LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Wayne Selden Jr. sliced down the lane, saw the defense collapse and whipped a pass behind his back, hoping against everything that Cheick Diallo would be there to catch it.

Not only was he there, Diallo was ready to flush it.

In his much-anticipated debut for fourth-ranked Kansas, the 6-foot-9 freshman from Mali had a trio of highlight-reel dunks Tuesday night. He finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks while helping the Jayhawks overcome a first-half malaise for a 94-61 victory over Loyola.

“At first, I don’t know what I was doing. I was so excited. I turned the ball over so easily,” said Diallo, who was the subject of an exhaustive eligibility inquiry by the NCAA. “I was so excited, I didn’t know what I was doing. At the end of the game, I was playing so good.”

Yes, he sure looked like he knew what he was doing on Selden’s nifty pass.

“I wouldn’t have thrown it if I didn’t think he’d catch it,” said the junior guard, who finished with a game-high 18 points. “He was in the right place at the right time.”

The Jayhawks (5-1) led just 40-36 at halftime before going on a 15-1 run to start the second half. Diallo finished off the flurry with the that first dunk, then added another off an alley-oop pass from Carlton Bragg, and finished with a breakaway dunk with 4 1/2 minutes left.

“He was having fun. That’s great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I’m happy for him. The kid waited a long time to get out there.”

While the Jayhawks struggled on the boards early, and never got into an offensive rhythm until they came out of the locker room to start the second half, they still had no problem putting away an overmatched opponent from the Patriot League for their 26th straight win at Allen Fieldhouse.

That winning streak is tied for the eighth-best in school history.

Eric Laster had 16 points and Andre Walker had 10 for Loyola (1-6), which missed its first five shots and committed five turnovers to start the second half, when the Jayhawks went on their big run.

“We played really hard in the first half, four-point game,” Greyhounds coach G.G. Smith said. “In the second half, they started on an 11-0 run and we just couldn’t catch up.”

That’s because the second 20 minutes belonged to Diallo and the Jayhawks.

Diallo was held out while the NCAA examined his academic work from a New York prep school and his relationship with his guardian. Eventually, Diallo was deemed to have accepted a modest amount of improper benefits, resulting in a five-game suspension.

That ended on Tuesday night, and Diallo was given a standing ovation when he checked in. Several members of the student section even painted “FREE AT LAST” across their chests.

“I was nervous for Cheick,” Self said, “because I knew this was a highly anticipated game in large part because of all the other stuff.”

While raw on offense — Diallo has only been playing basketball about five years — he was active on the offensive and defensive glass. And his infectious energy and boundless enthusiasm allowed the Jayhawks to pull away in what had been a tight game at the half.

“He told me two days ago, `I don’t get nervous.’ Then yesterday, `Oh, coach, I’m so nervous!” Self said with a smile. “Fortunately he got an easy basket and after that he was fine.”

LUCAS SITS

Kansas forward Landen Lucas sat out with a sprained toe. He has not practiced since the Maui tournament but hopes to participate in Thursday’s workout. “He wanted to play today,” Self said.

TIP-INS

Loyola: Leading scorer Jarred Jones was held to four points. … The Greyhounds are in the midst of playing seven of nine on the road. … Loyola also lost to Kansas in January 2008.

Kansas: Frank Mason III had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. … The Jayhawks were just 12 of 26 from the foul line. … Kansas forced Loyola into 21 turnovers.

UP NEXT

Loyola tries to snap a four-game skid Saturday against Mount St. Mary’s.

Kansas continues a three-game homestand Saturday against Harvard.

— Associated Press —

IRVING, Texas – Kansas guard Wayne Selden Jr. has been named the Phillips 66 co-Big 12 Player of the Week the league office announced Monday. Selden earned the honor in a vote by a media panel which covers the league and won the accolade along with Iowa State’s Monté Morris.

