LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football head coach David Beaty announced Friday the promotion of Justin Johnson to an on-field assistant coaching position, where he will work on the offensive side of the ball. Johnson, who joined the KU staff in the spring of 2016, spent the past two seasons as an offensive analyst for the Jayhawks and will fill the newly created 10th assistant coaching position.

“Justin is known around our building as ‘Juice’-because energy is something he definitely brings to the table,” said Beaty. “He is well-versed in not only how we want to run our program, but also the nuances to how we want to run our offense. He has worked hard during his time at KU to establish himself as a mentor with our players and that will help him greatly as he moves into his new role.

“Juice has a knack for building relationships,” added Beaty. “Because of his skill in that area, he will also play a vital role for us in recruiting in his elevated position.”

Additionally, Beaty announced that special teams coordinator Joe DeForest and offensive line coach Zach Yenser will no longer be members of the Jayhawk staff moving forward.

“We have mutually agreed to part ways as Joe and Zach will step away from our program and pursue other opportunities,” said Beaty. “I appreciate the hard work they both put in during their time with us and wish the best for them and their families moving forward.”

Johnson previously worked under Beaty at Texas A&M, serving as an offensive graduate assistant for the Aggies in 2013, while Beaty was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.

A Houston alum, Johnson worked at his alma mater in 2012 in an offensive quality control position. In that role, he assisted all offensive coaches with administrative duties.

Johnson was a four-year letterwinner at UH from 2008 to 2011. As a senior, he helped lead the Cougars to a record-setting 13-1 overall mark and a dominating win against No. 23 Penn State during the TicketCity Bowl.

The Richardson, Texas, native finished second on the team with 1,229 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 87 receptions on the way to earning All-Conference USA First-Team accolades.

Johnson was a versatile student-athlete during his collegiate playing days with the Cougars, competing on special teams and as a running back at various times. During his career, he competed in three bowl games and two Conference USA Championship games. Off the field, Johnson was a member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was selected to participate in and graduated from UH’s Athletics Leadership Academy. He was awarded the UH Committed Cougar Award twice.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Naomi Davenport hit four 3-pointers and finished with 22 points and Teana Muldrow had 19 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals to help the No. 15 West Virginia women defeat Kansas 74-54 on Wednesday night.

Katrina Pardee added 15 points and senior Chania Ray had 12 points and a season-high tying 10 assists for West Virginia (15-2, 3-2 Big 12). The Mountaineers have won five in a row against Kansas (11-5, 2-3).

Davenport hit two 3s, while Muldrow and Pardee scored five points apiece, during a 16-1 run that gave West Virginia a 52-33 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. Kylee Kopatich sandwiched a 3-point play and a layup around two free throws by Tyler Johnson as the Jayhawks scored the first seven fourth-quarter points to trim their deficit to 55-44. Muldrow had nine points from there as the Mountaineers pulled away.

Kopatich had 17 points and Austin Richardson scored 10 on 4-of-16 shooting for Kansas. The Jayhawks shot just 35 percent (19 of 54) from the field, including 3 of 12 from 3-point range.

West Virginia scored 24 points off 17 Kansas turnovers.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Malik Newman started the game for Kansas on the bench.

He was on the floor when it mattered.

The on-again, off-again starter finally broke out for a career-high 27 points, and Svi Mykhailiuk added 23 to help the No. 12 Jayhawks beat pesky Iowa State 83-78 on Tuesday night.

“I mean, it was a good one. I can say that,” said Newman, the heralded Mississippi State transfer whose first season playing for the Jayhawks has been a rollercoaster with more downs than ups.

“I mean, it feels good,” Newman said of his performance. “Coach has been putting pressure on me to go out and be aggressive, play my game and be myself. I tried to do that.”

They sure needed him to do that.

Devonte Graham added 11 points for the Jayhawks (13-3, 3-1 Big 12), most of those coming in crunch time, when he shook off a 1-for-11 start from the field to knock down three big jumpers.

The game was tied 73-all with 3 1/2 minutes left, but Newman blocked Donovan Jackson’s shot to create a run-out for Kansas at the other end. Iowa State proceeded to turn it over on its next three possessions, and the Jayhawks converted two of them into easy baskets to put the game away.

