Kansas Hosts Michigan Saturday in an Early Tip

No. 1 Kansas (9-0) took a week off for exams but heads back to the hardwood hosting Big Ten Conference foe Michigan (5-4) Saturday at 11 a.m. Michigan as a team looked to be a potentially strong test for the Jayhawks before the year began.  However, after losing four of their last six, the youthful Michigan squad doesn't appear to have a single victory against a qualify opponent through 9 games of the season.  Oh, where have the days of the fab five gone.

		PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
	MICH	71.1	42.2	70.5	29.7	33.6	11.1	22.4	15.3	10.0	8.2	2.9	14.1
	KU	90.3	51.2	67.1	44.2	43.7	14.6	29.1	19.7	11.9	9.6	7.4	18.1
	MICH Opponents	63.9	44.0	65.1	30.3	37.1	12.0	25.1	14.3	15.6	5.2	3.3	18.1
	KU Opponents	57.7	34.3	65.9	28.7	33.7	13.7	20.0	11.1	16.7	5.8	3.2	20.0

Kansas posted a 90-65 win against La Salle in the M&I Bank Kansas City Shootout on Dec. 12 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Freshman Xavier Henry had a career-high 31 points in the game and was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second-straight week for his efforts.

Kansas averages 90.3 points per game, is giving up 57.7 points and ranks in the top five nationally with a +32.7 scoring margin. KU is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, while its opponents are shooting 34.3 percent. Only one KU opponent, Radford, has shot above 40 percent against the Jayhawks this season.

Xavier Henry leads the team with an 18 point scoring average. He is making 53.3 percent of his shots from three-point range and leads KU with 24 threes and 16 steals.

Senior guard Sherron Collins scores 13.3 points per game and he has made 19 three pointers.  Collins leads the team with 40 assists, which are five ahead of sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor (7.3 ppg). Taylor has 14 steals, two ahead of Collins (12).

Junior center Cole Aldrich leads the team in rebounds with 9.6 per game. He also leads KU and the Big 12 in blocked shots with 3.6 per outing.  Sophomore forward Marcus Morris is a starter who is scoring 9.8 points and pulling down 5.3 rebounds per game.

Sophomore forward Markieff Morris is coming off the bench to score 8.9 points per game. Markieff, who recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against La Salle on Dec. 12, is second on the team with his 6.2 rebound average and leads KU with a 69.8 percent field goal shooting.

Junior guard Tyrel Reed scores 4.8 points per outing and he has 10 three-pointers this season. Freshman guard Elijah Johnson (4.3 ppg) has started the last two games.

Located in Ann Arbor, Mich., and coached by John Beilein, Michigan has won two of its last three games and is 5-4 on the season following its 75-64 win against Detroit on Dec. 13 in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines average 71.1 points and give up 63.9 per game for a +7.2 scoring margin. U-M averages 8.2 steals per game and forces 15.6 turnovers per contest.

Michigan is one of the youngest teams in America with 12 players redshirt sophomores or younger. Junior guard Manny Harris leads the team with 22.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Harris also has a team-high 18 steals and 45 assists. He is tied for the team lead with 13 three pointers along with sophomore guard Laval Lucas-Perry, who is scoring 7.4 points per game.

Senior forward DeShawn Sims is second on the team in scoring at 15.6 points per contest and he is just behind Harris in rebounds with a 7.4 average. Sophomore guard Zack Novak and freshman guard Darius Morris round out the starters. Novak scores 6.3 points per game, while Morris averages 4.8 ppg.

Senior forward Zack Gibson (6.0 ppg) and sophomore guard Stu Douglass (4.7 ppg) each average more than 24
minutes per game for the Wolverines.

Michigan coach Jim Beilein is 36-40 in his third season at Michigan and 587-358 in his 32nd season overall. Beilein's 587 career victories place him in the top 20 in victories among active Division I head coaches. He has compiled 27 winning seasons and put together 15 campaigns of 20-wins or more. Beilein is the only active coach in the collegiate ranks to record a 20-win season at four different levels -- junior college, NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I. During the 2008-09 season, Beilein's second in Ann Arbor, Michigan posted a 21-14 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 seasons, falling in the second round. Michigan's 21 victories during the 2008-09 campaign tied a school record for the largest single-season turnaround in program history.

John Beilein
Team	Years	Record
Michigan	2007-2010	36-39 (48.0%)
West Virginia	2002-2007	104-60 (63.4%)
Richmond	1997-2002	100-53 (65.4%)
Canisius	1992-1997	89-62 (58.9%)
Le Moyne	1983-1992	163-94 (63.4%)
Nazareth	1982-1983	20-6 (76.9%)

Michigan has won all five meetings with Kansas in men's basketball. This is a rarity for Kansas - the third winningest program in NCAA Division I.  Of teams with multiple games played against Kansas, Bradley (2-0) and UTEP (3-0) are the only teams that have undefeated records versus KU, damn Bradley. The Kansas-Michigan series dates back to 1949 and runs through 1992. Two of the matchups have been on neutral floors with a 49-47 Michigan win in 1949 in Kansas City and the last meeting, an 86-74 Michigan victory on Dec. 30, 1992, at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. This will be the second meeting between the schools in Allen Fieldhouse as Michigan defeated Kansas 64-52 during the 1980-81 season.