Selden was named co-MVP of the Maui Invitational after averaging 19.3 points as the Jayhawks won the title. The Roxbury, Massachusetts junior shot 66.7 percent from the field, including 70.6 percent from 3-point range, while adding 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. He had his top performance in the championship game, matching his career-high with 25 points in a victory over No. 19 Vanderbilt. Selden scored at least 15 points in each victory in Maui and leads Kansas with 17.0 points per game. He earned co-MVP honors with teammate Frank Mason III.

This is the second weekly honor for Selden from the conference office. He was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 13, 2014, during his freshman season.

Morris averaged 16 points, 7.7 assists and four rebounds on his way to earning Emerald Coast Classic Most Outstanding Player honors.

— KU Athletics —

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Kansas doesn’t seem to understand that you’re supposed to treat your host well.

The fifth-ranked Jayhawks had seven players score in double figures in a 123-72 victory over Chaminade, the Division II host of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, in the opening round Monday night.

It was the worst loss in the 32 years of the tournament for the Silverswords. The previous worst was a 48-point defeat to Kansas in 2005.

“Why don’t we forget about this game and just play another one,” Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird said. “They were as good as we thought. They come at you in waves and we didn’t think they would shoot from the outside the way they did.”

Wayne Selden Jr. and Sviatoslav Mykhaliuk both scored 18 points for Kansas while Devonte Graham had 15, Frank Mason III 14, Landen Lucas 13 and Hunter Mickelson and Perry Ellis both had 11 for the Jayhawks, who shot 64.4 percent from the field (47 for 73).

“We made shots and everybody looks better when you make shots,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “The defense got better as we went along.”

Kansas (2-1) will play the winner of the UNLV-UCLA game in the semifinals on Tuesday. The Jayhawks bounced back from a 79-73 loss to then-No. 13 Michigan State last week in the Champions Classic.

“I think tonight did a lot for some guys’ confidence,” said Lucas, who had 12 rebounds. “Defensively we still have a lot to work on. But it’s always good to see guys shoot like that.”

Chaminade, from Honolulu, dropped to 7-85 in the 32 years of the tournament. The only way to an upset was to beat Kansas from the outside and the Silverswords took almost as many 3-point field goals (33) as 2-point shots (36). Kansas beat them at their own game, however, finishing 15 of 29 from beyond the arc while Chaminade was 8 of 33.

“We have good shooters but tonight we didn’t make them,” Chaminade’s Rohndell Goodwin said. “It wasn’t their height that made us shoot from the outside. We have good shooters.”

Kiran Shastri had 17 points for the Silverswords (0-3) while Goodwin added 15.

The Silverswords, known for beating then-No. 1 Virginia and Ralph Sampson in 1982, had a moral victory of sorts. They pulled to 14-13 with 13:43 to play in the first half on a 3-pointer by Shastri, forcing Self to call a timeout. The Jayhawks took over from there and led 53-33 at halftime.

“Chaminade is the kind of team that can hang around and that’s what they did at the start,” Self said.

TIP-INS

Kansas: The Jayhawks won the Maui Invitational in 1996. This is their sixth appearance and in 1988 they were led by current Wake Forest coach Danny Manning. … Kansas was without junior guard Brannen Greene, who was suspended for six games by Self for unspecified conduct detrimental to the team. … Kansas’ largest margin of victory came in a 115-45 victory over Brown on Jan. 3, 1989. … The 123 points were the sixth-most in Kansas history and the most under Self.

Chaminade: The Silverswords’ last win in the Maui Invitational was in 2012, 86-73 over Texas. … Chaminade opened the season with two losses in a road trip to Alaska-Anchorage.

FREE DIALLO

Kansas fans chanted “Free Diallo” at the start of the second half. That was in reference to the NCAA still investigating freshman Cheick Diallo, who remains ineligible to participate in games. The NCAA has been investigating the 6-foot-9 Diallo’s classwork from a prep school in New York, along with the forward’s relationship with his guardian, Tidiane Drame. Diallo has been cleared to practice with the Jayhawks, and this past weekend the NCAA granted a waiver so that he could travel with the team to Hawaii.

