The Kansas Jayhawks have a positive feeling coming into Tuesday night's title game of the Hall of Fame Classic against the Saint Louis Billikens.
Although the Jayhawks have never won the event in school history, the team is coming off of a dominating 78-41 win against Washington State on Monday that has everyone feeling confident.
After starting off slow in its first three games, the Jayhawks took a commanding halftime lead and never looked back. Travils Releford scored 17 points, while leading-scorer Ben McLemore added 11 points and two rebounds.
"We did a really good job moving the ball in the first half (leading 50-21), and of course, we made shots, and everything looks better when you make shots," said coach Bill Self.
Kansas shot over 64 percent from the field and played stout defense, holding Washington State to just 29 percent shooting. The team played aggressively and forced 14 turnovers from the Cougars.
Forward Kevin Young had 10 rebounds in the game, while guard Elijah Johnson added eight points and four assists. Perry Ellis had a solid game off the bench, scoring 12 points and adding two assists.
Kansas is playing in the Hall of Fame Classic championship game for the first "since an 89-81 overtime loss to Syracuse in 2008," according to the Associated Press.
The Jayhawks opened the season with a solid 74-55 win over Southeastern Missouri, but suffered an early loss against No. 21 Michigan State 67-64. The team has played much better since the defeat, including in last week's 69-55 win against Chattanooga.
McLemore had 25 points to lead Kansas and added eight rebounds and three assists. The freshman has been one of the best players on the Jayhawks and has proven to be an efficient shooter and skilled passer.
"I just wanted to get my teammates involved, too," said McLemore to the Associated Press. "I just came in tonight with the mindset of being aggressive, like coach wants me to be every night."
Although the Jayhawks have won 50 of the last 53 games against unranked non-conference foes, coach Bill Self will not allow his players to overlook Saint Louis.
The Billikens looked dominant in the semifinal game against Texas A&M on Monday and will look to continue using its size against a young Kansas team.
Saint Louis shot over 50 percent in the 70-49 win and were fueled by a career-high 21 points from Dwayne Evans.
The junior leads the team in scoring and rebounding, with 17 points and 6.7 rebounds. The Billikens also dished out 17 assists as they rebounded from their first loss of the season, a 74-62 defeat against Santa Clara.
"They played with more of a sense of urgency tonight than I thought they did against Santa Clara," A&M coach Billy Kennedy said to the Associated Press.
Mike McCall had 13 points in the win, including three 3-pointers, while Cory Remekun added 13 points. McCall has been solid for the Billikens, averaging 11 points and two assists, while Remekun is second on the team in scoring.
Saint Louis struggled in their first loss against Santa Clara, hitting only 35 percent of their shots from the field, including 5-of-17 from 3-point range. The Billikens did much better against the Aggies, hitting six of their attempts.
"They're a tough team to guard when they're making 3s," Kennedy said.
Junior guard Jordair Jett is leading the team in assists and steals and will most likely be matched up with McLemore for most of the game. Jett dished out eight assists and forced three steals in the win against Texas A&M.
Kansas ranks only 149th in the nation in scoring, but has increased its point total in each of the past three straight games. The team played aggressive against Washington State on Sunday and will need to do the same to stop players like Evans and McCall.
According to the Associated Press, "Kansas has won 12 of 15 in this series, including nine of the last 10. The last time these teams met, the Jayhawks posted a 71-60 victory at Kemper Arena on Dec. 30, 1999."
WATCH the Kansas vs. Saint Louis LIVE STREAM by clicking HERE.
(**Sports World Report does not endorse the live streaming of the games of the sites it has linked to. It has no control over the content of the website and thus does not warrant that it is error or virus free or free of other harmful components.)