LAWRENCE, Kan. (KUAthletics.com) – No. 23/25 Kansas (18-9, 9-7 Big 12) hits the road for an ESPN Big Monday contest at Colorado (11-16, 2-14 Big 12), Feb. 24. The game from the CU Events Center is set for 10 p.m. (Central).
Kansas is coming off a 96-64 win against Oklahoma State on Feb. 22. Colorado has won two of its last three games after its 76-74 win against Baylor on Feb. 22.
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle and CU assistant coach Danny Manning are Kansas graduates and former KU men’s basketball teammates. Boyle played at KU from 1982-85, while Manning played from 1985-88. The 1988 national player of the year, Manning is Kansas’ all-time leading scorer with 2,951 points and rebounder with 1,187 boards.
KU is 80-23 all-time on Big Monday (49-1 at home and 31-23 on the road), including 61-18 under coach Bill Self (38-0 at home and 23-18 on the road).
Kansas leads the all-time series with Colorado, 125-40. KU has won the last two, and 21 of the last 22 meetings beginning on Jan. 22, 2003.
With the Oklahoma State win on Feb. 22, Kansas is 130-22 (85.5%) following a loss in the Bill Self era, including 7-2 this season.
Kansas is No. 19 in the NET report by the NCAA through games of Feb. 22. To show the strength of the Big 12, the No. 19 rank is fifth in the Big 12 behind No. 3 Houston, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 8 Iowa State and No. 9 Arizona. KU’s strength of schedule is No. 18 nationally, which is fifth in the league.
Kansas leads the Big 12 in assists per game (17.9, 7th nationally) and blocked shots per game (4.9, 22nd nationally). KU is second in the league in FG Pct. Defense (39.0%, 13th nationally), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54, 23rd nationally) and 3FG Pct. Defense (29.9%, 18th nationally).
Graduate C Hunter Dickinson has two double-doubles in his last two games after his 16 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes against Oklahoma State (2/22). Dickinson leads Kansas in scoring at 16.3 ppg which ranks fifth in the Big 12. Dickinson also leads KU in rebounding at 9.7 rpg, which is second in the Big 12 and is 16th nationally. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week, Dickinson is second in the Big 12 in double-doubles (11), which is 18th nationally. Dickinson is second on the team 38 blocked shots and is also second on the team with 26 steals.
Senior G Zeke Mayo is next in scoring at 14.7 points per contest and he leads Kansas with 69 threes made after his five versus OSU (2/22). His 40.6 three-point field goal percentage is second in the Big 12. A two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, Mayo is second on the team with 81 assists and pulls down 4.9 rebounds per contest.
Graduate G Dajuan Harris Jr. has 51 assists in his last eight games and is averaging 9.7 points per game. At Baylor (2/1), Harris moved into second on the Big 12 career assists list, currently at 825, which second on the KU career list. Harris is second in the conference in assists per game at 5.7, which is 30th nationally and is third in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.24, which is 10th nationally. Harris is coming off a career-high tying six steals at OSU (2/22), all of which he recorded in the first half of the contest. Harris is now No. 4 on Kansas’ all-time steals list with 254 after passing Danny Manning (250 steals).
Senior F KJ Adams is a starter who is scoring 8.0 points per game. Adams pulls down 4.5 rebounds per game and has 57 assists, 19 blocked shots and 22 steals.
Freshman F Flory Bidunga pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds against Oklahoma State (2/22), the third-most rebounds in a single game by a Kansas freshman. He leads Kansas with 44 blocked shots and is second on the team with a 5.7 rebound average. Bidunga scores 6.5 points per game and is shooting 73.8 percent (76-for-103) from the field.
Junior G Rylan Griffen is second on the team with 35 threes made. He has started 13 games this season and is averaging 6.7 points per contest. Junior G AJ Storr has started four games and he is scoring 6.5 points per contest. Senior G David Coit made a season-high five threes against Oklahoma State (2/22). He has three starts and he is tied with Griffen with 35 threes made, which is second most on the team. Coit averages 5.0 points per game. Graduate G Shakeel Moore has started nine games and is averaging 3.8 points per contest.
UP NEXT
Kansas returns home to host No. 9/10 Texas Tech on Saturday, March 1. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse is set for 1 p.m. (Central) and the contest will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2.
Kansas leads the overall series with Texas Tech, 42-8, including 22-1 in Lawrence meetings, 21-1 in Allen Fieldhouse. Overall, Kansas has won four of the last five meetings with Texas Tech.