It was the Jayhawks’ 12th win over Iowa State in their last 13 tries at Allen Fieldhouse.

Lindell Wigginton had 27 points and Jackson scored 20 for the Cyclones (9-6, 0-4), whose four straight losses — including back-to-back overtime defeats — have come on the heels of nine straight wins.

Cameron Lard added 15 points and 10 rebounds, though he also committed seven of the Cyclones’ 17 turnovers, and Nick Weiler-Babb contributed 13 points, 10 boards and eight assists.

“The difference in the game was turnovers, live-ball turnovers,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. “When you break it down, live-ball turnovers are what really killed us, that and transition defense.”

The Cyclones didn’t have to worry about transition D in the first half.

The Jayhawks spent it settling for long, contested 3-pointers — they shot 24 of them and had just 10 attempts from inside the arc, drawing the ire of coach Bill Self.

“We were over-reliant,” he said. “I mean, 15 of our first 19 shots were 3s, from what I was told, and we weren’t smart enough to play to their weakness.”

Kansas also kept breaking down on defense, particularly when Wigginton had the ball in his hands.

The high-scoring freshman guard from Canada had 16 points in the first half, and they came from just about everywhere. He knocked down a 3-pointer, got to the foul line and was money on pull-up jumpers, his ability to knock down the 15-footer causing the Jayhawks fits.

It was one of those jumpers that gave the Cyclones their first lead early in the second half.

“My teammates are always confident in me,” Wigginton said, “telling me to attack.”

Udoka Azubuike responded with a dunk for the Jayhawks, though, and Newman converted a three-point play to start their first big run. Newman turned a turnover into a dunk, and another turnover turned into a fast-break dunk by Lagerald Vick to make it 49-42 and prompt a Cyclones timeout.

Iowa State kept answering every time the Jayhawks went on another run, but it was Newman’s breakout performance and Graham’s poise down the stretch that yielded one run too many.

“We just (weren’t) on cue,” Jackson said. “We’ve got a real good team, but down the stretch we just have to add the extra five minutes, like Coach has been preaching to us. And it’ll come.”

STATS AND STREAKS

Kansas was 5 of 13 from the foul line. … Graham also had nine assists and four steals. … The Cyclones had a 44-34 advantage in rebounds. … Wigginton played all 40 minutes. … Iowa State got two points in 36 minutes from its bench.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State squandered a soft start to league play in losses to Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma State, but could have made up for it by beating Kansas. Instead, the Cyclones showed they’re good enough to compete but not quite good enough to win just yet.

Kansas was coming off a tough road win over TCU, and for a while it appeared the Jayhawks had taken Iowa State lightly. They came up with crucial stops on defense in the closing minutes to prevent the upset, but also showed the same cracks that have been evident all season.

UP NEXT

Iowa State returns home to face Baylor on Saturday.

Kansas plays rival Kansas State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Devonte Graham scored 28 points with eight straight free throws in the final 2:02 as No. 10 Kansas held on for an 88-84 victory over No. 16 TCU on Saturday night.

Vladimir Brodziansky had eight straight points for TCU to tie the game at 77-all before Marcus Garrett’s two tiebreaking free throws put the Jayhawks ahead to stay with 3 minutes left. Graham then made all of his free throws down the stretch for the Jayhawks (12-3, 2-1 Big 12).

Svi Mykhailiuk added 20 points for Kansas, which was coming off a home loss to Texas Tech and avoided its first 1-2 conference mark since 1990-91. Udoka Azubuike had 14 points, but played only 13 minutes before fouling out.

Brodziansky led TCU (13-2, 1-2) with 20 points, while Jaylen Fisher had 18 points and Desmond Bane 13 before fouling out. Kenrich Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

It was the first meeting between the schools since TCU upset the then-No. 1 Jayhawks in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament last March. The Horned Frogs went on to win the NIT championship, and started this season with a 12-game winning streak before losing two of its first three games in Big 12 play.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks got off to a fast start, making 10 of their first 12 shots and building a 14-point lead less than 7 minutes into the game. The problem is they couldn’t keep Azubuike on the court. The 7-foot center was 6-of-6 shooting, including inside shots for their first three baskets of the game. Back in after halftime, he also scored the first basket again — on a dunk after a bounce pass from Graham. But he fouled out with about 5 minutes left when he was trying to stop Brodziansky.

