Kansas basketball opened the season at Allen Fieldhouse with a 69-59 win over the University of California, Santa Brabara Gauchos on Friday night. Below are some interesting facts, figures, and quick hits from said game.
- Some found it a bit surprising that freshman guard Kelly Oubre Jr. only played four minutes in his regular season debut for the Jayhawks. Bill Self said after the game that it was purely a coaching decision, nothing more. He said it wasn't a knock to Oubre, but he's young, and suggested that he's got a ways to go to get more time on the court. It'll be interesting to see where his role goes from here. Oubre didn't seem too upset about it after the game, and he even tweeted out some encouraging words for Devonte' Graham after the win.
- Former Kansas coach Larry Brown said this week that Kentucky can go undefeated this year. When it came up in the press conference, Self laughed it off, but said the following. "Who knows what Larry's doing. He may be mad at Cal about something. ... They’re a team that could obviously make a (undefeated) run like that. ... Every game they play, they’re probably going to be favored. So if you're a favorite every game, the chances are probably pretty good you're going to win." The No. 5 Jayhawks take on No. 1 Kentucky in Indianapolis, Ind. on Tuesday.
- Kansas forward Cliff Alexander left the Fieldhouse with an ice pack on his wrist. He bruised it in the last exhibition against Emporia State, but appears to be okay. Alexander dropped nine points and grabbed four boards in the win. Four of those points came from a pair of jumpers, which impressed Bill Self. Self said he reacted to those jumpers with a "No, no, no!... Good shot, Cliff. Self added: "He acted like he knew what he was doing. He played well."
- Perry Ellis picked up his seventh career double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. There's plenty where that came from. It's only the beginning of what we're going to see from Ellis this season.
- Devonte' Graham made a good case for the starting shooting guard spot. He shot 5-of-8 from the floor for a team-high 14 points, was very efficient, and came out as a starter in the second half. Brennan Greene didn't play badly, but he had only three points, and didn't do anything to etch his name into the starting spot. Graham may not get the spot immediately, but Greene certainly doesn't have it locked down, by any means. The freshman is right on his tail.
- 13 NBA scouts were at Allen Fieldhouse to witness UCSB big man Alan Williams, and he didn't shy away from the attention. He dropped 22 points on the Jayhawks, snatched 13 boards, and shot 9-of-18 from the field. Williams is a bad, bad man. He will go through you, and he's going to make fools of a lot of Big West defenders this year, as he did last year. This is a name to keep on your radar in the future, as he's very, very talented.
- The Jayhawks won their 42nd consecutive season-opener at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday, which dates back to 1973. IT was also the Jayhawks 13th straight season-opening victory. Bill Self has never lost a season-opener in his tenure at KU. But there were some disparities in the win. Kansas' 69 points were the lowest points scored by a team in its opener since the 2004 Jayhawks scored 68 against Vermont. 10-points was also the lowest season-opening victory since that 2004 game.
- Perry Ellis scored the first points of the season for the Jayhawks, just 12 seconds in. Legend. Ary.
- Only six Jayhawks have scored more points than Graham (14) in their first regular season game in a Kansas jersey: Xavier Henry (27), Josh Selby (21), Andrew Wiggins (16), and Perry Ellis, Mario Chalmers, and Greg Ostertang (15).
- Self called Jamari Traylor "unnoticed" after the game. He picked up 10 boards for only the second time in his career, and was given the task of defending Williams with most of his time on the court. He notched two blocks as well. Both Traylor and Alexander deserve the starting spot next to Perry Ellis down low, so it's going to be interesting to see how Self handles that situation.
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