“All I know is that our AD was contacted today and they’re working on it,” Self said.

UP NEXT:

Kansas: winner of UNLV-UCLA in Maui Invitational semifinals on Tuesday.

Chaminade: loser of UNLV-UCLA in Maui Invitational consolation round on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Kansas women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a second-half offensive surge as Arizona handed KU its first loss, 67-52, of the 2015-16 campaign on Monday, Nov. 23, inside the McKale Center. The first loss of the year and on the road, Kansas fell to 2-1 on the season.

A lack of bench production and poor shooting plagued the Jayhawks in their first road test of the season. After shooting a combined 45 percent in its first two games, Kansas shot 32 percent from the field. A 4-of-20 three-point shooting performance also marked the lowest percentage (20) of the season. After scoring 28 and 25 points in the first two games, respectively, the Kansas bench only logged 11 points against the Wildcats.

Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge and junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen finished the game as the  double-figure scorers for Kansas, with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Aldridge also led her squad with four assists. Manning-Allen gathered a game-high eight rebounds and tied her career high in blocks with four.

Guard Taryn Griffey and guard Malena Washington combined for 33 of Arizona’s 67 points on 12-of-12 shooting. Griffey’s 17 points were a game-high, including three long-range baskets that were also the most of any player on the day. Washington tallied 16 points, ten more than any other bench player.

It took the Jayhawks just 22 seconds to score the first points of the game after Manning-Allen won the opening tip for the third time this season. Freshman guard Kylee Kopatich found Manning-Allen right under the basket for the easy layup. Junior guard Jada Brown gathered an offensive rebound and put back a layup at the 5:30 mark to give Kansas an early 8-2 lead. The Wildcats surged back in the bottom half of the quarter, putting together a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game.

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm as they each began the game 1-of-6 from the field. An acrobatic play from Brown tied the game at 12-12 as she drew the foul and flipped a shot over her shoulder that rattled in with 24 seconds remaining in the quarter. After a missed free throw, neither team was able to score another point for the remainder of the period.

The shooting woes dictated the first 10 minutes of the game as the two teams shot a combined 24 percent in the opening quarter. Arizona earned five of its 12 points from the charity stripe and held Kansas to its lowest scoring quarter this season. Kansas’ previous season-low of 15 points came on three separate occasions, most recently in the second quarter against Memphis on Nov. 19.

Redshirt junior Timeka O’Neal drew a charge in the opening minute of the second quarter, giving her squad a much-needed spark. Still, the offensive cold streak continued as each team made only one of its first five field goals to being the period.

No more than two points separated the squads early, as the Wildcats made a free throw to take a 13-12 lead, but freshman forward Tyler Johnson answered with a layup to give the lead back to the Jayhawks. Arizona’s JaLea Bennett responded with a layup of her own as the Wildcats once again took the lead. After missing the mark on her first three attempts, Aldridge found the bottom of the net with a three-pointer to tilt the game back in favor of the visitors.

Foul problems compounded for the Jayhawks, as freshman guards Aisia Robertson and Jayde Christopher, as well as O’Neal each picked up their second fouls with over three minutes left in the half. After the quarter’s media timeout, the Wildcats put together a second run to claim their largest lead so far, at 26-21.

Arizona’s Washington contributed nine of Arizona’s 16 points in the final five minutes of the quarter. Kansas began to turn things around in the final three minutes of the half, making 3-of-5 field goals, including a layup from Aldridge right before the buzzer. Kansas entered the locker room trailing 31-28, marking the first time all season that the Jayhawks did not carry a lead into the second half.

26843Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen brought down a season-high eight rebounds

After 20 minutes of action, the game had seen nine lead changes and a combined 20 turnovers. Each team committed 10, while the Wildcats logged four assists to Kansas’ three. Arizona also held the edge in the shooting column, with a 35 percent field goal percentage, six better than Kansas (29).

