American at No. 6 Kansas

•  WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence

•  TV/RADIO: KSMO (Ch.62); KCSP (610 AM)

•  ABOUT AMERICAN (4-8): American, a member of the Patriot League, enters Saturday on a three-game skid, suffering losses to Columbia, Hampton and Georgetown. … KU is another bad matchup for the Eagles, who are averaging just 55.1 points per game this season. … American last played inside Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 6, 1988, losing 90-69 to the eventual NCAA champions. … American coach Jeff Jones spent eight seasons at Virginia, where he notched a victory over Kansas in the 1995 Sweet 16 at Kemper Arena.

•  ABOUT KANSAS (10-1): If Kansas is looking for areas of growth, sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe provided one with a promising performance in KU’s victory over Ohio State. Tharpe, the first guard off the bench, had five points, three assists and zero turnovers in 15 minutes. If Tharpe can keep improving, it would give KU a reliable second ballhandler behind starting point guard Elijah Johnson. “I know he got that in him,” Johnson said. “It’s just about him doing it. If he continue to do that, I think we’re gonna be a way better team.” … The Jayhawks are 97-1 in their last 98 games at Allen Fieldhouse.

•  BOTTOM LINE: This game sits as a nice buffer between KU’s victory at Ohio State and next week’s home game with Temple. The Jayhawks can shake off the holiday rust and score an easy victory before hunkering down for a long week of practice.