TCU: After falling behind by 10 again early in the second half, the Frogs bounced back and were within 48-47 when Bane beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer from the left side. But TCU then went cold from the field and did get even, or ahead, until the quick spurt by Brodziansky.

UP NEXT

Kansas, which has already lost multiple home games for the first time in 11 seasons, plays three of its next four games at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks host Iowa State on Tuesday night.

TCU has seven more games in January, five of them on the road. The Frogs play at Texas on Wednesday night and at No. 7 Oklahoma next Saturday.

— Associated Press —

LUBBOCK, Texas – For the first time in the Brandon Schneider-era, Kansas women’s basketball was victorious on the road in Big 12 Conference action, topping Texas Tech, 60-47, on Wednesday night inside United Supermarkets Arena.

In a game where the Jayhawks never relinquished the lead, Kansas (11-3, 2-1 Big 12) held the Lady Raiders (6-8, 0-3 Big 12) to just seven points, owning a 24-7 lead after the first 10 minutes. After allowing Texas Tech to cut the lead to six in the third quarter, KU outscored the Lady Raiders 16-10 in the fourth quarter to earn its first Big 12 road win in Schneider’s tenure.

Three Jayhawks netted double-figures on the road. Junior guard Brianna Osorio led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers. Junior guard Christalah Lyons added 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists, tying her career high. Junior guard Kylee Kopatich rounded out KU’s double-digit scorers, notching 14 points with three coming from long range.

The Lady Raiders were led by sophomore center Erin Degrate, who notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Brielle Blaire added 11 points and six rebounds in Texas Tech’s third-straight Big 12 loss.

After two minutes without a bucket from either side, Kopatich nailed a 3-point basket from the left side to give Kansas a 3-0 lead. Sophomore forward Brittany Brewer answered with the next three points to tie the game up.

Kansas went on a 7-0 run to take control of the game with a 10-3 lead. Kopatich sank her second three of the night followed by a Lyons charge on the defensive end to keep the momentum going for the Jayhawks. Senior forward Chayla Cheadle and Lyons each added a pair of buckets to complete the run, before Degrate knocked in two free throws to put the Lady Raiders within five.

The Jayhawks defense was in full force in the first 10 minutes, allowing Texas Tech to score just seven points in the opening period. Kansas finished the quarter on a 14-2 run with 11 of the 14 points coming from Osorio who knocked in three 3-pointers, including two to end the period with a 24-7 lead.

Junior forward Austin Richardson tipped off the quarter for the Jayhawks netting a jumper in the first 20 seconds of the period. Following Richardson’s basket, the Jayhawks went cold from the floor, not making another field goal until the three-and-a-half-minute mark when Lyons sank a jumper.

A second jumper from Lyons pushed the Kansas lead back to 18. A pair of baskets from Brewer and Blaire cut the lead back to 14, but Kopatich ended the half with her third 3-pointer of the night to keep the Jayhawks on top by 17.

Despite shooting just 22.2 percent from the floor in the second quarter, the Jayhawks held Texas Tech to nine points in the period and went into the locker room with a 33-16 lead.

The Lady Raiders settled into an offensive rhythm in the third period outscoring the Jayhawks, 21-12. Texas Tech jumped out to a 9-2 run to start the quarter with Kansas’ only basket in the first four minutes coming from a Kopatich jumper.

Lyons held her own offensively for the Jayhawks knocking in KU’s next six points to put Kansas back on top by double figures, 41-31. Osorio extended the Jayhawks lead back to 12 with a layup before Texas Tech made six-straight points to cut the lead to six, KU’s smallest lead of the night.

Lyons ended the period making 1-of-3 from the free throw line after being fouled on a last-second 35-foot 3-point attempt to give Kansas a 44-37 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

The Jayhawks started the fourth quarter with six unanswered points with three apiece from Kopatich and Osorio to give KU a 50-37 lead. Senior guard Eboni Watts split a pair of Degrate layups, but a jumper from Brewer put Texas Tech within nine with just under six minutes to play.

