Tonight could be a red-letter day in Kansas University men’s basketball history.
The Jayhawks, who have won 499 games and lost 98 in Allen Fieldhouse, seek Fieldhouse victory No. 500 tonight against Washburn. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m. with a live telecast on channels 13 and 62.
KU has an all-time winning percentage of .836 in its 45-year-old palace and a .920 win mark during the Roy Williams era.
Over the past 16 seasons, KU has won 219 games and lost 18 in the house Phog Allen built.
Marlon London is back in town.
London, who played shooting guard for KU the past two seasons before transferring to DePaul University, did not travel with the Blue Demons to Alaska for this week’s Great Alaska Shootout.
Instead, he’s fulfilling a promise he made to his former teammates when he decided to leave KU last spring.
“I told Kenny (Gregory) and some of the guys I’d be back for a visit. Here I am,” London said Friday. “It’s great to be back. I miss everybody, but I really like (DePaul). I’m back home (Chicago) and sitting out a year learning the system. There’s not that much to learn. I pretty much understand it.”
London must sit out this season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. He can’t play when KU meets the Blue Demons on Dec. 12 at Chicago’s United Center.
“I watched the game last night. We lost but played pretty well,” London said of the Demons, who fell to Syracuse, 92-84, in a first-round Alaska Shootout game on ESPN.
KU senior guard Luke Axtell, who has missed KU’s four games because of a severe left ankle sprain, practiced Friday and likely will play some tonight.
KU coach Roy Williams is 17-0 against non-NCAA Div. I teams during his 13 years at KU.
“I still remember Chaminade versus Virginia,” Williams said of the Silverswords’ shocking 77-72 win over No.1-ranked Virginia in 1982 in Hawaii. “That never leaves my mind. I assure you I never say, ‘There’s no way this bunch can beat us.’ I always think we’ve got to play.”
Williams has played a regular-season game against a Div. II school from Kansas in each of the last eight seasons.
“I believe it is a win-win situation. You help people out in your home state and then hopefully are good enough to back it up on the court too,” Williams said. “We gain a great deal from it and are able to help others with their budgets. It doesn’t hurt our strength of schedule. We still play UCLA, St. John’s, at DePaul, at Ohio State, at Wake Forest and Big 12 games.”
Washburn will receive $25,000 for playing here.
“It’s tremendous. It helps us so much. We used the guarantee this year to go to Paris,” Washburn coach Bob Chipman said of an offseason trip to France. “We also use it in recruiting. We tell ’em (recruits) we’ll play KU. Our guys love it. Our fans love it. We will have between 500 and 1,000 fans at the game. Our fans think it’s as big as any national championship game we’re going to play in. What Roy does is great for basketball in this state.”
The Maui Invitational has announced its field for next year’s tourney, set for Nov. 19-21. Kansas will be joined by Seton Hall, Duke, UCLA, Houston, Ball State, South Carolina and Chaminade.
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