• Kansas freshman guard Xavier Henry scored 31 points to set a career high. The last Jayhawk to score 30-plus points was Sherron Collins, who scored 32 against North Dakota State last season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• X. Henry also set career highs in field goals (10), free throws made (seven) and free throws attempted (nine). His totals were also the most by a Jayhawk this season.
• Markieff Morris recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Morris' 12 boards were his best output since his Jayhawk debut. Markieff Morris' four blocked shots were also a career high.
• Junior center Cole Aldrich scored a season-high 19 points. He also set a season high in field goals (eight) and had five blocked shots to match a season high.  Aldrich's five blocked shots gave him 160 for his career and moved him into sixth place all-time at KU, behind Danny Manning (200).
• Kansas held La Salle to 36.1 percent shooting from the field, marking the 83rd-straight opponent the Jayhawks have held under 50 percent. KU has also held eight of its nine opponents this season under 40 percent.
  

• Sherron Collins is 27 points from cracking the KU Top 20 career scoring list. Collins is 21st with 1,450 career points. Collins' former teammate Brandon Rush (2006-08) is at No. 20 with 1,477 points.
• Collins is six assists from cracking the KU Top 10 all-time list. Collins is No. 11 with 431 career assists, while former KU great and current Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon is No. 10 with 437 assists from 1984-87.
• Cole Aldrich is four rebounds from moving into 25th on the Kansas career rebound list. Aldrich has 592 all-time boards. David Magley (1979-82) is 25th at 596 and Kelly Knight (1980-84) is 24th at 601.
• Through only nine games, Xavier Henry already ranks tied for 11th on the KU freshman list for three point field goals made with 24. Kirk Hinrich (2000) is 10th with 25, while Jacque Vaughn (1994) is ninth with 28.
• Redshirt junior guard Brady Morningstar and redshirt freshman center Jeff Withey are both eligible to play against Michigan. Morningstar was suspended for the first semester for breaking team rules. He started 34 of 35 games last season and averaged 30.3 minutes per game with a 6.5 scoring average. Withey, who returned to practice full-time Dec. 7 from a knee injury, transferred to Kansas from Arizona in December 2008 and becomes academically eligible.

• Kansas remains one of 11 undefeated teams in NCAA Division I (Dec. 13). Others include Georgetown, Kentucky, Missouri State, New Mexico, Purdue, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
• Seven of Kansas' nine victories this season have been by 25 or more points with six of those by 30 points or more.
• Entering the week, Kansas led the nation in scoring margin at +32.7. The Jayhawks also ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense (third at 90.3), field goal percentage (seventh at 51.2), field goal percentage defense (second at 34.3), three-point field goal percentage (fifth at 44.2), assists (fourth at 19.7), assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth at 1.65) and blocked shots (seventh at 7.4).
• Kansas forces 16.7 turnovers per game and averages 21.3 points off turnovers per game.

			GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
	#3	M. Harris	9	9	35.778	22.222	46.8	76.0	28.9	8.444	3.222	5.222	5.0	2.333	2.0	0.111	1.111
	#34	D. Sims	9	9	30.667	15.556	47.0	75.0	37.5	7.444	3.0	4.444	1.0	1.0	1.222	0.889	1.889
	#0	Z. Novak	8	8	31.0	6.25	40.0	55.6	28.1	4.375	0.875	3.5	1.5	0.5	1.5	0.5	2.25
	#31	L. Lucas-Perry	9	9	24.667	7.444	38.9	57.1	36.1	2.111	0.667	1.444	1.667	1.556	0.889	0.111	2.444
	#4	D. Morris	9	9	24.222	4.778	42.1	75.0	20.0	1.889	0.222	1.667	2.222	2.222	0.444	0.111	1.778
	#1	S. Douglass	9	0	24.0	4.667	26.4	71.4	23.1	1.444	0.222	1.222	2.556	0.778	1.0	0.0	0.889
	#32	Z. Gibson	9	1	12.333	6.0	56.8	62.5	22.2	2.667	1.444	1.222	0.222	0.444	0.444	0.889	1.667
	#12	A. Wright	9	0	9.111	1.889	26.1	75.0	16.7	1.444	0.667	0.778	0.889	0.333	0.222	0.111	0.889
			GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
	#4	S. Collins	9	9	29.667	13.333	43.8	77.3	43.2	2.0	0.222	1.778	4.444	1.556	1.333	0.0	1.333
	#1	X. Henry	9	9	27.0	18.0	55.6	82.4	53.3	4.111	0.889	3.222	1.778	2.0	1.778	0.778	2.0
	#45	C. Aldrich	9	9	25.889	12.0	56.3	70.0	0.0	9.556	3.333	6.222	1.222	1.444	0.667	3.556	2.111
		T. Taylor	9	7	23.556	7.333	40.0	68.4	31.2	2.778	0.667	2.111	3.889	2.0	1.556	0.222	1.778
	#22	M. Morris	9	7	22.444	9.778	55.4	67.6	33.3	5.333	2.444	2.889	1.444	1.333	1.111	0.444	2.556
	#21	M. Morris	9	2	16.778	8.889	69.8	66.7	66.7	6.222	2.111	4.111	1.222	0.889	0.778	1.0	1.889
	#14	T. Reed	9	0	16.111	4.778	41.7	75.0	35.7	1.444	0.111	1.333	1.556	0.333	0.889	0.111	1.0
	#15	E. Johnson	9	2	12.222	4.333	51.7	55.6	36.4	2.111	0.889	1.222	2.667	1.111	0.667	0.0	1.889