Redshirt sophomore Tyler Johnson extended the Jayhawks lead back to double figures, netting a jumper from the foul line to give Kansas a 54-43 lead. Senior center Jada Terry narrowed the margin to single digits with a layup, but a 3-pointer at the two-minute mark all but sealed the victory for Kansas as the Jayhawks won 60-47.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks return home for a two-game homestand with No. 6 Baylor and No. 12 West Virginia. Kansas tips of with the Lady Bears on Saturday, January 6 at 2 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kennan Allen scored 15 points, Norense Odiase and Justin Gray had 12 apiece, and No. 18 Texas Tech never trailed in beating No. 10 Kansas 85-73 on Tuesday night for the Red Raiders’ first win at Allen Fieldhouse in 18 tries.

The Red Raiders (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) built a 16-point lead midway through the first half, then found an answer every time the 3-point-dependent Jayhawks (11-3, 1-1) tried to mount a second-half charge.

Zach Smith had 11 points and Jarrett Culver contributed 10 for Texas Tech, which has won its first two Big 12 games for the first time in a decade. The Red Raiders also snapped a four-game skid in league road openers by winning their seventh straight game in the toughest of venues.

Devonte Graham led the Jayhawks with 27 points, but a lot of that came at the foul line, where he was 13 of 13. The senior guard struggled from the field, just like the rest of his team — they were 6 of 26 from beyond the arc and missed all 12 of their 3-point attempts in the second half.

Svi Mykhailiuk had 11 points for Kansas before fouling out. Udoka Azubuike also scored 11.

The loss snapped the Jayhawks’ 16-game win streak against Texas Tech, and gave coach Bill Self’s team two losses in the Phog in the same season for the first time since 2006-07.

Everything went Texas Tech’s way in the first half — every loose ball, rebound and extra possession — and coach Chris Beard’s team began to grow in confidence with each passing minute.

Two sequences in particular summed up the first 20 minutes.

The first came when the Red Raiders scored a bucket inside, stole Mykhailiuk’s inbounds pass and buried a 3-pointer for a five-point jolt that silenced the sellout crowd in a matter of seconds. The second came when Zhaire Smith scored with 13 seconds left before the break, and the Jayhawks flubbed the inbounds, forcing them to rush a shot at the other end before the buzzer sounded.

Self was so steamed by that play that he was poised to slam his fist into the scorer’s table. He thought better of it and took his angst to the locker room instead.

Even though Evans was struggling with his shot, the Red Raiders kept answering Kansas, even when Self reluctantly turned to a zone. They merely dumped it inside to Odiase and Tommy Hamilton IV for easy baskets that kept their advantage in double digits much of the second half.

The Jayhawks trimmed the lead to 67-61 with about 5 minutes left, but Malik Newman missed an ill-advised 3-pointer and Azubuike turned the ball over to squander a chance to get closer.

The teams began trading free throws down the stretch, and even though Graham was perfect from the stripe, the Red Raiders were good enough to keep the Jayhawks at arm’s length.

BIG PICTURE

Texas Tech has staked a claim through two games for Big 12 superiority. The Red Raiders routed then-No. 18 Baylor 77-53 in their conference opener last Friday, giving them a pair of wins over teams that were expected to contend for the title this season.

Kansas fell in love with the 3-pointer again with ugly results. The Jayhawks are among the best in the nation when their shot is falling, but their lack of interior depth gives them little to fall back on when the jumpers start bouncing off the iron.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech faces Kansas State on Saturday.

Kansas visits No. 16 TCU on Saturday night.

— Associated Press —

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kansas players saw Mohamed Bamba, Texas’ long-armed shot blocker, stationed near the basket and figured there were easier ways to score than to challenge him.

So the 11th-ranked Jayhawks shot 3-pointers, converting 17 of 35, and defeated Texas 92-86 on Friday night in the Big 12 opener for both teams. They made 11 3-pointers in the second half.

“We definitely weren’t getting any layups with him down there,” Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham said.

Graham had 23 points and eight assists, converting six 3-point baskets.

Lagerald Vick scored 21, making a career-best five 3s. Svi Myhailiuk added 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers.

Sophomore center Udoka Azubuike had 13 points and career-best 13 rebounds for Kansas (11-2, 1-0 Big 12).

