Women's team in the polls

Bonnie Henrickson’s team has picked up right where it left off last season. An impressive run in last year’s WNIT has catapulted the Jayhawks to a national ranking and high expectations this season. Led by senior Danielle McCray, the Jayhawks are now ranked 20th in the Associated Press poll.

“Our players are prepared. They’ve worked hard to get to this point,” head coach Bonnie Henrickson recently said at the Big 12 media day. “Certainly, using last year’s run at the end of the year to gain confidence and gain experience. And the bar is high. It's higher. It should be high. Our players are excited about that challenge. Year in and year out, it's a great league. That presents a steep challenge every year and will be no different this year. But no one has higher expectations than I do. Our goal right now is pretty simple. Just try to get better every day … If we can keep it that simple and grow as a group, we’ve got a chance, like many teams in this league do, to have a great year.”

During the season’s opening week, the crowds at Allen Field House have been as impressive as has the Jayhawks’ scoring. After two exhibition games and a 106-point season opening output versus Oral Roberts, large crowds have seen the Jayhawks’ average 92 points per game. The team’s next home contest will come against Big 10 opponent Michigan at 2 p.m. Nov. 22. Every Sunday game is Family Fun and Food Day. Fans receive four tickets, four drinks and four hot dogs for just $40.

Men’s basketball No. 1

For the second time in the Bill Self era, Kansas men’s basketball is No. 1 according to both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ preseason polls.

“I’m not really surprised because a lot of people have said all along we would be here,” said Self, the 2006 and 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year who was consensus national coach of the year following last season. “This is a reflection of last year’s performance, who you return and who you recruited from a projection standpoint. We return good players and have a nice recruiting class. I can see us being rated that high, but I hope our guys understand preseason rankings do not mean a lot and it should be our effort to try and play to that ranking each and every day we come out to practice.”

The Jayhawks have already been tested. With almost as much suspense as the national title game of 2008, KU outlasted Memphis, 57-55, at the Scottrade Center in the Hall of Fame Classic Nov. 17. A last-second missed 3-pointer by Memphis preserved the KU win.

The Jayhawks are led by senior Sherron Collins and junior Cole Aldrich, AP Preseason All Americans and Big 12 Preseason Co-Players of the year. Freshman Xavier Henry also has been impressive early on this season. He recorded a freshman record 27 points in his KU debut against Hofstra Nov. 13.

With the opening victory against Hofstra, the Jayhawks extended the nation’s longest home court winning streak to 42 victories.

A limited number of tickets are available for some of the Jayhawks’ nonconference games, including Oakland (11/25), Radford (12/9) and Alcorn State (12/2).

Fans can order tickets to both men’s and women’s games by clicking here.

NCAA Compliance Tip

Basketball season is here. If you bleed crimson and blue, you are considered a booster! To learn more about the do’s and don’ts of being a Jayhawk booster, contact the Kansas Athletics Compliance Office at 785.864.4200 or click here for more information.