Kansas City @ Kansas preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 6, 2016 ) UMKC 62, Kansas 105

The Sprint Center has often been a home away from home for Kansas, but coach Bill Self hasn't been overly pleased with his teams' level of intensity during their annual December visit to the venue in recent years. The third-ranked Jayhawks hope to avoid another lackluster effort at the Jayhawk Shootout in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday when they face Kansas City in a neutral-site contest.

Kansas is 41-10 all-time at the Sprint Center and 9-3 in 12 trips at the venue in December under Self, but a 63-60 victory over New Mexico State in this game last year was just the kind of performance that has frustrated him. “We haven’t played well in this game historically in my time here. … It’s not that the attendance is poor. It’s not that the fans are bad. … We’ve not had that problem in the Big 12 Tournament, but certainly that is where there is more energy. In this particular game, it has not been a great game for us as far as us playing well," Self told the Kansas City Star. Energy was not an issue for the Jayhawks in Tuesday's 95-68 rout of Milwaukee as they raced out to a 28-point lead just over 13 minutes into the contest. The Roos have already played two Big 12 squads and not fared particularly well, losing by 18 at Oklahoma State (Nov. 9) and Iowa State (Dec. 4).

TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT KANSAS CITY (5-6): Javan White (team-high marks of 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks) is the only player in the Western Athletic Conference to lead his team in four statistical categories, but the 6-10 senior has fouled out in 23 minutes or fewer in each of the last two games. BYU transfer Jahshire Hardnett (8.1 points, 1.2 steals), who is the only other player besides White to start every game, is averaging 14 points over the last three contests after going scoreless in his previous two. Brandon McKissic (9.3, 1.3), Marvin Nesbitt (9.1, 1.3) and Rob Whitfield (8.8, 1.4) round out the remaining Roos who average at least eight points and one steal as the Roos rank 30th in Division I with a WAC-best 9.4 steals per game.

ABOUT KANSAS (8-1): Udoka Azubuike (14.8 points, team-high 8.4 rebounds) increased his Division I-best field-goal percentage to 82.2 with a 7-for-7 effort from the floor in Tuesday's win, but it was his career-high 17 rebounds that had Self fired up after the game. "Last night he totally dominated. … He had 10 rebounds the first half. He was going and getting them outside his area," Self told the Kansas City Star. Ochai Agbaji (12.1 points, 5.2 rebounds) is 14-of-23 from the field - including 9-of-14 beyond the arc - and averaging 21 points and 10 boards over the last two contests, while fellow sophomore guard Devon Dotson (team-high 19.8 points, 5.0 assists) is averaging 23.6 points and 6.3 assists over his last three games.

TIP-INS

1. Azubuike's 13 defensive rebounds Tuesday were the most by a Kansas player since Andrew Wiggins grabbed 14 against Iowa State on Jan. 13, 2014.

2. The Roos are 0-7 all-time in this series and searching for their first win over a Big 12 opponent since routing Kansas State 93-52 in 2003.

3. With Tuesday's victory, the Jayhawks (300-67) joined Gonzaga (304-54) as the only two teams in Division I to reach the 300-win mark this decade.

PREDICTION: Kansas 89, Kansas City 63