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KU, GTown and the rest of the field

EA SPORTS Maui Invitational
The most competitive preseason tournament of the 2011-12 season has arrived as Kansas will face Georgetown in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational championship round on Monday, Nov. 21 at 11 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2. Kansas is 1-1 on the season and looking to bounce back from a 75-65 loss to No. 2 Kentucky on Nov. 15 in the State Farm Champions Classic played in Madison Square Garden. Georgetown is 2-0 on the season heading to Maui. Kansas will face either UCLA or host Chaminade in the second round of the event in Maui.
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CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND - Nov. 21-23 (times are Central)
Monday, Nov. 21
Game 1 - Michigan vs. Memphis - 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2 - Tennessee vs. Duke - 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 3 - UCLA vs. Chaminade - 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 4 - Georgetown vs. KANSAS - 11 p.m. (ESPN2)
Tuesday, Nov. 22
Game 5 - G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser - 1 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 6 - G3 Loser vs. G4 Loser - 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 7 - G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner - 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 8 - G3 Winner vs. G4 Winner - 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Wednesday, Nov. 23
Game 9 - TBD vs. TBD - 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 10 - TBD vs. TBD - 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 11 - TBD vs. TBD - 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 12 - TBD vs. TBD - 9 p.m. (ESPN)
About Kansas
No. 12/11 Kansas opened the 2011-12 season defeating Towson 100-54 on Nov. 11, in the first round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. The Jayhawks then fell to No. 2 Kentucky, 75-65, in the State Farm Champions Classic on Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden. Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor leads the Jayhawks in scoring with 17 points per game, including a season-high 22 against Kentucky. Taylor, KU's leading returning scorer from last year (9.3 ppg) and a four-year starter, has six assists and three steals through two games. Junior forward Thomas Robinson has two double-doubles in his first two games of 2011-12.
The All-American candidate is averaging 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds and has five assists, two blocked shots and two steals on the season. Robinson is KU's leading returning rebounder from last season at 6.4 rpg. Other Kansas starters are junior guards Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford and junior center Jeff Withey. Johnson, who averages 8.0 points per contest, leads KU with 12 assists and six steals. Releford averages 9.0 points per game and is second on the team with four steals. Withey, who averages 8.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg, has a team-high eight blocked shots on the season and he is shooting 66.7 percent from the floor.
Senior guard Conner Teahan comes off the bench to score 9.5 points per game. He leads the Jayhawks with five three-pointers made and has three steals. Sophomore forward Justin Wesley is also a regular who scores 5.5 points per contest and is 4-for-5 (80 percent) from the floor. Junior forward Kevin Young (6.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and freshman guard Naadir Tharpe (3.0 ppg, 2.5 assists per game) round out the Kansas regulars.
About Georgetown
Located in Washington, D.C., with an enrollment of 15,318, Georgetown is 2-0 on the season with victories against Savanah State, 83-54, on Nov. 12 and UNC-Greensboro, 86-45, on Nov. 14. Coached by John Thompson III who is 141-62 in his seventh season at Georgetown and 209-104 in his 11th season overall, the Hoyas are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll. Georgetown averages 84.5 points per game and is giving up 49.5 for a +35.0 scoring margin.
The Hoyas are outrebounding foes 38.5 to 31.0 and have forced 19.0 turnovers per game. Junior forward Hollis Thompson leads the team with 16 points per game. He is shooting 66.7 percent from the field and is 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) from three-point range. Senior center Henry Sims leads the team in rebounds, with 6.5 per contest, and assists with 4.0 per game. He is 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) from the floor through two games and has three blocked shots. Senior guard Jason Clark is also averaging double figures with 13 points per game.
He leads the Hoyas with five steals. Sophomore guard Markel Starks is 4-for-8 from three-point range and averages 9.5 points per game. Sophomore forward Nate Lubick rounds out the Georgetown starters. He scores 7.0 ppg and is 6-for-8 (75 percent) from the field. Other GU regulars include four freshmen: forward Otto Porter (7.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and a team-high four blocked shots), forward Greg Whittington (5.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg), guard Jabril Trawick (5.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and forward Mikael Hopkins (5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
The Kansas-Georgetown Series
Kansas and Georgetown are meeting for the second time in men's basketball. Georgetown won the lone previous meeting 70-57 in the semifinal of the 1987 NCAA Southeast Regional played in Louisville, Ky. Kansas erased a Georgetown nine-point advantage early in the second half by going on a 10-0 run and eventually taking a 41-39 lead with 13:26 left to play. But Georgetown would then go on a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach. Danny Manning paced the Jayhawks that day with 23 points, including 19 in the first half. Georgetown's Reggie Williams led all scorers with 34 points.
The Kansas-UCLA Series
UCLA leads the all-time series with Kansas 10-6 yet the Jayhawks have won the last two meetings in each of the last two seasons - 73-61 on Dec. 6, 2009, in Los Angeles and 77-76 on Dec. 2, 2010, in Allen Fieldhouse. Those two contests were part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. UCLA won the previous meeting 68-55 in the West Regional finals of the 2007 NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif. Five of the 16 matchups have come in NCAA Tournament play with UCLA winning each of those battles. This series dates back to 1958; UCLA won the first eight meetings, but Kansas has won five of the last seven.
The Kansas-Chaminade Series
Kansas is 2-0 against Chaminade with both contests played in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. KU opened the 1987-88 NCAA National Championship season with an 89-62 win against the Swords in the Maui Invitational. Kansas defeated Chaminade 102-54 on the final day of the 2005 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.
Kansas vs. The Other Side of the Bracket
Duke - Duke leads 6-2 with the last meeting on March 27, 2003, a 69-65 Kansas win.
Memphis - Kansas leads 6-2 and has won the last four meetings. Three of those meetings have come in the last four years.
Michigan - Michigan leads 5-2 but Kansas has won the last two meetings which were played each of the last two seasons.
Tennessee - The series is tied at 1-1 with Kansas winning in 2009 (92-85) in Lawrence and Tennessee winning in Knoxville in 2010 (76-68).
Kansas in The EA SPORTS Maui Invitational
Kansas is participating in its fifth EA SPORTS Maui Invitational where the Jayhawks have won the event once and have a combined 7-5 record. In KU's 1988 NCAA National Championship season, the Jayhawks placed fourth in the event going 1-2. Kansas won the 1996 Maui Invitational defeating LSU, California and Virginia. In 2001, the Jayhawks finished third in the event with a 2-1 record. Drew Gooden was a member of the all-tournament team and is the lone Jayhawk on the Maui Invitational all-tourney list which began in 2000. In Kansas' only appearance in the invitational under Bill Self, the Jayhawks placed seventh in the 2005 event, losing to Arizona and Arkansas before defeating Chaminade. Hawaii-wise, Kansas has also played in three Rainbow Classics as well in 1986-87, 1992-93 and 1997-98.
Up Next
Kansas will face either UCLA or host Chaminade in the second round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Tip time will be a Kansas win at 9:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN or a KU loss at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2. On Nov. 23, Kansas will play either Duke, Memphis, Michigan or Tennessee. KU will return home to host Florida Atlantic on Nov. 30. The game will be televised on the Jayhawk IMG Television Network with a 7 p.m. tip. Complete pregame, game and postgame audio for all KU men's basketball games can be heard on AT&T Jayhawk All-Access via kuathletics.com.
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