Arizona kicked off the second half with an early long-range bucket, extending their lead to six. On Kansas’ next possession, Aldridge let a jumper fly from just inside the top of the arc as the shot clock expired. Despite the rushed attempt, the shot was pure and brought the Jayhawks back within four.

Just before the seven-minute mark, Arizona’s Bennett took the ball to the hoop, but Kopatich was there to send the ball out-of-bounds with her first career block. Kansas kept the home team from capitalizing on the following possession, while converting baskets on its next two trips down the court, tying the game at 34 apiece at the 6:10 mark.

Out of an Arizona timeout, the Wildcats exhausted the shot clock before Griffey accelerated past Johnson to roll in a layup as the buzzer sounded. The basket ended a streak of five-straight missed shots for Arizona. A Kansas turnover on the proceeding possession led to a run-out layup to push the margin to four points in favor of the home team.

Turnovers continued to plague the Jayhawks, as they failed to put a dent in the halftime deficit despite beginning the quarter 4-of-6 from the field. Six turnovers in a five-minute span resulted in the Wildcats claiming nine of their 45 points off turnovers by the end of the third period.

The bigger factor may have been bench scoring, where Arizona owned a 27-6 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes. Kansas’ nine-point third quarter set a new season-low of scoring, after the 12-point first quarter performance.

The final quarter commenced with Arizona owning an eight-point lead, the largest deficit for the Jayhawks all season. It also marked the first time this year that Kansas did not have the advantage with 10 minutes of game time remaining. The first basket of the period again went to the Wildcats, with a three-point bucket from Griffey establishing the first double-digit lead of the day. Thirty seconds later, she repeated the effort with her second three, putting Kansas in a 14-point hole with 8:36 to play.

Arizona found the bottom of the net on seven of its first eight shots of the final period. The final basket of that run came on a layup from Bennett, as she fought through a Kopatich foul. The bonus free throw re-established the 20-point advantage.

With under three minutes to play, O’Neal sunk a three, her first field goal of the day. Sophomore forward Lorraine Enabulele knocked down a hook shot in the paint on the next possession, as the 5-0 run brought the Arizona lead back to 15.

Kansas held the home team to 1-of-5 shooting to end the game, but the Jayhawks couldn’t overcome Arizona’s commanding lead. A three-point attempt by Robertson from two feet outside the arc failed to connect on Kansas’ final possession, and the Jayhawks fell to Arizona by a score of 67-52.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen kept reminding his team all week about its trip to Kansas two years ago, when the lightly regarded Jayhawks stormed to a victory over the Mountaineers.

The message apparently sunk in.

Skyler Howard threw for 133 yards and a touchdown, ran for 129 yards and another score on the ground, and led a grinding West Virginia offense that produced three 100-yard rushers in a 49-0 win over the Jayhawks on Saturday that made his team bowl-eligible for the second straight year.

“It meant a lot to our team to come here and play well,” Holgorsen said. “It had everything to do with us and nothing to do with them. And I give our players a bunch of credit for attacking this week the right way. They were ready to play.”

Wendell Smallwood ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Rushel Shell finished with 108 yards and two more scores, as the Mountaineers (6-4, 3-4 Big 12) had a trio of 100-yard rushers for the first time since Sept. 13, 1969, against Cincinnati.

“It’s what we hang our hat on,” West Virginia running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider said. “We’ve been able to run the ball efficient, and we threw the ball well enough.”

Their defense did its job, too. It was West Virginia’s first road shutout since 2005.

“We’re not finished,” Howard said. “We still have two more to play. Still work to be done.”

Kansas (0-11, 0-9) only managed 221 yards of total offense, and was held to 94 on the ground. A good chunk of that came on a 29-yard run by De’Andre Mann in the fourth quarter.

“I thought they outplayed us on both sides of the ball, the kicking game. They out-coached us. There’s no other way to say it,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “At the end of the day, we’re all responsible for that. Our players are responsible for their performance as well.”

