Kansas Basketball: Notes, TV Info vs Omaha Mavericks

Kansas Jayhawks center Udoka Azubuike - (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
Kansas Jayhawks center Udoka Azubuike - (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Kansas basketball team will face the Omaha Mavericks Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse. This will be the Jayhawks’ final game against a school who isn’t a Power Five conference.

The Kansas basketball team will play host to the Omaha Mavericks in their final matchup against a mid- to low-major school this season. The timing is good because the Kansas Jayhawks need to recover some of the form and confidence that helped them crush opponents early in the season.

The Jayhawks needed some waning seconds heroics from Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Udoka Azubuike on Saturday to squeak by the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the road. Mykhailiuk hit a go-ahead three-pointer on Kansas’ last real offensive possession to take the lead, 73-72, and Azubuike made a tremendous block and hustle play to lock down the win.

The good news is the Jayhawks played with poise and toughness in a hostile atmosphere and escaped without their losing streak intact.

There is nothing new to report on the Billy Preston situation.

Must Read: Kansas Basketball Fans Ranked World's 129th Best Fandom

KANSAS BASKETBALL LIVE STREAM AND TV INFO

  • Who: Omaha Mavericks (3-10)
  • Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Ks
  • Tipoff Time: Monday, December 18, 6:00 p.m. CT
  • TV Channel: ESPN2
  • Kansas Basketball Live Stream: WatchESPN

The Kansas basketball live stream versus the Omaha Mavericks can be seen on WatchESPN if your cable subscription includes ESPN.

Related Story: Know Where to Live Stream your Favorite Teams

KANSAS BASKETBALL NOTES

Azubuike had a career game against Nebraska, scoring 26 blocks and ten rebounds in 26 minutes. He also had one very key blocked shot.

More from Kansas Jayhawks

For the season, Azubuike is shooting an incredible 78 percent from the field. He could miss his next 51 shots and still be shooting 50 percent.

It helps he gets a lot of dunks, but he is developing the other parts of his offensive game as well. It will be fun to see how he progresses as the season goes along.

In the first six games of the season, the Jayhawks shot 47.1 percent from three-point range (75-159). In their last four games, they are hitting just 29.9 percent from behind the arc (32-107).

Teams are no longer allowing them open looks at the basket from deep.

Kansas needs to find other ways to score than from three and Udoka dunks. Getting Malik Newman going would be a big help. The sophomore guard is shooting 23.8 percent from three in his last four games. He has just 23 points in those four contests, including a goose egg against the Cornhuskers.

TEAM LEADERS

Another big concern for Kansas has to be the fact they are getting to the free throw line less than 13 times a game. Their opponents have 43 more attempts than Kansas has. The Jayhawks are shooting 74 percent from the line, despite Azubuike hitting just 43 percent of his attempts.

Next: Top One-and-Done Players in KU History

The Kansas basketball team has two more games, including this one, and 11 days to get ready for their Big 12 Conference opener next Friday. Hopefully, the Jayhawks can work out some of their kinks over the holidays!