Kansas has won 13 of its last 14 games against Texas, including eight in a row. The Jayhawks won a conference opener for the 27th straight season.

Bamba, a 6-foot-11 freshman with a 7-9 wingspan, led Texas (9-4, 0-1) with 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks, all season bests.

“The guy could have blocked the sun,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We shot the heck out of the ball. We needed to, though. I told them before the game we were going to shoot 35 3s.”

Dylan Osetkowski scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half for Texas. Matt Coleman scored 17 for Texas.

Kansas could not pull away despite making seven 3-point baskets in the first 9 minutes of the second half and leading by 13. They had another three-point play — a dunk and free throw — by Azubuike during that stretch.

“I just thought there was a few stretches in the game when we didn’t have the defensive energy that we needed to stop a team like Kansas during those runs,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said.

Osetkowski, after missing six of seven shots from the field in the first half, scored 10 points during the first 9 minutes of the second half to help Texas stay within reach. Coleman and Eric Davis Jr. also helped with 12 points apiece in the second half.

Graham made four-3-pointers in the first half, including one with a minute remaining to give Kansas a 37-34 lead.

Before Friday, Texas limited opponents to 28.2 percent on 3-pointers, 11th best in the country.

“They got a few open looks, they knocked down a couple with hands in their face,” Coleman said. “I give them a lot of credit, a lot of respect. It was almost like playing the (Golden State) Warriors.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: Self’s thin seven-man rotation could expand if freshman Silvio De Sousa has his eligibility approved by the NCAA. De Sousa, a 6-9 forward, arrived in Lawrence this week and practiced with the team after recently graduating from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Self told reporters the NCAA must vet “amateurism stuff,” as it routinely does with incoming athletes. Self hopes to have De Sousa available soon. Kansas is still awaiting resolution in the case of freshman forward Billy Preston, a five-star recruit who has yet to appear in a game while the school and the NCAA investigate the financial situation with a car he drove during the fall semester.

Texas: Guard Andrew Jones, the Longhorns’ leading scorer and by far their most accurate 3-point shooter, returned after missing four games with hairline fracture of the right wrist. Jones, who started the first eight games before his injury, served as a reserve scored five points in 9 minutes.

“He didn’t quite have his wind the way he did before he got hurt,” Smart said.

NOT THEIR BEST NIGHT, ACTUALLY

The 17 3-pointers Kansas made were not even a season high. The Jayhawks hit 19 of 36 against Texas Southern. They average 11 3-point baskets a game with 42.2 percent accuracy, 13th-best in the nation.

SMART T’d UP

Smart said he was surprised to receive a technical foul with 3:43 remaining. Kansas led by 12 at the time.

Asked if he received an explanation from the official, Smart said, “Just that I deserved it. I’m not allowed to comment on that stuff. I’m disappointed.”

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts No. 22 Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The Jayhawks have won 16 straight against Tech, the last one by a single point in Lubbock.

Texas is at Iowa State on Monday night. The Longhorns have lost six straight in Ames, last winning in 2010.

— Associated Press —

AMES, Iowa. – Kansas women’s basketball went into one of the toughest environments in the Big 12 Conference and overcame a seven-point deficit and forced overtime before Iowa State edged the Jayhawks, 71-69, on Thursday night inside Hilton Coliseum.

Once owning a six-point lead early on in the final quarter, Kansas (9-3, 0-1 Big 12) had to fight to extend the game beyond regulation with a contested 3-point basket from junior guard Kylee Kopatich. Although chances were there, the Jayhawks couldn’t complete a second comeback effort against the Cyclones (7-5, 1-0 Big 12) in overtime and dropped their first Big 12 matchup of the season.

Kansas was led by a trio of juniors who each netted double digits. Junior guard Christalah Lyons had a team-best 19 points, while adding six assists and four rebounds in 45 minutes of play. Lyons’ 19 points marks her eleventh double-figure scoring effort in 12 games. Kopatich earned her first double-double of the 2017-18 season, scoring 15 points and 11 rebounds. She also played in all 45 minutes of the extended game. Junior guard Austin Richardson rounded out KU’s trio with 13 points and six rebounds.

