LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 8/7 Kansas (5-1) will face St. John’s (5-1) in the Big East/Big 12 Battle on Friday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. (Central) at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. The contest will be televised on FS1.
Kansas is coming off a 96-83 win versus Iona on Nov. 28 in the consolation finals of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Florida. St. John’s brings a three-game winning streak into Friday after its 77-68 overtime win against NJIT on Nov. 27.
UBS Arena opened in November and is home of the New York Islanders of the NHL. The Kansas-St. John’s game will be the first-ever basketball game played in the venue.
Kansas leads the 13-game series with Saint John’s, 8-5, and the Jayhawks have won the last two and four of the last five meetings. These teams last met on Nov. 10, 2000, in New York, New York, with KU winning 82-74. The most famous meeting was the 1952 NCAA title game, a Kansas 80-63 win in Seattle.
This will be the third Big East/Big 12 Battle with Kansas posting a 1-1 record in the event. Last year, KU defeated then-No. 8 Creighton, 73-72, in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 8, 2020. KU lost at Villanova, 56-55, on Dec. 21, 2019, in the inaugural Big East/Big 12 Battle. Dating back to 2007, Kansas is 9-5 in conference challenges (1-1 vs. Arizona, 2-0 vs. UCLA, 1-0 vs. Creighton, 1-1 vs. Florida, 2-1 vs. Kentucky, 1-0 vs. Texas A&M, 1-1 vs. Tennessee, 0-1 vs. Villanova).
The Jayhawks lead the Big 12, and are fifth nationally, in field goal percentage shooting 52.1 percent. KU also leads the league and is 10th nationally with the fewest turnovers at 60. KU pulls down 34.2 rebounds per game with a +4.8 rebound margin. KU averages 17.0 assists, 3.8 blocked shots, and 7.3 steals per game.
Senior guard Ochai Agbaji leads the Big 12 and is seventh in the NCAA with a 22.5 ppg scoring average. Agbaji has made a team-best 15 three-point field goals and makes 2.5 threes per contest. Junior guard Christian Braun was named to the ESPN Events Invitational All-Tournament Team. He is next in scoring at 13.8 points per game and he leads Kansas with a 7.2 rebound average. Super-senior guard Remy Martin is scoring 12.0 ppg and he pulls down 5.3 rebounds per contest. Senior David McCormack leads Kansas with 10 blocked shots. He averages 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Redshirt-sophomore Dajuan Harris Jr. (3.0 ppg) rounds out the starters and leads KU with 23 assists and has seven steals.
Other KU regulars include super-senior forward Mitch Lightfoot (5.3 ppg, 3.2 RPG), freshman forward Zach Clemence (4.8 ppg, five 3FGs), redshirt-sophomore Jalen Wilson (4.3 ppg, 4.0 RPG), super-senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (3.7 ppg), sophomore guard Joseph Yesufu (3.5 ppg), freshman guard Bobby Pettiford (2.5 ppg, 11 assists), and freshman forward KJ Adams Jr. (5.1 minutes per game).
Kansas will next host UTEP in the Jayhawk Shootout on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The game will be televised on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
Kansas is coming off a 96-83 win versus Iona on Nov. 28 in the consolation finals of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Florida. St. John’s brings a three-game winning streak into Friday after its 77-68 overtime win against NJIT on Nov. 27.
UBS Arena opened in November and is home of the New York Islanders of the NHL. The Kansas-St. John’s game will be the first-ever basketball game played in the venue.
Kansas leads the 13-game series with Saint John’s, 8-5, and the Jayhawks have won the last two and four of the last five meetings. These teams last met on Nov. 10, 2000, in New York, New York, with KU winning 82-74. The most famous meeting was the 1952 NCAA title game, a Kansas 80-63 win in Seattle.
This will be the third Big East/Big 12 Battle with Kansas posting a 1-1 record in the event. Last year, KU defeated then-No. 8 Creighton, 73-72, in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 8, 2020. KU lost at Villanova, 56-55, on Dec. 21, 2019, in the inaugural Big East/Big 12 Battle. Dating back to 2007, Kansas is 9-5 in conference challenges (1-1 vs. Arizona, 2-0 vs. UCLA, 1-0 vs. Creighton, 1-1 vs. Florida, 2-1 vs. Kentucky, 1-0 vs. Texas A&M, 1-1 vs. Tennessee, 0-1 vs. Villanova).
The Jayhawks lead the Big 12, and are fifth nationally, in field goal percentage shooting 52.1 percent. KU also leads the league and is 10th nationally with the fewest turnovers at 60. KU pulls down 34.2 rebounds per game with a +4.8 rebound margin. KU averages 17.0 assists, 3.8 blocked shots, and 7.3 steals per game.
Senior guard Ochai Agbaji leads the Big 12 and is seventh in the NCAA with a 22.5 ppg scoring average. Agbaji has made a team-best 15 three-point field goals and makes 2.5 threes per contest. Junior guard Christian Braun was named to the ESPN Events Invitational All-Tournament Team. He is next in scoring at 13.8 points per game and he leads Kansas with a 7.2 rebound average. Super-senior guard Remy Martin is scoring 12.0 ppg and he pulls down 5.3 rebounds per contest. Senior David McCormack leads Kansas with 10 blocked shots. He averages 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Redshirt-sophomore Dajuan Harris Jr. (3.0 ppg) rounds out the starters and leads KU with 23 assists and has seven steals.
Other KU regulars include super-senior forward Mitch Lightfoot (5.3 ppg, 3.2 RPG), freshman forward Zach Clemence (4.8 ppg, five 3FGs), redshirt-sophomore Jalen Wilson (4.3 ppg, 4.0 RPG), super-senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (3.7 ppg), sophomore guard Joseph Yesufu (3.5 ppg), freshman guard Bobby Pettiford (2.5 ppg, 11 assists), and freshman forward KJ Adams Jr. (5.1 minutes per game).
Kansas will next host UTEP in the Jayhawk Shootout on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The game will be televised on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
