Men's Basketball Travels Down I-70 for Clash with Jayhawks

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Starting Five

Kansas City Men's Basketball takes to Lawrence, Kan. on Tuesday evening for a battle with the second-ranked team in the nation, Kansas. Following a dominant victory over Southeast Missouri on Nov. 30, the Roos have an opportunity to secure the 450th win in program history against the Jayhawks. The last milestone, win No. 400, came in 99-41 fashion over Crowley's Ridge on Jan. 27, 2020.
The Roos will be in search of their first-ever win against an AP Top-25 ranked opponent as they take on Kansas. KC is 0-27 against ranked teams, with one attempt already this season — a 99-61 loss at the hands of then-No. 15 Baylor. Kansas City also had a chance at Colorado State, who came in at No. 13 in this week's poll, earlier this year, but the Rams had not cracked the top-25 at that point. This will be the eighth time KC takes on a top-five ranked opponent, with six of those games coming against the Jayhawks.
Kansas City enters Tuesday's match up fresh off a 74-44 win over SEMO, the Roos' largest scoring margin against a Division One opponent since a 95-59 win over Elon on Dec. 22, 2018. It also tied the mark for KC's fewest points allowed to a Division One opponent since a 62-37 win over Chicago State on Feb. 15, 2001.
The Roos made their mark on the glass in the win over the Redhawks, winning the battle of the boards by a margin of 21 rebounds. That was KC's largest rebounding victory since going plus-24 in a 61-47 win over Lindenwood on Dec. 3 of last season. In addition, Kansas City pulled down 52 total rebounds against the Redhawks, the most by the Roos against a DI opponent since an 82-78 victory over UTRGV on Mar. 9, 2017.
While KC has yet to have a breakout scoring performance from any individual, the Roos have relied on a balanced scoring attack instead. No player has scored more than 20 points in a game yet this season, but eight different players have broken the double-digit mark. Jamar Brown has been the leading scorer in each of Kansas City's three wins, averaging 17.7 points in those games. In losses, Brown is averaging 11.8 points per contest.

Kansas Notes

Kansas enters Tuesday's contest on a three-game winning streak and have already compiled three wins against top-25 opponents this season. The Jayhawks lone loss of the year came at the hands of No. 4 Marquette at the Maui Invitational.
The Roos and Jayhawks are no strangers to each other, playing eight times since 1992. The most recent meeting was played at the T-Mobile Center, a 98-57 win for Kansas on Dec. 14, 2019.
Kansas has won all eight of the meetings between the two teams. The closest the Roos have come to a win came on Dec. 8, 2001, when the Roos won a 79-68 decision in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks boast a plethora nationally-ranked talent: Hunter Dickinson leads the NCAA in rebounds per game (12.2), Kevin McCullar Jr. is first in triple-doubles (2), Dejuan Harris Jr. is fourth in assists per game (7.2) and KJ Adams, Jr. is fifth in field goal percentage (71.2%).
Kansas has no problem forcing missed shots, holding opponents to a 36.3% mark from the field, the sixth-best in the NCAA. That number has translated to 31.5 defensive boards per game, a number that leads the Big 12.

Men's Basketball Travels Down I-70 for Clash with Jayhawks

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Players Mentioned

Jamar Brown

Men's Basketball Travels Down I-70 for Clash with Jayhawks

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Brown

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