KU hits 15 threes and Self records 600th victory in 105-62 win over UMKC

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self, who credits his players for making possible the 600 victories attained during his 24-year career, heard from several of them via video following Tuesday night’s historic 105-62 win over UMKC at Allen Fieldhouse.

Standing next to senior Frank Mason, who tied a career high with 30 points (including a career-best six threes made in seven tries), Self stared skyward at the center scoreboard as former Jayhawks Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Sherron Collins, Perry Ellis, Mario Chalmers, Tyrel Reed, Aaron Miles, Cole Aldrich, Russell Robinson, Jamari Traylor and Darnell Jackson — plus select players from Tulsa, Illinois and Oral Roberts — congratulated him on milestone win No. 600.

“It was a great experience for me and the guys to be part of that,” said Mason, who handed Self a commemorative game ball after the playing of the video, with Self hoisting the ball high in the air.

The Jayhawks took the celebration to the locker room, where behind closed doors, “We hugged him,” said freshman Josh Jackson, who grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds to go with 19 points and five assists. “We tried to get him to cry. He was, ‘No, I’m not gonna cry,’ ” Jackson added with a laugh.

Self — who saw his team bury UMKC with 15 threes in 27 tries (the most threes ever made by a KU team in a game in Allen Fieldhouse, surpassing 14 against Long Beach State earlier this season as well as 14 vs. Texas Tech in 2008 and Tennessee Tech in 2009) — joked that he wasn’t close to shedding tears.

“All I’ve got to do is think how we shoot free throws. I don’t cry when I’m that mad,” Self said after a game in which the Jayhawks, 8-1, went 12 of 22 from the line.

He was joking.

Self actually was touched by the video and the reaction of the fans, who gave him a loud ovation and stayed to watch the postgame proceedings following the final horn of win No. 600.

“That was pretty nice to see all those men,” Self said of his ex-players in the tribute video. “So many guys have gone on to do good things with their lives. The basketball court played a big role in many of their lives. That was very nice. I certainly didn’t anticipate that. I was pretty moved watching those kids.”

On the court, he watched as the Jayhawks hit five more threes than UMKC, which went 10 of 26 from beyond the arc.

Devonté Graham tied a career high with six threes in eight tries and scored 18 points. KU finished one three shy of a school-record 16 treys set in 2005 at Baylor.

“I do think the basket, knock on wood, looks very large for two or three of our guys,” Self said. “Those were good shots. Devonté and Frank combined to shoot 15 threes. That’s a pretty high number. That’s not a ridiculous number. What’s ridiculous is you make 12 of 15. You don’t see guys shoot the ball like that often.”

Of Mason, who hit 11 of 14 shots overall, Self said: “He’s playing about as well as anybody. Thirty (points) in 31 minutes doesn’t mean anything to me. What means something is 30 on 14 shots. That’s hard to do when you don’t shoot free throws (he was 2 of 2 from the line). He’s playing about as well as anybody statistically in the country right now.

Self was impressed with Jackson, who hit 8 of 12 shots and had five assists and three turnovers in 28 minutes.

“I thought it was Josh’s best game since he’s been here. I thought he did everything,” Self said. “If guys could catch the ball he’d have eight or nine assists instead of the five he had.

“He rebounded the ball the best he has. And inside the zone he makes the game easier for everybody else,” Self added, noting that Jackson is almost to the point he’s as good as former Jayhawk Julian Wright at attacking a zone.

The win was No. 393 for Self against 84 losses in 14 seasons at KU.

“I had not thought about it,” Self said, when asked his final thoughts on hitting 600 wins. “In the big scheme of things it’s not a milestone because so many have gotten more than that. It’s a pretty significant number, knowing we’ve been a head coach 23  1/3 years … to have that number is pretty significant.

“What is significant to me more than anything is seeing those guys up on the videoboard. When you coach at a place like Kansas you should win a lot of games. That’s not as significant. To see those guys (on board) … that makes it special.”

Behind Mason and Graham, who each hit three threes in four tries in the first half, KU led UMKC 51-35 at halftime,

UMKC, which made 10 of 26 threes, came out firing from beyond the arc, hitting six of its first seven treys. Mason was 3 of 4 from three and scored 17 points in the first half, while Jackson had 11 points. Graham, like Mason, hit three threes and had nine points.

KU grabbed an early 13-3 lead, thanks to threes by Mason, Lagerald Vick and Graham. KU upped the lead to 22-11 and 38-24.

UMKC, 6-3, was led by LaVell Boyd, who scored 17 points.

KU, 8-1, will next meet Nebraska at 2:15 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Cornhuskers, 5-3, who snapped a three-game losing streak by beating South Dakota 73-61 on Saturday, play Creighton on Wednesday night in Lincoln.

If KU wins Saturday, it would mark the 750th all-time victory at Allen Fieldhouse. KU has lost 109 games in the building, which was dedicated in 1955.

KANSAS 105, UMKC 62

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .355, FT .727. Three-Point Goals: 10-26, .385 (I.Ross 3-4, Steward 2-3, Boyd 2-7, Newbill 1-1, Giles 1-2, Bishop 1-4, King 0-1, Leach 0-1, Leek 0-1, Robinson 0-1, B.Ross 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 3 (Giles 2, Tillman). Turnovers: 13 (Bishop 3, Boyd 3, Clark 3, King 2, Leek, Steward). Steals: 6 (Bishop 2, Clark, I.Ross, Leek, Robinson). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .565, FT .545. Three-Point Goals: 15-27, .556 (Mason 6-7, Graham 6-8, Mykhailiuk 2-7, Vick 1-1, Jackson 0-1, Self 0-1, Bragg 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 7 (Azubuike 2, Vick 2, Bragg, Jackson, Lightfoot). Turnovers: 12 (Jackson 3, Azubuike 2, Mykhailiuk 2, Bragg, Graham, Lucas, Self, Vick). Steals: 7 (Mason 2, Vick 2, Coleby, Graham, Jackson). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

Half: Kansas 51-35. Att: 16,300.

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 9:08 PM with the headline "KU hits 15 threes and Self records 600th victory in 105-62 win over UMKC."