The Kansas Jayhawks basketball team will play host to the Florida Gators Friday night as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Jayhawks lost to the Gators on the road last season, 67-61. Florida is the second consecutive game against a name opponent for the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas beat Michigan State on Sunday.
THE VITALS:
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- Who: Florida Gators (3-3)
- Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
- Tip-off Time: Friday, December 30, 8:00 PM (Central time)
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Kansas Jayhawks Live Stream: WatchESPN
The Kansas Jayhawks basketball live stream versus the Florida Gators will be on WatchESPN on Friday. This service is only available to those who subscribe to ESPN through their cable or dish service. If you get ESPN at home, you will be able to access the Kansas Jayhawks live stream feed on the go.
Game Notes Versus The Florida Gators
The Florida Gators have lost three games but are still ranked 24th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They are still getting votes because they have lost those three games by a total of 12 against quality opponents, and that includes a nine-point loss to 5th ranked North Carolina. They also fell to Miami by two points, and to Georgetown by one in overtime.
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The Gators are led in scoring by Michael Frazier II, who tallies 15.2 points a game. Jon Horford and Dorian Finney-Smith join Frazier in double digits with 10.3 points an outing each. Horford leads the team with seven rebounds a game. Finney-Smith has missed two games due to injury.
Florida is shooting just 38.7% from the field, including 29.5% from behind the arc. They shoot an average 20.3 three-point attempts per game.
For the Jayhawks, Perry Ellis is the leader in both scoring (15.3) and rebounding (7.0) through six games, in which Kansas is 5-1. He remains the only player averaging double digits for Kansas, but Frank Mason (9.8) and Cliff Alexander (9.7) are close.
The Jayhawks shoot 42% from the field. Take out the Kentucky debacle, where they shot just 19%, Kansas is hitting 46.7% of their shots. Their accuracy rate is 32.6% behind the arc. (stats from the ESPN team pages)
Frank Mason is slowly growing into the point guard role. None of his stats are mind-blowing – 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.8 turnovers – but he seems to be getting more comfortable get the the Jayhawks into their half court offense.
If Mason can emerge as Kansas’ floor leader, and can maintain the toughness he regularly displays, the Jayhawks will be the better for it. He could develop into that true point guard Kansas has been lacking over the past few seasons.
If he learns how to finish at the basket, and maybe distribute to the wing off his penetration, he will be very difficult to contain. Mason’s future is very bright at Kansas, and this will just be another opportunity for him to shine on a national stage against a quality opponent.