Freshman quarterback Ryan Willis was 13 of 38 for 127 yards with three interceptions. The first, moments after Shell’s first TD run, was returned by Terrell Chestnut 32 yards for another touchdown that gave the Mountaineers a 14-0 lead with 11:15 left in the first quarter.

Things only got worse the rest of the way for Kansas.

After the Jayhawks went three-and-out — something they did seven times in the first half — the Mountaineers quickly moved 76 yards for another score to take a 21-0 lead.

Smallwood added a 24-yard TD run, Cody Clay caught a short touchdown pass from Howard, and the quarterback ran for his own touchdown as the Mountaineers took a 42-0 lead by the break.

The only drama in the second half was whether Shell would join Howard and Smallwood in breaking the 100-yard mark. He did it with a 19-yard carry late in the third quarter, making West Virginia the first to accomplish the feat against Kansas since Eric Crouch, Correll Buckhalter and Dan Alexander led Nebraska to a 56-17 romp on Nov. 4, 2000.

“We ran the ball. We wanted to run the ball. Didn’t know Skyler would be our leading rusher,” Holgorsen said, “but to have three 100-yard rushers, that’s obviously important to us.”

The total meltdown by the Jayhawks was largely unexpected.

While they have now lost 14 consecutive games dating to last season, they did show signs of progress a week ago against No. 11 TCU. The Jayhawks had the ball with a chance to drive for a go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes before falling, 23-17.

That near-miss didn’t do much to build fan support, though. There were only a few thousand fans in Memorial Stadium on a cold, blustery day, even though students don’t leave for Thanksgiving break until next week. The student section behind the West Virginia bench was especially empty.

One reporter for the school newspaper counted just over 400 students in attendance.

“We knew we were going to have to create our own energy on the sidelines,” West Virginia defensive lineman Kyle Rose said. “I thought we did a really good job of that.”

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball continued its winning ways Thursday night inside Allen Fieldhouse, concluding its four-game homestand with a 72-63 victory over Memphis.

Facing a Memphis team that returned 94 percent of its scoring from last season and claimed nine upperclassmen on its roster, Kansas knew it would have to overcome the experience-gap. Standout performances from newcomers and dominance in the paint made the difference for the Jayhawks. Kansas outrebounded the Tigers 43-29, including 14 offensive boards. The home team also outscored the visitors by 20 points (49-29) in the paint.

Three Jayhawks posted double-figure scoring efforts to earn their squad its second win of the season. Freshman Kylee Kopatich set a career-high with 14 points on 50 percent shooting, including two triples. Junior forward Jada Brown and sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge each logged 10 points. Redshirt-junior guard Timeka O’Neal once again made a living from behind the arc, knocking down three long-range baskets. Freshman guard Jayde Christopher led the team in assists with four, and matched the effort with four points. Freshman forward Tyler Johnson was the only player for either team to reach the double-figure mark in rebounds, grabbing 10 boards.

Memphis logged three double-digit scorers of its own, with Ariel Hearn and Brianna Wright tying for a game-high of 15 points each. Hearn shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line and tied with Mooriah Rowser for a team-high four assists. Asianna Fuqua-Bey scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Freshman guard Aisia Robertson kicked off the evening with a layup to give Kansas the early lead. Brown claimed a layup of her own before Wright posted the first points for Memphis. Johnson entered the game at the 7:18 mark and immediately made her presence known when she gathered the rebound off a missed jumper from Brown, put back a layup that bounced out, gathered another rebound and this time found the bottom of the net on her layup attempt. Sophomore Chayla Cheadle repeated the performance two possessions later with a put-back off an offensive rebound of her own. On the very next play, O’Neal drained a long-range bucket to give the Jayhawks a seven-point lead on five unanswered points.

With under three minutes remaining in the quarter, junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen drove across the lane and drew a foul, earning two free throws. After sinking the first, Memphis’ Hearn was assessed a technical foul. Kopatich converted on one of her two free throws given for the technical. Manning-Allen then returned to the line, and despite missing on her attempt, Kansas retained possession and she finished the play with another layup, pushing the Jayhawk lead to eight. In a span of 90 seconds, the Tigers surged back to tie the game, with five of the eight points coming from Hearn.

