Houston Cougars vs. Kansas Jayhawks: Probable starters, tipoff, TV, facts and figures

Former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars will meet the Kansas Jayhawks in a Big 12 men’s basketball game on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. Here are some tidbits regarding the matchup.

THE DETAILS

When/where: 3 p.m., Saturday, Allen Fieldhouse.

TV: ESPN.

Radio: WHB (810) in Kansas City; ESPN Wichita (92.3 FM) in Wichita.

PROBABLE STARTERS

About No. 4 Houston (19-2, 6-2): Houston averages 71.0 points per game while allowing 58.5 points per game. The Cougars have hit 43.0% of their shots including 35.8% (59 of 164) of their 3-pointers. Houston’s opponents have hit 37% of their shots, just 30% of their 3s (54 of 180). … L.J. Cryer has made a team-leading 20 3s in 58 attempts for 34.5%. … Houston out-rebounds its opponents 39.8 to 33.3 per game. … Houston’s two losses in the Big 12 were at Iowa State (57-53) and at TCU (68-67). Houston has Big 12 victories at Texas (76-72, OT), at BYU (75-68), at home against West Virginia (89-55), Texas Tech (77-54), UCF (57-42) and Kansas State (74-52). … J’Wan Roberts is one of 21 Cougars to have 700 career rebounds. … Kelvin Sampson is 251-76 in 10 seasons at Houston and 751-346 overall. … Houston is 8-1 when competing as the No. 4 team in the AP poll. … Houston is 3-0 versus ranked teams. … The Cougars are wearing No. 32 patches on their uniforms in 2023-24 in memory of former UH forward Reggie Chaney, who died in August 2023 at the age of 23. A three-year letter winner at Houston after transferring from Arkansas, Chaney competed in more than 100 games from 2020 to 2023, winning 90 games with the Cougars. … Assistant coach Kellen Sampson’s new signed contract formalized the coaching succession plan which will take place upon Kelvin Sampson’s retirement, Kellen Sampson is designated head coach-in-waiting on the Houston staff. … Kelvin Sampson is 6-11 all-time against KU, 0-0 versus the Jayhawks as Houston coach.

About No. 8 Kansas (17-4, 5-3): KU is 5-2 all-time against Houston. The Jayhawks are 2-1 versus the Cougars in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks have won three in a row in the series. … The two programs have met in the NCAA Tournament three times. Houston defeated KU 66-53 in a first-round Midwest Regional game on March 17, 1967 at Allen Fieldhouse. KU went 23-4 that season and 13-1 in the Big Eight. KU won 78-77 in a first-round Midwest Regional contest on March 18, 1971 in Wichita. That Final Four team went 27-3 overall and 14-0 in the Big Eight. Also, KU won 66-65 in a first-round Southeast Regional game on March 13, 1987 in Atlanta. That KU team went 25-11 and 9-5 in the Big Eight. … Last meeting was a 95-78 KU victory in the losers bracket of the 2001 Maui Invitational. … KU is 3-2 in its last five league games. … The Jayhawks are 11-0 at home this season and have a 16-game homecourt win streak. … KU is 851-117 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse, including 310-17 under head coach Bill Self. … Self is 582-136 while at Kansas, 789-241 overall. He is closing in on Phog Allen’s mark as winningest KU coach. Allen went 590-219 at KU from 1907 to 1909 and from 1919 to 1956. … KU is 18-1 in Allen Fieldhouse in the Self era when facing an opponent ranked higher than KU. Kansas has won 15 in a row in Allen against teams ranked higher than KU, beginning on Feb. 5 2006. ... Kansas has six wire-to-wire victories this season: Oklahoma State (2), NC Central, Manhattan College, Chaminade and Eastern Illinois. … Kansas hit eight 3-pointers in Tuesday’s win over Oklahoma State, a season high in conference play. … Hunter Dickinson has a Big 12-leading 12 double-doubles. … KJ Adams has scored in double figures in eight straight games and 17 times this season. … KU is 31-1 when Dajuan Harris scores 10 or more points. … Johnny Furphy has scored in double figures in five straight games. ... Saturday’s matchup will serve as a preview for the launch of Big 12 Mexico on Dec. 14, 2024, when the two teams (men’s and women’s) square off at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.