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No. 5 Kansas set to host Monmouth on Friday night

No. 5 Kansas (1-1) continues its three-game homestand on Friday, Nov. 15 when the Jayhawks host the Monmouth Hawks (1-2) at Allen Fieldhouse. Start time is slated for 7 p.m. (CT) on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Chris Piper (analyst) calling the action.

GAME INFORMATION:

#5/3 Kansas vs. UNCG

Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. (CT)

Where: Allen Fieldhouse

Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network

Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Dave Armstrong (play-by-play)

Chris Piper (analyst)

Kennetra Pulliams (reporter)

TIP-OFF

With its 74-62 win against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 8, Kansas won its 47th-consecutive regular-season home opener in Allen Fieldhouse, a streak which started in the 1973-74 season.

Kansas’ 22-game homecourt winning streak is third-longest nationally behind Tennessee (28) and Gonzaga (25).

Kansas and Monmouth are meeting for the first time in men’s basketball. The Jayhawks are 15-1 all-time against current membership of the Metro Atlantic Conference.

Kansas is ranked No. 5 in the Nov. 11 Associated Press national poll. The Jayhawks have been ranked in the top-five 338 times overall and 132 times in the Bill Self era.

KU has been ranked in each of the last 202 AP polls dating back to 2008-09. The 202-consecutive weeks in the polls is the longest active streak in the nation. KU holds the same streak in the coaches’ poll at 210.

Sophomore Devon Dotson joined Azubuike on the league’s preseason All-Big 12 team. Dotson was the league’s top-scoring freshman and was an All-Big 12 Third Team selection last season.

Both Azubuike and Dotson received votes for the Associated Press preseason All-America team. Kansas was the only school with two players picked on the 21-man list.KU went 17-0 in home games last season, including a 16-0 record in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has gone undefeated in Allen Fieldhouse 20 times, including seven seasons since 2007-08.

The Jayhawks’ added three standouts when the early signing period began on Nov. 13. Guard Tyon Grant-Foster (Kansas City, Kan.), guard Bryce Thompson (Tulsa, Okla.), who ranks No. 19 in the class of 2020, and center Gethro Muscadin (Gonaives, Haiti) will all suit up for KU starting in 2020-21.

NOTES:

KANSAS STREAKING AT HOME (AGAIN)

Going 17-0 at home in 2018-19, the Jayhawks are once again building an impressive winning streak on their home court, something that has been a common occurrence in Lawrence over recent decades.

KU has won 22-straight home games, 21 of which have come at Allen Fieldhouse (the Dec. 8, 2018 win at Sprint Center considered a home game). The streak currently ranks as the third-longest active among NCAA DI schools. KU’s last home loss came to Oklahoma State on Feb. 3, 2018. In 2018-19, the Jayhawks wrapped up their 20th undefeated season at Allen Fieldhouse and their first since 2015-16.

Since Bill Self took the reins in 2003-04, Kansas as posted seven unblemished records in a season on James Naismith Court. The Jayhawks have won more Big 12 regular-season titles (14) than have lost home games (13) in that span.

Kansas has now posted home-court winning streaks of 20 games or more 15 times, with 11 of those streaks coming at Allen Fieldhouse. The program record is 69-straight home wins from Feb. 7, 2007, to Jan. 22, 2011. That streak is a Big 12 record and the 11th-longest in NCAA DI history.

ABOUT MONMOUTH

Located West Long Branch, N.J., with an enrollment of 6,400, Monmouth is 1-2 on the season after its loss at Big 12 foe Kansas State, 73-54, on Nov. 13. The Hawks are coached by King Rice who is 132-135 in his ninth season at Monmouth and ninth season overall. Monmouth was preseason picked fourth in the MAAC by the league’s head coaches. The Hawks return their top two scorers from last season and 11 letterwinners.

The Hawks will travel 6,035 miles, i.e. their first seven games, before returning to West Long Branch for a home contest. The KU matchup is No. 4 in the seven. Monmouth averages 64.7 points per game and is giving up 76.3. The Hawks pull down 34.0 rebounds per game and average 15.0 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.7 blocked shots per contest.

Junior guards Ray Salnave and Deion Hammond are a preseason all-conference selections for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Salnave leads the team in scoring at 15.0 points per contest and he has nine assists and a team-high three steals. He is a nonstarter. Hammond is next in scoring at 12.0 points per game and leads the team in 3-point field goals made with nine.

UNCG LEFTOVERS

The win gave Kansas its 47th consecutive season home-opening victory, a streak which started in 1973-74.

The victory made Kansas 1-1 for the eighth time in the Bill Self era.

KU’s win made the Jayhawks 94-13 in games following a loss under Bill Self and 43-5 since 2013-14.

Kansas extended its homecourt winning streak to 22 games, including 21 in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas’ 36-32 lead at the break marked the first time this season that Kansas took a lead into the half. Kansas is now 384-31 when leading at the break in the Bill Self era.

The Jayhawks outrebounded their opponent for the second time this season. KU is now 1-1 in those contests with a record of 352-46 in the Self era.

Senior Udoka Azubuike finished with a team high 10 rebounds marking the first time the senior has pulled down 10+ rebounds since he grabbed 11 against Vermont on November 12, 2018.Azubuike tallied 10 points to go along with his 10 rebounds marking the ninth double-double in his career.

Senior Isaiah Moss tallied eight points in his KU debut while adding three rebounds.

Sophomore Devon Dotson notched a career high in free throws made and went 8-for-8 from the line.

Dotson finished with a team high 22 points adding eight rebounds and six assists while committing just one turnover. His performance marked the third 20+ point night in his career.

Freshman Tristan Enaruna posted nine points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing two assists in 20 minutes of play.

UP NEXT:

Kansas concludes its three-game homestand when it plays host to East Tennessee State on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. (Central) on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The contest is a campus round game for the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

KU leads the series with ETSU, 3-0, with the last meeting on Jan. 4, 1996, at KU 108-73 victory.

East Tennessee State is the preseason Southern Conference favorite and the second SoCon team to visit Allen Fieldhouse this season. KU defeated UNCG, 74-62 on Nov. 8.

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