However, the final minute would belong to Kansas. Johnson put in her second layup with just 28 seconds on the clock. Cheadle then stole the ball on the next possession and took it all the way to hoop. Memphis then got into its offense, setting up the final play of the quarter. Robertson had different plans, coming up with yet another steal for the Jayhawks and laid the ball into the basket just as time expired.

Offensive rebounds continued to pay off for Kansas in the second quarter. Kopatich missed on the front end of a three-point attempt, but followed her own rebound and kicked the ball back out to Aldridge for a three of her own -her first points of the night. Once again, Memphis answered with a quick run. Another eight-point streak cut the Kansas lead to a single point. Kopatich tilted the momentum back to Kansas with the home team’s third triple of the night. Memphis turned the ball over on their next two trips down the floor, and the Jayhawks capitalized on each to re-establish their eight-point advantage.

Despite making five of its last six field goal attempts of the second quarter, Kansas managed to only carry a one-point lead into the intermission. This was due to the home team only attempting four field goals in the final five minutes of the quarter, while the Tigers closed out the period with three-straight makes, two of those coming from long distance. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half of action, with Kansas holding the advantage over the visitors, 54-52. Kopatich’s team-leading nine points also matched her career-high from the opening game of the season. Hearn led Memphis with 13 points, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range.

The shooting cooled off for both teams, after returning to the floor for the second half. Memphis shot only 23 percent in the third period while Kansas knocked down 44 percent of their shots. The two teams shot a combined 0-of-5 from the three-point line. As the clock dipped below the five-minute mark in the third quarter, the Jayhawks ran their offensive set for nearly the entire shot clock before Kopatich found Cheadle on the baseline, who battled through a foul to put in a last-second layup. The play sent the Kansas bench into a frenzy and pushed the lead to three points.

As the Tigers endured a drought of four-consecutive missed field goals, the Jayhawks tried to push the lead. Johnson converted her third layup of the evening on the next possession, but Hearn responded by drawing a foul on the other end and draining both free throws. Kopatich continued her career night with her fourth field goal of the night, followed up by Christopher, who shook off a defender with a shoulder fake and sunk a jumper. Two made free throws from Memphis’ Mooriah Rowswer proved to be the final points of the quarter, as the Jayhawks carried a five-point lead into the final 10 minutes of action.

The Jayhawks were not interested in surrendering the lead in the fourth quarter. Five of the first seven shots from the home team found the bottom of the net, including two more three-pointers from O’Neal. Memphis would not be quieted, posting the exact same 5-of-7 shooting to remain within four points with 4:53 left in the game. While both teams found their rhythm in the top half of the quarter, the last four minutes proved to be a shooting struggle.

A scoring drought of 3:49 was finally ended by a Kopatich layup with 1:04 on the clock. After a missed three from Rowser, Aldridge earned a trip to the line and netted both free throws to extend the lead to eight points. Aldridge tacked on a final free throw with 21 seconds on the clock to seal the Jayhawks’ second victory of the season.

Rowser’s three-pointer at the 4:53 mark were the final points for Memphis, as the Tigers were held scoreless for the remainder of the game on 0-of-9 shooting and fell to Kansas by a score of 72-63.

— KU Athletics —

CHICAGO (AP) — Denzel Valentine had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists and the senior guard took over the game for No. 13 Michigan State in the second half as the Spartans beat No. 4 Kansas 79-73 at the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at United Center.

Kansas (1-1) had a 13-point lead twice in the first half, the last time at 28-15 with 6:16 to go. Michigan State (2-0) was within 41-35 at halftime but the Jayhawks again opened the lead to double figures at 61-50 with 9:42 to go on a long layup by Frank Mason III.

Valentine, who had career-highs in points and assists, then scored seven points in a 12-1 run to tie the game at 62 with 6:08 to play.

