# 2018–19 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 121st basketball season. The Jayhawks, members of the Big 12 Conference, played their home games at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. They were led by 16th year Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self.

## Season notes

The Jayhawks entered the season with high expectations due to returning All-Big 12 players Udoka Azubuike and LaGerald Vick, adding three 2018 McDonald's All-Americans, and several transfers coming off their redshirt years. Following the 2017–18 season, several sports websites ranked Kansas 1st on their "Way too early rankings" which preview the next season. The Jayhawks also entered the season ranked number 1 in the AP Poll. Despite the high expectations, the team dealt with adversity during the season as four different players that were expected to be starters missed time. Silvio De Sousa was declared ineligible by the NCAA, Udoka Azubuike underwent season ending surgery in January, Marcus Garrett missed five games due to injury, and LaGerald Vick took a leave absence in February to handle personal issues and eventually announced he wouldn't return. On February 23, 2019, the Jayhawks lost to Texas Tech 62-91. The loss was the Jayhawks worst conference loss under Bill Self and worst conference loss since the 1999-2000 season when they lost to Oklahoma State 53-86. Following a 68–81 loss to Oklahoma on March 5, the Jayhawks were eliminated from Big 12 regular season title contention, ending their NCAA record streak of 14 consecutive titles.

## Roster and coaching staff changes
### Graduation

Below are players who graduated from the University of Kansas without any college eligibility left.
| Name | Position |
| Devonte Graham | G |
| Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk | G |
| Clay Young | G |

### Early draft entrants
#### Hired agent

Players that hire an agent after declaring for the NBA draft automatically forfeit any remaining college eligibility. Below are any players that declared for the draft and hired an agent and will not be returning.
| Name | Position | Class |
| Malik Newman | G | RS Sophomore |

#### Did not hire agent

Players who do not hire an agent can return to their college as long as they withdraw from the draft no more than 10 days after the final day of the NBA draft Combine, which made May 31 the final date to withdraw from the 2018 Draft. The following players entered the draft without initially hiring an agent. Also included is their final decision to either return to Kansas or if they hired an agent and stayed in the draft.
| Name | Position | Class* | Returned/ Entered draft |
| LaGerald Vick | G | Junior | Returned |
| Udoka Azubuike | C | Sophomore | Returned |
*Players class for the 2017–18 season

### Transfers
#### Outgoing

| Name | Position | Class | New School |
| Sam Cunliffe | G | Junior | Evansville |

### Left team for other reasons

| Name | Position | Class | Reason |
| James Sosinki | F | Sophomore | Walk on, not invited back |

### Left team during season

| Name | Position | Class | Date left | Games played | Reason |
| LaGerald Vick | G | Senior | February 7 | 23 | Undisclosed personal reasons |

### Incoming freshmen
#### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Quentin Grimes SG | The Woodlands, TX | College Park | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 15, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| Devon Dotson PG | Charlotte, NC | Providence Day School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 13, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| David McCormack C | Norfolk, VA | Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | Sep 24, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Ochai Agbaji SG | Kansas City, MO | Oak Park | 6 ft 5.5 in (1.97 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Feb 8, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 5 Rivals: 5 247 Sports: 5 ESPN: 6 ||||||

