Jan 25, 2020

🏀 GAME PREVIEW: vs. Tennessee

Posted Jan 25, 2020 1:59 PM

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 3 Kansas (15-3, 5-1 Big 12) will host the 300th-straight sellout in Allen Fieldhouse when the Tennessee Volunteers (12-6, 4-2 SEC) come to Lawrence for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 25. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. (CT) on ESPN. Dan Shulman (play-by-play, Jay Bilas (analyst) and Holly Rowe (reporter) will call the action.

TIPOFF

  1. The Kansas-Tennessee contest will be the 300th-consecutive sellout in Allen Fieldhouse, a streak which started Dec. 4, 2001.
  2. Saturday’s game will be the site of ESPN College GameDay. It marks the 18th time KU has been a part of a College GameDay during the regular season. KU is 11-6 all-time when it is one of the two teams featured on GameDay.
  3. Kansas is 4-2 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which began in 2013. The Big 12 is 4-1-1 against the SEC in the Challenge winning in 2013-14, ‘14-15, ‘15-16 and ’18-19. It was tied in ‘16-17, and the SEC claimed the challenge in 2017-18.
  4. Both teams’ coaching staffs Saturday will be participating in the annual NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week, for the Jan. 25 contest. In this, coaching staffs across the nation will wear sneakers with their suits at games to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.
  5. Through five games in Big 12 play, Kansas (15-3) sits alone in second place at 5-1 in league standings, one game behind Baylor (6-0). West Virginia (4-2) and TCU (4-2) are one game behind Kansas.
  6. KU leads the series with Tennessee, 3-1, including a 1-0 record in Lawrence. The first meeting was in Allen Fieldhouse, a KU 92-85 win on Jan. 3, 2009.
  7. KU is ranked No. 3 in the NET rankings as of Jan. 22 games. The Jayhawks’ strength of schedule is No. 1 nationally. Kansas is the only school with eight Quadrant 1 wins. KU is 8-3 against Q1. Seton Hall is next with six Q1 wins.
  8. KU is 8-1 at home this season, including 7-1 in Allen Fieldhouse. In the Bill Self era, the Jayhawks are 257-14 and have won as many conference regular-season titles (14) than lost games in the venue.
  9. Senior center Udoka Azubuike (12.7 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.5 bpg in Big 12 play) is one of three DI players averaging a double-double and 3+ blocks in conference games — and the only one in a major conference.
  10. Kansas is one of 15 teams nationally to have had six different players score 20 or more points in a game this season. Devon Dotson, Isaiah Moss, Udoka Azubuike, Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack and Christian Braun – have posted 20 or more points in a game this season.

The Saturday’s contest will be the 300th-consecutive sellout in Allen Fieldhouse, a streak which started Dec. 4, 2001, in a win against Wake Forest under head coach Roy Williams. The Wake Forest contest was the second game of the 2001-02 season, which followed Allen Fieldhouse’s last non-sellout, a 105-62 win over Pittsburg State on Nov. 28, 2001. That contest had an announced attendance of 16,100.

By the Numbers during the streak:7 – Kansas Big 12 Player of the Year selections8 – Undefeated seasons in Allen Fieldhouse9 – Big 12 Coach of the Year selections15 – Kansas Consensus All-Americans16 – Big 12 regular-season titles67 – Kansas All-Big 12 selections69 – Homecourt winning streak from 2007-11130.4 – Guinness Book of World Records decimal reading on Feb. 13, 2017 vs. West Virginia284-15 – KU’s home record during the streak (95.0%)6,626 – Days of the streak4.89 million – Fans that attended KU home games during the streak

sports