Kansas plays its first game as the No. 2 team in the country on Wednesday night as the Jayhawks look to remain one of two Division I unbeatens (No. 1 Memphis, the other, also is in action) and are 23.5-point betting favorites over the Iowa State Cyclones on WagerWeb.com.
The Jayhawks (18-0, 3-0 Big 12) are off to the fifth-best start in school history and are 32-1 in their last 33 games. Their balanced offense ranks in the top five nationally in scoring margin (24.3 points per game) and field goal percentage (51.6 percent).
"What makes them so dangerous is their balance," ISU coach Greg McDermott said. "They really have seven players who could get 20 points on any given night. They can do it in a number of ways."
Kansas does have four players averaging in double figures in Darrell Arthur (13.2), Mario Chalmers (12.5), Darnell Jackson (12.3) and Brandon Rush (11.8).
And KU even ranks 13th in the country in field-goal defense (37.8).
Kansas coach Bill Self has no problem with his club being No. 2 -- for now.
"That's where we should be. Memphis started out ahead of us, and they haven't done anything to warrant anybody believing they haven't done what they were supposed to do," he said.
Meanwhile, the Cyclones (12-6, 2-1) have won five of their last six games and nine of 11, so maybe that WagerWeb.com line is too big, but this is a different level basketball team they will be facing."They're as talented a team as there is in the country," McDermott said. "For someone to beat them, they're going to have to play a perfect game, especially in Allen Fieldhouse, and hope Kansas is not at the top of their game."
Iowa State is led by sophomore Wesley Johnson, who missed much of the first half of the season with an injury but has come back strong with two straight 20-point outings in wins over Missouri and Oklahoma State. He leads ISU in averaging 13.9 points per game.
However, he was limited to six points on 2-of-11 shooting the last time Iowa State faced Kansas, an 89-52 loss on Feb. 24.
The Jayhawks have won four straight and 11 of the last 13 games against Iowa State, which has dropped six straight against ranked teams -- five coming under McDermott.
The Cyclones have one victory in their last six visits to Allen Fieldhouse, 63-61 in overtime on Feb. 19, 2005. That win is the last time Iowa State has defeated a ranked opponent on the road.
Meanwhile, since the conference was formed in 1996-97, Kansas has an 82-7 record at home.
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