Leaving for Vegas

The Jayhawks were to fly to Las Vegas today for the Las Vegas Invitational so Thanksgiving would not be a travel day.

“We’re staying at a non-gaming casino,” KU coach Bill Self said of team headquarters, the Renaissance. “Every time we go out there we stay at the same spot, a non-gaming deal. Guys won’t get much free time. We will have all day Thanksgiving there as a group. We’ll eat, practice, watch tape and get ready to play Friday and Saturday.”

KU will meet Ohio at 7 p.m. Friday and Arizona at 9:30 p.m. Saturday in Orleans Arena.

KU freshman Josh Selby cannot make the trip. He’s ineligible until the USC game on Dec. 18. NCAA rules prohibit ineligible players from traveling. Selby’s mom, Maeshon Witherspoon, attended Tuesday’s game and is in town with her son for the holiday.

Streaks

KU’s 63-game homecourt win streak is the longest active streak in the country. Xavier is second at 26 games.

Stats, facts

KU is 4-0 for the third time in four years and for the fourth time overall under Self. … KU is 1-0 versus A&M-Corpus Christi and 3-0 versus Southland Conference opponents. … Self is 206-43 at KU and 413-148 for his career. … KU is 655-106 all-time in Allen, including 117-6 under Self. … KU is 2,007-796 all-time, keeping KU and North Carolina tied for second-most wins in NCAA history. … KU used the starting line-up of Tyshawn Taylor, Brady Morningstar, Tyrel Reed, Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris for the second-straight game. … KU had eight dunks by five players during the first half, including three within a one minute stretch. … During an 11-minute stretch in the first half, KU made nine-straight shots and 11-of-12 during a 25-9 run. KU also had runs of 14-0 and 18-0. … The 17 first-half points scored by Texas A&M CC tie the lowest point total KU has allowed an opponent all season. Valparaiso also scored 17 in the first half. … Morningstar tied his career high with four steals, which he has done three previous times and two games in a row. … Taylor recorded nine assists, which was two shy of a career high. Coming into the night, he ranked second in the Big 12 with 7.0 assists per game … KU had 10 blocks by six different players, including two by Jeff Withey and Mario Little, equaling career highs. The last time KU had double-digits in blocked shots was against Lehigh during last year’s opening round of the NCAA tournament with 11. … Elijah Johnson had a had a season-high seven assists, which was two shy of his career high of nine. … Travis Releford logged a career high with 11 points, besting his previous total of nine. … The two free throws made by Texas A&M CC are the fewest by a KU opponent since Winston-Salem State made just one in a game on Dec. 19, 2006. … The Islanders’ six free-throw attempts were the fewest by a KU opponent since Northern Arizona had the same amount on Nov. 21, 2007. … The 41 points Texas A&M CC scored were the fewest an opponent has scored in the fieldhouse since the 31 Alcorn State scored on Dec. 2, 2009.