
when both were nationally ranked, including a 77-74 win against the
Wildcats Saturday. With the exception of MU's the 97-84 win against
Texas on Jan. 12, every other Missouri league game has been decided by
eight points or less with the last three outings being decided by four
points or less. MU is 1-5 on the road this season. With senior guard
Stefhon Hannah (14.7 ppg) out due to injury, junior forward DeMarre Carroll leads the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game –
13th in the Big 12, rebounding at 7.6 rpg – sixth in the
league and steals with 31. Junior forward Leo Lyons is next in scoring
at 11.8 points per game and he is tied with Carroll for the team lead
with 15 blocked shots. He is second on the team with 4.3 rebounds per
outing. Sophomore guard Keon Lawrence is scoring 9.8 points per game
and has 53 assists. Junior guard Matt Lawrence is at 9.3 ppg and leads
MU with 50 three pointers. Freshman guard J.T. Tiller is coming off a
20-point performance against Kansas State and he is scoring 6.6 points
per contest. Senior Vaidatos Volkus has started the last two games and
is scoring 2.5 ppg. Other non-regulars who have seen increased playing
time as of late include senior forward Marshall Brown (4.8 ppg) and
freshman forward Justin Safford (1.6 ppg, yet played 21 minutes against
KSU). Seniors Darryl Butterfield (4.6 ppg) and Jason Horton (3.7 ppg,
team-high 58 assists) have missed the last two contests.
The Series
Kansas leads the all-time series with Missouri, 165-93, including a
76-70 win in Columbia on Jan. 19. KU has won four straight, eight of
the last 10 and 13 of the past 16 match-ups with MU. Last season's
sweep of MU was the fourth KU regular-season sweep of MU since 2000.
The teams split the two previous series. Kansas is 84-33 against
Missouri in games played in Lawrence, including a 37-14 advantage in
Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas has won the last eight meetings with Missouri
in Lawrence, with the last MU win in 1999 (71-63), under then-head
coach Norm Stewart. Since the inception of the Big 12, KU holds an 18-8
series advantage against Missouri - 16-7 in regular-season play and 2-1
in the conference championship. Monday’s game will mark the
37th KU-MU game with one or both of the teams ranked. The Jayhawks lost
the first-ever meeting with Missouri, 34-31, on March 11, 1907, in
Lawrence. Earlier this season, Mario Chalmers scored 18 points and made
two key defensive plays in the final minutes to lead KU to a 76-70 win
at Missouri. Jayhawk senior Darnell Jackson and junior Brandon Rush
each scored 13 points, while sophomore Darrell Arthur added 10 in the
victory. Arthur and Jackson each pulled down nine rebounds to lead KU.
Team Notables
- The combined record of the Kansas men’s
basketball and football teams is 33-2 (94.3 winning percentage).
- Kansas is 69-8 (90.8 percent) in its last 77 games. The
Jayhawks are 21-1 on the season and have won 35 of their last 37 and 38
of their last 41 contests.
- Kansas is 15-0 at home this season, including the Ohio
contest at the Sprint Center, and has won 19 straight home games. The
19-game streak ranks sixth nationally.
- Kansas has won nine of its last 10 Big 12 road games and is
11-2 in its last 12 league road contests.
- Kansas' bigs score 44 percent of KU's points, while its
guards score 56 percent. KU's scoring list goes – big, big,
guard, guard, guard, big, guard, guard.
- KU has shot better than 50 percent in 17 of 22 contests
this season, including 11 of its last 14 contests. Last year, KU shot
better than 50 percent in 18 of 38 contests.
- KU has outshot 21 of 22 opponents this season –
USC (Dec. 2) shot better than KU.
- Kansas leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (82.5), scoring
margin (+22.8), field goal percentage (51.5), three-point field goal
percentage (39.3), field goal percentage defense (37.6), assists
(19.23), blocked shots (6.45), steals (10.00) and assist-to-turnover
ratio (1.46).
- Kansas ranks ninth in the Big 12 in free throw percentage
at 67.3 for all games. In league games, the Jayhawks are third in the
league with a 74.2 free throw percentage.
- The Jayhawks have held 21 of 22 opponents to under 50
percent shooting and 93 of its last 96 opponents.
- Junior guard Brandon Rush leads Kansas in scoring in Big 12
contests at 15.1 ppg, yet Rush has led the Jayhawks in scoring only
once in conference play - 19 points at Nebraska in the league opener
(Jan. 12).
- Through 22 games, Kansas has had seven different leading
scorers, six different players lead the team in rebounding, five
different in assists, eight different in steals and seven different in
blocked shots (these includes ties). KU has had three different leading
scorers in its last three games.
- Four Jayhawks have scored 20-plus points this season
– Sherron Collins (22 vs. ULM), Darnell Jackson (21 vs. ULM,
20 vs. Yale, 25 at Boston College, 21 vs. Iowa State), Mario Chalmers
(23 vs. UMKC, 20 at USC) and Darrell Arthur (20 vs. Arizona, 21 at
Boston College).
- On the season, the Jayhawk bench has outscored its
opponents 589-386 for a 26.8 to 17.5 (+9.3) advantage per game.
