The Kansas Jayhawks enter Monday night's CBE Hall of Fame Classic against Washington State looking to get on a roll.
The team has alternated wins and losses through three games this year since opening the season with a win against South Eastern Missouri. The Jayhawks stumbled against 21st ranked Michigan State 67-64 on Nov. 13, but got back in the win column after a dominating 69-55 victory against Chattanooga
Kansas has relied on a crop of young players, including freshman Ben McLemore, who scored 25 against Chattanooga on Thursday.
"Ben showed a glimpse of his athletic ability tonight," coach Bill Self said to the Associated Press. "Defenses are going to be designed to stop Ben, and we don't know how to run offense yet. We're still trying to figure it out, and to me that was pretty impressive."
McLemore leads the team in scoring with 16 points per game and also is first in assists, averaging 3.7. He has been extremely efficient this season, hitting 48 percent of his shots and only turning over the ball five times.
Kansas has had struggles all season with scoring early in games, including in the loss against the Spartans. The team also allowed Chattanooga to stay close on Thursday night in the first half before pulling away for the easy victory.
"I thought the first half was the worst we've played, and the second half was the best we've played all year," Self said. "One thing that I do know, we're not good enough to play 80 percent or 90 percent. We have to play 100 percent every night. When we do that, we're pretty good."
Center Jeff Withey was key to the win for the Jayhawks, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The senior is nearly averaging a double-double this season, averaging 12 points and 9.7 rebounds.
Kansas entered the year with high expectations after losing to Kentucky's in last season's national title game. Coach Self has brought in nine new freshmen to make up for departing veterans like Thomas Robinson, including Perry Ellis, who has been solid while averaging seven points and five rebounds per game.
Although the Jayhawks rank 184th in points per game, the team has been effective on defense this season, allowing 55 points or less in two of three games. The win against Chattanooga also continued Kansas's home winning streak, which now sits at 25.
Kansas is looking to improve their efficiency on offense after ranking only 148th in assists and 163rd in field goal percentage through three games. Senior Elijah Johnson has been a consistent scorer for the Jayhawks, scoring 12.7 points per game and averaging three rebounds and two assists.
Washington State enters the game following a tough 58-56 overtime loss to Pepperdine that was the team's first of the season.
Washington State opened the season with wins against Eastern Washington and Utah Valley before falling to Pepperdine. The Cougars have not done a good job of protecting the ball this season and it got the best of them on Friday as the team turned the ball over 20 times.
Senior Brock Motum has helped power the Cougars this season, leading the team with 17.7 points per game. Fellow senior Mike Ladd has been nearly as good, scoring 12.7 points while also averaging seven rebounds.
In the loss against Pepperdine, Ladd notched a career-high 13 rebounds, while Motum added 15 points. The team suffered from poor shooting and bad decisions in the second half and did not score in the finals five minutes of regulation, allowing Pepperdine to rally for a win.
Last year the Cougars faced only one ranked team and lost 98-81 at No. 22 Gonzaga. According to the Associated Press it was the team's "fourth straight road loss to a Top 25 opponent."
According to the Associated Press, "The Jayhawks have won 49 of 52 games against unranked non-conference opponents, including the last eight by an average of 18.9 points."
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