#### Walk–ons

| Name | Position | Hometown | High school |
| Elijah Elliott | G | Southlake, Texas | Southlake Carroll |
| Garrett Luinstra | G | Lawrence, Kansas | Lawrence Free State |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 25, 2018* 7:00 pm, JTV/ESPN+ | No. 1 | Emporia State | W 93–55 | – | 31 – D. Lawson | 15 – D. Lawson | 5 – Vick | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm, JTV/ESPN+ | No. 1 | Washburn | W 79–52 | – | 18 – D. Lawson | 8 – Grimes | 5 – Garrett | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | vs. No. 10 Michigan State Champions Classic | W 92–87 | 1–0 | 21 – Grimes | 14 – D. Lawson | 6 – D. Lawson | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,907) Indianapolis, IN |
| November 12, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 2 | Vermont NIT Season Tip-Off campus game | W 84–68 | 2–0 | 32 – Vick | 11 – Azubuike | 10 – Grimes | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| November 16, 2018* 7:00 pm, JTV/ESPN+ | No. 2 | Louisiana NIT Season Tip-Off campus game | W 89–76 | 3–0 | 33 – Vick | 9 – Vick | 5 – Garrett | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| November 21, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 2 | vs. Marquette NIT Season Tip-Off | W 77–68 | 4–0 | 26 – D. Lawson | 12 – D. Lawson | 4 – Dotson | Barclays Center (4,981) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 23, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 2 | vs. No. 5 Tennessee NIT Season Tip-Off Championship | W 87–81 $^{OT}$ | 5–0 | 24 – D. Lawson | 13 – D. Lawson | 5 – D. Lawson | Barclays Center (5,491) Brooklyn, NY |
| December 1, 2018* 4:30 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | Stanford | W 90–84 $^{OT}$ | 6–0 | 27 – Vick | 15 – D. Lawson | 4 – Dotson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| December 4, 2018* 7:00 pm, JTV/ESPN+ | No. 2 | Wofford | W 72–47 | 7–0 | 20 – D. Lawson | 8 – D. Lawson | 3 – Dotson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| December 8, 2018* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 2 | New Mexico State Jayhawk Shootout | W 63–60 | 8–0 | 20 – D. Lawson | 10 – D. Lawson | 5 – Vick | Sprint Center† (15,210) Kansas City, MO |
| December 15, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN | No. 1 | No. 17 Villanova | W 74–71 | 9–0 | 29 – Vick | 12 – D. Lawson | 3 – Garrett | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| December 18, 2018* 7:00 pm, JTV/ESPN+ | No. 1 | South Dakota | W 89–53 | 10–0 | 18 – Moore | 14 – Lawson | 6 – Dotson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| December 22, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | at No. 18 Arizona State | L 76–80 | 10–1 | 30 – D. Lawson | 14 – D. Lawson | 5 – Dotson | Wells Fargo Arena (14,593) Tempe, AZ |
| December 29, 2018* 1:00 pm, JTV/ESPN+ | No. 5 | Eastern Michigan | W 87–63 | 11–1 | 23 – Azubuike | 9 – Azubuike | 5 – Lawson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 2, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | No. 23 Oklahoma | W 70–63 | 12–1 (1–0) | 16 – Dotson | 15 – D. Lawson | 5 – Garrett | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 5, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | at Iowa State | L 60–77 | 12–2 (1–1) | 19 – Grimes | 12 – D. Lawson | 3 – Tied | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| January 9, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 7 | No. 25 TCU | W 77–68 | 13–2 (2–1) | 31 – D. Lawson | 14 – D. Lawson | 4 – Vick | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 12, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at Baylor | W 73–68 | 14–2 (3–1) | 18 – Vick | 6 – Grimes | 5 – Dotson | Ferrell Center (9,091) Waco, TX |
| January 14, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | Texas | W 80–78 | 15–2 (4–1) | 21 – Vick | 8 – D. Lawson | 5 – Dotson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 19, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at West Virginia | L 64–65 | 15–3 (4–2) | 15 – Tied | 11 – D. Lawson | 3 – Garrett | WVU Coliseum (12,657) Morgantown, WV |
