Kansas basketball vs. Houston Cougars: Probable starters, tipoff time & TV info
Kansas will wrap up the 2023-24 regular season against Houston on Saturday. Here’s everything you need to know before tipoff, including how to watch.
When: 3 p.m, Saturday
Where: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WHB (810) in Kansas City; ESPN Wichita (92.3 FM) in Wichita
PROBABLE STARTERS
P | No. | Kansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
C | 1 | Hunter Dickinson | 7-2 | Sr. | 18.2 |
F | 24 | KJ Adams | 6-7 | Jr. | 12.2 |
G | 3 | Dajuan Harris | 6-2 | Sr. | 8.5 |
G | 10 | Johnny Furphy | 6-9 | Fr. | 9.0 |
G | 15 | Kevin McCullar | 6-4 | Sr. | 19.1 |
P | No. | Houston | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 5 | Ja’Vier Francis | 6-8 | Jr. | 5.9 |
F | 13 | J-Wan Roberts | 6-7 | Sr. | 9.9 |
G | 1 | Jamal Shead | 6-1 | Sr. | 13.2 |
G | 4 | L.J. Cryer | 6-1 | Sr. | 15.8 |
G | 21 | Emanuel Sharp | 6-3 | Soph. | 12.4 |
About No. 14 Kansas (22-8, 10-7)
KU is 6-2 all-time against Houston, including a 78-65 victory over the Cougars on Feb. 3 at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks have won four in a row in the series. … The two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament three times. Houston defeated KU in a first-round Midwest Regional game on March 17, 1967, at Allen Fieldhouse. KU went 23-4 that season and 13-1 in the Big Eight. KU won 78-77 in a first-round Midwest Regional contest on March 18, 1971, in Wichita. That Final Four team went 27-3 overall and 14-0 in the Big Eight. Also KU won 66-65 in a first-round Southeast Regional game on March 13, 1987 in Atlanta. That KU team went 25-11 and 9-5 in the Big Eight. …
Prior to this season the last meeting was a 95-78 KU victory in the losers bracket of the 2001 Maui Invitational…. KU is 9-17 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams, 4-3 in the Bill Self era. ... KU leads the country in assists per game at at 19.3 apg. KU is sixth nationally and first in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage (49.8%). ... KU has 22 or more wins in 18 of Bill Self’s 21 seasons at Kansas. … KU has a winning league record for the 39th consecutive season beginning in 1989-90, a streak that leads the country. … KU has 10 conference wins for the 29th time in the last 30 seasons beginning in 1994-95. …
Self is 587-140 while at Kansas, three wins shy of tying Phog Allen as KU’s winningest coach. He is 794-245 overall, six wins from 800. … Kansas is 16-3 this season when leading at halftime. … KU has shot 90% or better from the line three times this season. … Hunter Dickinson’s 20 rebounds Tuesday vs. K-State were the most for KU in a Big 12 Conference game since Jeff Withey had 20 rebounds vs. Oklahoma State on Feb. 11, 2012. … Kevin McCullar has scored in double figures 25 times this season and 84 in his career.
About No. 1 Houston (27-3, 14-3)
Houston has clinched at least a share of the Big 12 title in its first year in the league. The Cougars can clinch an outright conference title with a win against KU or a loss by sixth-ranked Iowa State on Saturday at K-State. … The Cougars have won eight consecutive games since their 78-65 loss to KU. … Overall Houston has won 13 of its last 14 contests. … Houston is 4-1 against ranked opponents this year. … Houston is 89-186 against ranked opponents during its history and 11-7 in matchups when both teams are ranked in the top 10. …
On Saturday, guards LJ Cryer, Jamal Shead, Damian Dunn, Mylik Wilson and Ryan Elvin and senior forward J’Wan Roberts will be recognized in pregame Senior Day activities. … With Houston’s win at Baylor on Feb. 24, Shead, Roberts and Elvin claimed their 117th victory as Cougars together and set a school record as the winningest four-year class in Houston history. The group has posted a 120-17 record. … Coach Kelvin Sampson is 759-347 all time and 259-77 in his 10 years at Houston. … With 27 wins in 2023-24, Sampson has led Houston to the program’s school-record ninth straight 20-win season. … Sampson is 6-12 all-time against KU, 0-1 as Houston coach. …
Assistant coach Kellen Sampson is head coach-in-waiting on the Houston staff. … Houston will compete in the NCAAs for a sixth straight season, most consecutive appearances in program history. … In the Feb. 17 win over Texas, Shead became the only player in program history to record 100+ wins, 1,100+ points, 600+ assists and 200+ steals. Shead moved past the 600-assist and 200-steals marks against the Longhorns.
