The Kansas Jayhawks have been one of the most impressive teams in the nation to start the season, largely due to the play of guard Travis Releford.
The senior guard is known more for his defense, but has been impressive on the offensive side of the ball and will look to continue his strong play when the Jayhawks host the San Jose State Spartans at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.
Releford is averaging 11.8 points this season and was named the MVP of the CBE Classic in Kansas City last week by leading the Jayhawks to two victories. He had a career-high 23 points in the title game against Saint Louis on Tuesday and added 17 against Washington State on Monday.
"I'm going to continue to do what my team needs me to do on the defensive end and the offense will come," Releford said to the Associated Press.
Senior Jeff Withey has proven to be just as essential to the Jayhawks, scoring a career-high 25 points while adding seven blocks and five rebounds in the title-game.
"Travis was unbelievable the first half. They made the decision not to guard him, so he was unbelievable, made them pay," coach Bill Self said. "And the reason Jeff had the big second half is they started to guard Travis."
The center is averaging nearly 14 points and eight rebounds this season, one year removed from winning the Big 12 defensive player of the year award. He finished fourth in the nation in blocks last year and is averaging 5.0 per game this season.
"(Self) has been telling me the whole year to be more aggressive. He's been telling the guys to throw it down low," Withey said.
The roster for the Jayhawks is vastly different than the team that made it to the national title game last season against Kentucky, with nine freshmen players, but the results so far has been the same.
Guard Ben McLemore has been one of the most impressive players for Kansas, averaging 14.2 points to lead the team while adding 6.2 rebounds. While he only had 11 points in the title game against Sain Louis, the freshman was stellar against Chattanooga on Nov. 15, scoring 25 point and grabbing eight rebounds.
Kansas opened the season with a 74-55 win against Southeastern Missouri before falling to Michigan State 67-64. The team has won three straight since the loss and have played outstanding defense, keeping all three teams under 60 points.
The Jayhawks will be tested in the upcoming weeks with games against Oregon State on the road and a home matchup on Dec. 22 against No. 3 Ohio State. Last year Kansas defeated the Buckeyes in the national semifinals 64-62 to advance to the NCAA championship game.
Kansas will be facing the Spartans for the first time in school history. San Jose State is coming off of an emphatic 94-54 win against UC Santa Cruz and has won two straight since losing to Houston 77-75 on Nov. 13.
Guard James Kinney is leading the team with 21 points per game and scored 18 on Tuesday. In the loss against Houston he scored 19 points and added 10 rebounds and hit a season-high four 3-pointers.
Forward Chris Cunningham is leading the team in rebounding with nine per game and is also scoring 12 points per game. In Tuesday's win against UC Santa Cruz, the junior grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 19 points on 9-of-10 field goals.
Sophomore Nick Grieves played his first game of the season against Santa Cruz and score 18 points while making six 3-pointters in only 11 minutes of play. The team hit 10-of-16 shots from 3-point range and shot over 60 percent from the field.
The Spartans are ranked 61st in the nation scoring 76.3 points per game and have been efficient on offense, ranking 30th in the nation in field goal percentage. Guard D.J. Brown is leading the team in assists with 3.5 per game and is averaging 12 points.
San Diego State haven't made the NCAA tournament since 1996 and finished just 9-22 last season. The team was eighth in the Western Athletic Conference with a 1-13 record.
According to the Associated Press, "The Spartans have lost 17 straight to ranked opponents since a 60-59 overtime win over then-No. 19 Alabama on Dec. 27, 1996."
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