Iowa State’s junior guard Bridget Carleton led all scorers with 30 points and nine rebounds, falling just shy of a double-double. Junior forward Bride Kennedy-Hopoate concluded Iowa State’s double-digit scorers with 15 points and six rebounds.

The Cyclones were the first on the board with a Carleton 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the game. Senior guard Emily Durr added two free throws to give ISU an early 5-0 lead, but the Jayhawks settled into a rhythm and netted the next four points with layups from junior guard Brianna Osorio and Richardson to put KU within one.

Iowa State went on a 6-0 run to take an 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter, but Kansas answered with six-straight points, including a pair of free throws from Lyons and a four-straight points from Kopatich to stay within one.

The Cyclones connected on their next two 3-pointers to take back a seven-point lead, but Kansas outscored the Cyclones 7-1 in the final minute of the quarter with a pair of layups from Lyons, freshman center Bailey Helgren and a 3-point basket from Richardson. The Jayhawks trailed 18-17 after the first 10 minutes of the game.

Carleton began the second quarter in the same fashion as the first, netting a 3-pointer in the first 20 seconds of the period. Following Carleton’s long-range bucket, Lyons added three points of her own. The Dallas, Texas native converted a steal into a layup and connected on one of her two free throws to keep Kansas within one early on in the second period.

Kennedy-Hopotae netted the next four points for the Cyclones with a layup and a pair of baskets from the charity stripe to give Iowa State a 25-20 lead. The Jayhawks outscored ISU 11-4 in the final seven minutes of the half, to give Kansas a 31-29 lead going into the locker room.

Iowa State and Kansas traded off buckets throughout the opening four minutes of the second half with neither team leading by more than two points. Following a three-minute scoring drought for both teams, Lyons and Kopatich netted back-to-back layups to extend the Jayhawks lead, 48-42.

After shooting 1-of-7 from the field, freshman forward Madison Wise knocked in a jumper for the Cyclones and completed the 3-point play with a free throw. Kennedy-Hopotae added a layup to put Iowa State within one. Richardson scored two more points for the Jayhawks, but another jumper from ISU’s Wise would keep the Cyclones within one, 50-49.

The Jayhawks started the final 10 minutes with five-straight points featuring baskets from redshirt-sophomore center Tyler Johnson and a long-range shot from Richardson to extend the Kansas lead to six. The Cyclones continued to fight back outscoring Kansas 7-2 following the Jayhawks’ 5-0 start to the quarter.

Johnson and Lyons each netted buckets following the Cyclones’ run, but Carleton scored six unasnwered points with a pair of layups and two free throws to give Iowa State a three-point lead with 19 seconds remaining. The Cyclones couldn’t hold onto the lead, as Kopatich sent the game into overtime with a game-tying contested 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

Iowa State took an early 67-64 lead in overtime after Carleton completed a 3-point play the old-fashioned way. Osorio knocked in a free throw to keep Kansas within a possession, but back-to-back layups from Carleton extended ISU’s lead to six with two and a half minutes remaining.

Lyons added four points for the Jayhawks to cut the lead to two, but neither team was able to score in the final two minutes. After nabbing a steal, Kopatich wasn’t able to convert another clutch 3-pointer, as the Jayhawks fell, 71-69.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks face TCU for a New Year’s Eve matchup on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. inside Allen Fieldhouse.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self confirmed Friday that power forward Silvio De Sousa has been cleared to come to KU and practice. De Sousa will join the team Dec. 26.

“Silvio has completed the required coursework that will enable him to graduate from IMG Academy and report to KU,” Self said. “He is eligible to practice immediately and will join our team December 26th. We are now working through the NCAA’s amateurism process and hope to have him certified as soon as possible for game competition.”

De Sousa, who will wear jersey No. 22 at Kansas, signed a National Letter of Intent to play at KU during the early signing period in November. He then pursued graduating from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, early to join the Jayhawks and play the spring semester.

De Sousa is ranked No. 18 nationally by Rivals.com, No. 28 by ESPN100 and No. 31 by the 247Sports.com national recruiting services. The 6-foot-9, 245-point Luanda, Angola, native has been living in Florida for nearly four years.

No. 13/14 Kansas (10-2) will play at Texas (7-3) on Friday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. in the 2017-18 Big 12 Conference opener. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

— KU Athletics —