There were six lead changes the rest of the way and it was Valentine who put the Spartans ahead for good at 72-71 on a drive with 1:29 left.

Valentine’s understudy in the comeback was freshman guard Matt McQuaid, who scored six of his nine points on two 3s in the final 3:54 and then he came up with a huge blocked shot of Mason in the final minute.

Valentine had 13 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the Spartans’ opener against Florida Atlantic.

Perry Ellis led the Jayhawks with 21 points, Mason added 14 and Wayne Selden Jr. had 12.

No. 2 Kentucky beat No. 5 Duke 74-63 in the first game of the double-header.

TIP-INS:

Kansas: The Jayhawks were outrebounded 45-25 but they had the advantage on the offensive glass 12-10. … Ellis was 9 for 18 from the field while the rest of the starters were 10 for 37.

Michigan State: Valentine’s 12 assists matched Kansas’ total for the game. … The Spartans struggled from 3-point range in the first half (3 of 10) but they rallied in the second half to make 6 of 11. … Michigan State had eight blocked shots to Kansas’ one. In their win over Florida Atlantic the Spartans had 12 blocks.

CHAMPIONS HISTORY: This was the second time Kansas and Michigan State met in the five years of the Champions Classic. The Spartans beat the Jayhawks 67-64 in 2012 in Atlanta.

It’s already set that Duke and Kansas will meet in next year’s Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.

PLAYING THE BEST: Since 1997-98, when Michigan State started its run of 18 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, The Spartans have played 199 games against ranked opponents. That’s the most of any team that appeared in the Final Four since then and they are followed by North Carolina (182), Texas (173), Duke (173) and Kentucky (170).

UP NEXT:

Kansas: Meets Chaminade in the first round of Maui Invitational on Nov. 23.

Michigan State: Hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior forward Perry Ellis has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Tuesday.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Ellis is appearing on the Wooden preseason list for the second straight season. He is one of seven Big 12 Conference student-athletes on the list chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts.

The 2015 Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, preseason unanimous all-conference selection and 2015 Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention, Ellis is Kansas’ leading returning scorer (13.8 ppg) and rebounder (6.9 rpg) from 2014-15. Additionally, last season Ellis was the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top seven in scoring (7th), field goal percentage (7th at 45.7) and rebounding (4th) as he was named the league player of the week three times.

A two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, Ellis is No. 37 on the KU career scoring list with 1,173 points and No. 24 on the KU all-time rebound list with 614 boards. He is on pace to become only the eighth Jayhawk in school history to rank in the top 15 of both joining the likes of Danny Manning, Nick Collison, Raef LaFrentz, Clyde Lovellette, Dave Robisch, Mark Randall and Wayne Simien.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2016 John R. Wooden Award. The Wooden Award National Advisory Board will select 25 players to the Midseason Top 25 in early January. In early February, the John R. Wooden Award will announce one final leading candidate list—the Late Season Top 20—prior to the selection of 15 players for its national ballot.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball opened the season with a 72-65 victory over Texas Southern to begin the Brandon Schneider coaching era, Sunday afternoon inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks maintained the lead for much of the first 20 minutes of play, but the reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference champion, Texas Southern, fought back in the second half and forced the Jayhawks to earn the win. TSU outscored the Jayhawks by seven points in the third quarter, resulting in just a one-point Kansas lead. However, the Jayhawks played nearly flawless, draining their final five field goal attempts, to seal the victory in the final 10 minutes.

Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge led the scoring for Kansas, with a career-high 17 points, paired with a game-high seven assists. Junior forward Jada Brown logged a game-changing five offensive rebounds and eight points, including a huge three-point basket in the final moments of the game. Redshirt junior guard Timeka O’Neal also posted a career day, with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. 26714Head coach Brandon Schneider
directs a huddle against Texas Southern.
Despite being shadowed by Aldridge for most of the afternoon, guard Jazzmin Parker of Texas Southern was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points. She knocked down three of the team’s four three-pointers and shot 50 percent from the field. Center Kiana Vines gave the Jayhawks problems in the lane all afternoon, tallying a team-high four blocks and seven rebounds, behind 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

After three and a half minutes of action, only one point separated the two squads, with Kansas holding the lead. O’Neal,Jada Brown and freshman forward Tyler Johnson then entered the game as the first Jayhawk subs, and the impact was immediate. A three from O’Neal rattled in to extend KU’s lead to four points. On the other end, Johnson prevented a Texas Southern basket by taking a charge and followed it up on the next possession with a block that again returned possession to Kansas.

