Kansas University’s basketball players left sub-zero wind chills for sunny Arizona on Sunday afternoon where the weather was ….

“Really nice. Maybe 75 degrees,” said future KU player Royce Woolridge, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior shooting guard out of Phoenix Sunnyslope High.

Woolridge, who orally committed to KU last May, plans to make the hour-and-a-half drive to Tucson with two of his buddies and one of his high school coaches for Tuesday’s KU-Arizona game, set for a 9:30 p.m. (Central time) tipoff in McKale Center on U of A’s campus.

“It’s going to be a good experience. It will be cool to watch them. Even watching them on TV is weird for me,” said Woolridge, who likes what he has seen of the Jayhawks, who take an 8-2 record into the game against the 7-3 Wildcats.

“I think they’re doing well. They are just really young. They’ll be fine,” Woolridge said.

How about Arizona?

“They’ve got Chase Budinger (6-7 junior) and Jordan Hill (6-10 junior). They slow it up sometimes to try to get it into Hill and get Budinger the ball. I think Kansas will win by 12,” he added with a laugh.

Woolridge is off to a remarkable start his junior season for 8-2 Sunnyslope. He’s averaging 29.6 points a game off 49 percent shooting with 5.0 boards and 2.6 assists per contest.

Woolridge, who has hit 49 percent of his shots, scored a school record 52 points in an 86-77 overtime victory over Phoenix Shadow Mountain. He had 37 points after halftime, including 15 in overtime.

“I was getting fouled a lot,” said Woolridge, who hit 22 of 26 free throws on a night he decided to drive instead of fire up jumpers because of an injured right shoulder.

Woolridge also had a 44-point game and 42-point game this season.

Does he keep track of the points as he piles them up?

“Not really,” he said. “I just play, and after the game somebody said, ‘You had 52.’ Our team is doing pretty well. We are a pretty decent team. We’re short-handed. We have no big men.”

Woolridge is currently ranked No. 88 in the Class of 2010 by Rivals.com. It’s likely he’ll rocket up the charts if he continues to average 30 points all season long.

“It’s what I’m aiming for. That would be awesome,” he said of eventually moving into the top 10.

Woolridge remains pleased with his decision to choose KU with two seasons of high school ball remaining.

“It feels good. I don’t have to worry about making last-second decisions or anything, just enjoy high school,” he said. “I know I made the right choice.”

In an interesting twist, his brother, Renaldo, who is a 6-8 freshman forward at Tennessee, will be playing against KU on Jan. 3 in Allen Fieldhouse.

“He’s doing well,” Royce said of Renaldo, who averages 6.6 points and 3.2 boards a game. “I want him to do well. I still want KU to win the game,” he added with a laugh.

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Off to Zona: KU coach Bill Self was ready to hit the road on a bitterly cold Sunday.

“Today’s the first day of winter, isn’t it? Can you imagine playing football today? Oooh,” he said, minutes before the Chiefs-Dolphins opening kickoff at Arrowhead.

The Jayhawks arrived safely in Tucson on Sunday and were to “eat a nice Christmas dinner,” Self said.

The Jayhawks will practice today and attend the Fiesta Bowl banquet tonight. The KU-Zona game is officially known as the “Desert Diamond Fiesta Bowl Classic.” It’s also part of the Big 12-Pac Ten Hardwood Series.

And it’s KU’s first road game of the season.

“I have no idea,” Self said, asked what to expect from his young team outside of Allen Fieldhouse and Sprint Center. “Last year we were lucky to win at USC (59-55) and Georgia Tech (71-66). They were one- or two-possession games, and we had a pretty good team. Then again, we go to Kentucky minus Wayne and win there. We’ve experienced a lot of things on the road.”

KU beat Kentucky, 65-59, in January of 2005 in a game which Wayne Simien missed because of injury.

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Taylor ready for new experience: Tyshawn Taylor was animated when asked about his first college road game.

“I don’t know (what to expect),” he said. “Everywhere we’ve been, people supported us. I’m used to people cheering for me so far. Nobody has not cheered for me. We have to do what we practice. The crowd will be loud. I’ll try to block it out. I guess we’ll see soon.”