Feb 23, 2021

🏀 Jayhawks hit road at Texas in a battle of ranked foes

Posted Feb 23, 2021 11:44 AM

LAWRENCE, Kan. â€“ No. 17/19 Kansas (17-7, 11-5) takes a five-game winning streak into its battle at No. 14/16 Texas (13-6, 7-5) Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. (CT) on ESPN. KU’s winning streak is the second longest in the Big 12 and tied for the 20th longest nationally.

With its win against Texas Tech Saturday, Kansas has now won 11 league games for the 27th consecutive season. The current 27-year streak with 10-plus league wins is the longest active streak in the nation. KU has won 10 or more conference games 58 times overall. Texas is coming off an 84-82 loss to No. 13/15 West Virginia on Feb. 20.

In a series that dates back to 1938, Kansas leads Texas 35-10, including an 11-7 record in Austin, with all 18 meetings in the Erwin Center. KU has won 13 of the last 15 meetings, 18 of the last 21 battles and 21 of the last 25 matchups, starting with the 2008 Big 12 Championship title game. Before Texas’ 73-63 on Jan. 29, 2019, in Austin, KU posted 10-straight series wins beginning Feb. 22, 2014, with an 85-54 win in Allen Fieldhouse. Texas won the first matchup this season, 84-59, on Jan. 2, 2021, in Lawrence.

KANSAS NOTABLES

  1. Kansas is 11-5 in Big 12 play, which is the most wins in the league and two victories more than league-leading Baylor (9-0) and Oklahoma (9-4). With a 68.8 league winning percentage, KU is just behind Oklahoma (69.2%) in the Big 12 standings with both trailing Baylor.
  2. Texas will be the 12th Associated Press ranked team Kansas will play in 2020-21. KU is 6-5 versus ranked opponents this season and its 11 games versus ranked foes is second most in NCAA DI this season.
  3. Kansas is No. 14 in NET nationally in strength of schedule among the 357 teams listed. To show how tough the Big 12 is, Kansas’ NET is No. 16, which is fourth in the conference.
  4. Kansas’ 12 Quadrant 1 games played in 2020-21 are tied for the most in the Big 12 with West Virginia and Kansas State. KU is 5-7 versus Quadrant 1 teams, 3-0 vs. Q2, 3-0 vs. Q3, 5-0 vs. Q4.
  5. Five of Kansas’ seven losses have been to ranked teams and the other two losses are to teams that have moved into the top 25 of either the Associated Press or Coaches’ polls (at Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State).
  6. Redshirt-freshman Jalen Wilson is third in the Big 12 in rebounding at 8.0 rpg, which is first among league freshmen. His eight double-doubles are second overall in the Big 12. He has five DDs in the last six games.
  7. Junior David McCormack leads Kansas in Big 12 scoring at 14.0 ppg, just ahead of junior Ochai Agbaji’s 13.8 ppg. Agbaji leads in all games at 13.7 ppg, while McCormack is next at 13.0 ppg.
  8. Senior Marcus Garrett recorded his 900th career point Saturday. Garrett is 11 steals from moving into the KU all-time top 10 and 12 assists from the KU career top 20. On Jan. 28 he was named one of 15 to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, an honor he won in 2020. On Feb. 22 he was named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

UP NEXT

Kansas plays its last home game of the regular-season against No. 2/2 Baylor on Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Kansas leads the all-time series with Baylor, 33-7, including a 17-1 in games played in Lawrence, 16-1 in Allen Fieldhouse.