The smothering defense continued, forcing four Texas Southern turnovers and five-straight missed field goals. The Tigers did not score again until the 1:48 mark, a scoring drought of nearly half of the opening quarter. During the same stretch, Kansas was able to push the lead to 11-6, with three-straight baskets capped off by O’Neal’s second triple of the afternoon. The visitors did regain their rhythm at the end of the quarter, scoring three-straight baskets to cut the lead to seven points heading into the second quarter.

Texas Southern continued its charge in the next period, beginning with three made layups, extending the streak to six made field goals in a row and shortening the deficit to only three points. The Jayhawk backcourt responded. Aldridge and freshman Kylee Kopatich each sank jumpers, and O’Neal continued her hot streak with yet another long-range bucket.

Emerging from a timeout with 4:24 left in the half, the Kansas defense once again stepped up to fight off the Lady Tigers attack. Over the remainder of the half, the Jayhawks forced six turnovers and did not allow the visitors to score another field goal. Kansas could not fully capitalize on its defensive effort, scoring only six points over the same duration, with veterans Aldridge, junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen and Brown each claiming a made field goal. Texas Southern concluded the half, converting on 1-of-2 free throws with 17 seconds left, trailing the Jayhawks by 10 heading into the intermission.

Both teams continued to struggle from the field in the early moments of the second half, as the Jayhawks shot 1-of-5 and the Lady Tigers missed the mark on their first four attempts. TSU caught fire again, however, draining four baskets in a row, which cut Kansas’ lead to eight points halfway through the third quarter. Johnson stepped up with a nice turnaround floater after O’Neal found her on the baseline with a pass that split two Tiger defenders.

The basket from Johnson did little to break up the drought, as the Jayhawks failed to convert on their next five attempts while Texas Southern continued its run. Scoring-leader Parker knocked down her third triple with 12 seconds remaining in the third period, bringing her scoring total to 21 points and the Lady Tigers to within a single point of Kansas.

Aldridge drew a foul with a single second left on the clock, and converted on both free throws to carry a 48-45 lead into the final quarter of action. Texas Southern’s 22-point third quarter was the highest scoring quarter of the day for either team.

The Lady Tigers scored the first five points of the period, taking a two-point lead – the team’s largest of the day. Vines continued to be a force inside, recording her third and fourth blocks. The Jayhawk bigs did not back down, as Johnson battled through a foul to convert on a huge layup, which tied the game at 50-50.

A made jumper from Kopatich with 6:53 left in the game sparked a run where the two teams exchanged points on the next five possessions.When the streak ended, the Jayhawks emerged clinging to a one-point lead once again with just under five minutes remaining in the game.

A battle ensued over the last few minutes, with both teams trading clutch baskets. Aldridge put in two free throw attempts and a layup. Brown capped off her impressive performance by driving down the lane and putting in a layup to push the lead to seven points.

Texas Southern’s Diamonisha Sophus responded with a three-pointer to bring it back to a two-possession game. Head coach Brandon Schneider called a timeout and drew up a play for the hot hand: O’Neal. She calmly sank her fourth triple of the afternoon, right in front of the Jayhawk bench, effectively sealing the season-opening win for the Jayhawks.

Her bucket proved to be the last, as Kansas began Schneider’s coaching era with a 72-65 victory.

The Jayhawks continue their four-game homestand to start the 2015-16 campaign on Thursday, Nov. 19 against Memphis at 7 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse.

— KU Athletics —