| January 21, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | No. 24 Iowa State | W 80–76 | 16–3 (5–2) | 29 – D. Lawson | 15 – D. Lawson | 8 – Dotson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 26, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at No. 8 Kentucky Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 63–71 | 16–4 | 20 – D. Lawson | 15 – D. Lawson | 4 – Dotson | Rupp Arena (24,387) Lexington, KY |
| January 29, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | at Texas | L 63–73 | 16–5 (5–3) | 24 – Agbaji | 7 – Tied | 4 – Dotson | Frank Erwin Center (11,934) Austin, TX |
| February 2, 2019 3:00 pm, CBS | No. 11 | No. 16 Texas Tech | W 79–63 | 17–5 (6–3) | 25 – D. Lawson | 10 – Tied | 6 – Moore | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| February 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at Kansas State Sunflower Showdown | L 67–74 | 17–6 (6–4) | 18 – D. Lawson | 9 – D. Lawson | 5 – Dotson | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| February 9, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN | No. 13 | Oklahoma State | W 84–72 | 18–6 (7–4) | 25 – D. Lawson | 9 – Lightfoot | 5 – D. Lawson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| February 11, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | at TCU | W 82–77 $^{OT}$ | 19–6 (8–4) | 25 – Dotson | 11 – Agbaji | 5 – Dotson | Schollmaier Arena (7,356) Ft. Worth, TX |
| February 16, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | West Virginia | W 78–53 | 20–6 (9–4) | 15 – Tied | 7 – Lightfoot | 8 – Dotson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| February 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | at No. 14 Texas Tech | L 62–91 | 20–7 (9–5) | 14 – D. Lawson | 15 – D. Lawson | 3 – Grimes | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| February 25, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 15 | No. 16 Kansas State Sunflower Showdown | W 64–49 | 21–7 (10–5) | 18 – D. Lawson | 14 – D. Lawson | 5 – D. Lawson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| March 2, 2019 11:00 am, CBS | No. 15 | at Oklahoma State | W 72–67 | 22–7 (11–5) | 20 – D. Lawson | 15 – D. Lawson | 4 – Dotson | Gallagher-Iba Arena (9,335) Stillwater, OK |
| March 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | at Oklahoma | L 68–81 | 22–8 (11–6) | 18 – D. Lawson | 11 – D. Lawson | 4 – Dotson | Lloyd Noble Center (9,839) Norman, OK |
| March 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | Baylor | W 78–70 | 23–8 (12–6) | 23 – D. Lawson | 14 – D. Lawson | 5 – Grimes | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| Big 12 Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (3) No. 17 | vs. (6) Texas Quarterfinals | W 65–57 | 24–8 | 17 – Dotson | 9 – McCormack | 4 – Dotson | Sprint Center (18,927) Kansas City, MO |
| March 15, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (3) No. 17 | vs. (10) West Virginia Semifinals | W 88–74 | 25–8 | 24 – D. Lawson | 8 – Tied | 6 – Dotson | Sprint Center (19,066) Kansas City, MO |
| March 16, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN | (3) No. 17 | vs. (5) Iowa State Championship | L 66–78 | 25–9 | 18 – D. Lawson | 15 – Garrett | 4 – Garrett | Sprint Center (19,066) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2019* 3:00 pm, TNT | (4 MW) No. 17 | vs. (13 MW) Northeastern First Round | W 87–53 | 26–9 | 25 – D. Lawson | 11 – D. Lawson | 3 – Grimes | Vivint Smart Home Arena (16,576) Salt Lake City, UT |
| March 23, 2019* 8:40 pm, TNT | (4 MW) No. 17 | vs. (5 MW) No. 14 Auburn Second Round | L 75–89 | 26–10 | 25 – D. Lawson | 10 – D. Lawson | 3 – D. Lawson | Vivint Smart Home Arena (17,792) Salt Lake City, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
†While the Jayhawks primary home arena is Allen Fieldhouse, they do play one game a year at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. These games are officially considered home games

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 1 (37) | 2 (14) | 2 (7) | 2 (31) | 2 (19) | 1 (57) | 1 (56) | 5 (4) | 5 (4) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 17 | Not released |
| Coaches | 1 (14) | 1* | 2 | 2 (15) | 2 (10) | 1 (26) | 1 (27) | 5 (2) | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
*There was no coaches poll for Week 1, so the rank provided is the preseason rank.