Jayhawks

#3 Kansas survived a late rally from #11 K-State and snuck out of Bramlage Coliseum with a 59-55 in the Sunflower Showdown. Travis Releford led the way for KU with 12 points and Jeff Withey and Ben McLemore combined for 22 against K-State. Shane Southwell came alive in the second half, finishing with 19 points for K-State. Rodney McGruder scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half on a cold shooting night for the Wildcats. Inside one minute to play, K-State got within three points but struggled at the foul line and could get no closer.

Kansas redshirt freshman G Ben McLemore has been selected the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Rookie of the Week for games of January 14-20 in a vote by a media panel which covers the conference, the league announced Monday. McLemore is receiving the honor for the second time and his third league weekly accolade this season as he was the conference's player of the week last week (1/14). McLemore led the Jayhawks to victories over Baylor (61-44) and at Texas (64-59) as KU improved to 4-0 in conference play and extended it overall win streak to 15 games, the nation's longest streak.

Ben McLemore scored 16 points and No. 4 Kansas stormed back from a late double-digit deficit to stun Texas 64-59 on Saturday for win its 15th straight win. Jeff Withey added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Jayhawks (16-1, 4-0 Big 12), who trailed by 11 points in the second half before McLemore steered a rally that prevented the reeling Longhorns (8-9, 0-4) from a badly needed victory in this troubled season. Travis Releford added 12 points for Kansas. Sheldon McClennan led the Longhorns with 18 points.

Kansas secondary coach Clint Bowen will take over as coach of the linebackers after DeMontie Cross decided to leave for a similar position at Big 12 rival TCU. Jayhawks coach Charlie Weis said Friday that Bowen would switch duties. Bowen was part of the Kansas staff even before Weis arrived prior to last season. He was the defensive coordinator in 2008, when he helped the Jayhawks to a win in the Insight Bowl. Weis did not say when he planned to hire a new secondary coach, though defensive coordinator Dave Campo' forte is working with defensive backs.

For What it's Worth on this cold January 15th--- Thirteen baskets-- fourteen turnovers, that's a telling stat for Baylor. Need another? Kansas blocked as many shots as BU made in the 61-44 blowout on Big Monday. Senior center Jeff Withey 'only' had three of his team's 13 blocks, but just his presence makes Kansas a better defensive club. When you have a 7'0” shot blocker behind you, it allows perimeter defenders to take more chances. The best case scenario is creating turnovers, but even if a guy gets by someone outside they still have Withey to deal with.

Sixth-ranked Kansas begins pursuit of its ninth consecutive Big 12 championship when it opens conference play against Iowa State on Wednesday night. The last time the Jayhawks failed to finish first in the league was in 2005, when Oklahoma won the title. Otherwise, they've won six outright championships and twice shared the title with Texas during a run of domination that is virtually unmatched. Among the other schools who can lay claim to such a streak: John Wooden's UCLA teams that won 13 straight titles, and Gonzaga, which won 11 in a row before finishing second last season.

For the first time this season all three Kansas Men's Basketball teams appear in the AP Top 25 Rankings at the same time. Kansas (12-1) maintained its position at #6 after the Jayhawks rallied to win over Temple Sunday afternoon. K-State (12-2) jumped seven spots to #18.  The Wildcats beat last week's #22 Oklahoma State over the weekend.  Wichita State (14-1) is back in the Top 25 in the #23 spot, receiving 135 votes.  The Shockers spent two weeks in the Top 25 earlier this season but dropped out of the rankings after their loss to Tennessee.

Kevin Young had 16 points, hitting four critical free throws down the stretch, and sixth-ranked Kansas fended off pesky Temple 69-62 on Sunday for the Jayhawks' 11th straight win. Travis Releford added 14 points on 5 for 5 shooting, none of his baskets bigger than a 3-pointer from the wing with 34.9 seconds left. With the shot-clock winding down, Releford's shot gave Kansas a 65-58 lead, essentially turning away its Atlantic 10 foe. Ben McLemore added 13 points and Jeff Withey had eight points, 11 rebounds and nine blocked shots for the Jayhawks (12-1)

Travis Releford scored 19 points and No. 6 Kansas hit a scorching 13 of its first 18 3-point attempts, rolling to an 89-57 victory over American University on Saturday night.     Kansas (11-1) took command with a 21-4 spree in the opening minutes and wound up with six players scoring at least nine points against the outmanned Eagles (4-9). Releford was 7 for 8 from the floor, including 5 of 6 3-pointers. Elijah Johnson had 12 points and was 4 for 5 from behind the arc as the Jayhawks finished with 15-for-24 3-point shooting.

Redshirt freshman Ben McLemore scored 22 points and No. 9 Kansas proved it was more than just a bully at home by beating seventh-ranked Ohio State 74-66 on Saturday. It was the third victory for the Jayhawks (10-1) in little more than a year over the Buckeyes (9-2). Kansas won a 64-62 thriller in last year's NCAA semifinals. The Jayhawks, who had yet to play a true road game, held Ohio State without a field goal for more than 10 minutes of the second half. The Buckeyes, who were led by Deshaun Thomas' 16 points, hit just 9 of 36 shots from the field in the final 20 minutes.