- Kansas redshirt senior Jeremy Case graduated last spring.
KU’s other four seniors - Sasha Kaun, Darnell Jackson,
Russell Robinson and Rodrick Stewart - are on pace to graduate this
spring. A computer science major, Kaun has been nominated for Academic
All-American each of the last three seasons and will be a three-time
Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2008.
Player Notables
Senior DARNELL JACKSON (#32) was a career-best 10-for-10 from the free
throw line in scoring 18 points at Colorado. Jackson has scored 17 or
more points in three of seven Big 12 outings. Jackson leads the Big 12
and ranks in the top five nationally in field goal percentage at 65.9
percent. For his efforts at Boston College (Jan. 5, 25 points, nine
rebounds), he was named the co-Big 12 Player of the Week. Besides
leading the league in field goal percentage, Jackson ranks 18th in
scoring at 12.8 and he is eighth in rebounds at 7.0 rpg.
Junior BRANDON RUSH (#25) leads KU in scoring in Big 12 games with 15.1
points per outing as he is scoring 12.3 ppg on the season. Rush is
scoring 15.7 points per game in his last three, including 15 at Kansas
State Wednesday and 15 at Colorado Saturday. He has made 13
three-pointers in his last four games and leads the Big 12 in
three-point percentage at 43 percent. On the boards he is averaging 7.1
in Big 12 play and 5.1 on the year. He has pulled down six or more
rebounds in all but one league contest. Besides leading the conference
in three-point field goal percentage, Rush is 20th in rebounding at 5.1
and seventh in three-pointers made at 2.0.
Junior MARIO CHALMERS (#15) had six assists, two blocked shots and
three steals at Colorado to go along with eight points and four
rebounds. His 19 points at Kansas State (Jan. 30) were his most in Big
12 play. He has 40 assists and nine turnovers in his last eight games.
Chalmers has three or more steals in 14 games this season. Chalmers
leads the Big 12 in steals with 2.57 per game and assist-to-turnover
ratio at 2.89. He is third in assists at 4.81 and tied for 13th in
three-point field goals made at 1.71 in the league.
Sophomore DARRELL ARTHUR (#00) has five blocked shots in his last two
games – 3 at Kansas State, 2 at Colorado. He has 11 games
with multiple blocked shots this season, including four in conference
action. Arthur’s nine points at CU snapped a five-game
double-digit scoring run. He has pulled down seven or more rebounds in
two of his last three games and nine times this season. Arthur leads KU
in scoring at 13.3 ppg, which ranks 16th in the Big 12. Also in the
league, he is 15th in rebounding at 5.8, sixth in field goal percentage
at 53.2 amd fourth in blocked shots a 1.68.
Senior RUSSELL ROBINSON’s (#3) four assists at Colorado
marked the 12th time this season he has dished out four dimes or more.
He has at least one steal in all but three games this season and
multiple steals in 16 contests, including two at Kansas State. His 217
career steals are fifth all-time at KU. Robinson is fourth in the Big
12 in assists at 4.45, fourth in steals at 2.23 and fifth in
assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.04.
Sophomore SHERRON COLLINS (#4) is scoring 10.3 points in his last three
games compared to 6.3 in his previous four outings. At Colorado he was
a perfect 4-for-4, including 1-for-1 from three-point range, in scoring
nine points. He has scored in double figures in two of his last three
games and six times this season. He has made at least one three-pointer
in 12 of 16 games played in and has multiple treys in six games.
Collins has a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, which would rank 14th in
the Big 12 (note: he has played in 72.7 percent of KU’s
games). Collins missed six games (games 3-8) due to injury.
Senior SASHA KAUN’s (#24) 12 points at Colorado were his most
in Big 12 play. He has at least one blocked shot in each of his last
four games and multiple blocks in nine contests. He leads KU in field
goal percentage at 67 percent and is 5-for-6 from the field in his last
two games. After starting the year 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) from the
free throw line, Kaun is 32-for-48 (66.7 percent) in his last 16 games,
including 4-for-5 at Colorado. Kaun is fifth in the Big 12 in blocked
shots with 1.36 per game.
Freshman COLE ALDRICH (#45) has at least one blocked shot in three of
his last four games. In his last six outings, he has eight blocked
shots. He has pulled down four or more rebounds in nine games. He is
tied for 13th in the Big 12 in blocked shots with a 1.09 average.
12 Conference in 1996-97, the Jayhawks are 151-32 in league play. Texas
is next at 127-55.
Up Next
Kansas plays host to Baylor Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. on Jayhawk TV.
The Jayhawks have won six-straight against the Bears. That weekend,
Kansas Athletics will honor the KU Hall of Fame members, recent and
past, with a new display in the Booth Family Hall of Athletics. Two
days later, KU will then make a trip to Austin to take on Texas for the
Feb. 11 ESPN Big Monday at 8 p.m. (Central) before returning home to
face Colorado on Feb. 16 at 12:45 p.m. The Colorado contest will
celebrate 110 years of Kansas men’s basketball, including the
20-year reunion of the 1988 NCAA Championship.
|