Kansas-Kent State men’s basketball preview
P | No. | Kansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 2 | Cliff Alexander | 6-8 | Fr. | 8.2 |
F | 34 | Perry Ellis | 6-8 | Jr. | 12.5 |
G | 12 | Kelly Oubre | 6-7 | Fr. | 5.7 |
G | 1 | Wayne Selden | 6-5 | So. | 9.1 |
G | 0 | Frank Mason | 5-11 | So. | 11.7 |
P | No. | Kent State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 21 | Khaliq Spicer | 6-9 | Jr. | 4.4 |
F | 35 | Jimmy Hall | 6-7 | So. | 13.7 |
G | 13 | Gary Akbar | 6-5 | Jr. | 2.6 |
G | 0 | Devareaux Manley | 6-4 | Sr. | 11.7 |
G | 23 | Derek Jackson | 6-1 | Sr. | 10.1 |
▪ WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence
▪ TV/RADIO: Time Warner Cable SportsChannel; KCSP (610 AM)
▪ ABOUT KANSAS (9-2): Last Monday, Kansas sophomore guard Frank Mason played a career-high 40 minutes in the Jayhawks’ 77-52 loss at Temple. One week later, Self disclosed that Mason’s minutes were meant as a message to his other guards, including sophomores Wayne Selden and Brannen Greene. Mason, who is Kansas’ only healthy point guard, was solid against Temple, and Self wanted his other guards to realize that he was out there for all 40 minutes. “I could have taken him out, but I would rather leave him in and take the other guys out,” Self said. “That was a statement to the rest of my guys.” Mason has scored in double-figures in six straight games, and he will have to continue to carry a heavy load while freshman guard Devonte’ Graham recovers from a sprained right big toe. Self said Monday that Graham would be evaluated later this week. With a victory, Kansas would improve to 180-9 at Allen Fieldhouse under Self. After Tuesday’s game, the Jayhawks will finish out the non-conference season against UNLV at 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
▪ ABOUT KENT STATE (8-3): Led by head coach Rob Senderoff, a former Indiana assistant under Kelvin Sampson, Kent State is coming off a 78-75 loss to UTEP on Dec. 22. Picked to finish third in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference, the Golden Flashes have suffered their three losses to Yale, Loyola Chicago and UTEP. Kent State ranks 170th in the country in offensive efficiency while shooting just 44 percent inside the three-point line. Kent State does much of its damage from the outside: The Flashes rank 10th in the country in three-point percentage, hitting 41.4 percent of their threes. Senior guard Devareaux Manley is making 47 percent of his threes while senior guard Derek Jackson is hitting 45 percent. Reserve guard Kris Brewer, who is averaging 10.8 points per game, was a preseason All-MAC selection. Kent State is making its second-ever trip to Allen Fieldhouse: The Jayhawks defeated the Golden Flashes 87-60 on Dec. 1, 2008.
| Rustin Dodd, rdodd@kcstar.com
This story was originally published December 29, 2014 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Kansas-Kent State men’s basketball preview."