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.

2018–19 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
NIT Season Tip-Off champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 17
Record	26–10 (12–6 Big 12)
Head coach	Bill Self (16th season)
Assistant coaches	Jerrance Howard (6th season) Norm Roberts (8th season) Kurtis Townsend (15th season)
Home arena	Allen Fieldhouse
Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Big 12 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 19 Kansas State	14	–	4		.778			25	–	9		.735
No. 2 Texas Tech	14	–	4		.778			31	–	7		.816
No. 16 Kansas	12	–	6		.667			26	–	10		.722
Baylor	10	–	8		.556			20	–	14		.588
No. 25 Iowa State †	9	–	9		.500			23	–	12		.657
Texas	8	–	10		.444			21	–	16		.568
Oklahoma	7	–	11		.389			20	–	14		.588
TCU	7	–	11		.389			23	–	14		.622
Oklahoma State	5	–	13		.278			12	–	20		.375
West Virginia	4	–	14		.222			15	–	21		.417
† 2019 Big 12 tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

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.^[2][3][4][5] 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,^[6] Udoka Azubuike underwent season ending surgery in January,^[7] Marcus Garrett missed five games due to injury,^[8] and LaGerald Vick took a leave absence in February to handle personal issues and eventually announced he wouldn't return.^[9] 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

See also: 2018 NBA draft

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^[10]	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^[11]	G	Junior	Returned^[12]
Udoka Azubuike^[13]	C	Sophomore	Returned^[14]

*Players class for the 2017–18 season

Transfers

Outgoing

Name	Position	Class	New School
Sam Cunliffe^[15]	G	Junior	Evansville^[16]

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

Roster

2018–19 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Marcus Garrett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Dallas, TX F 1 Dedric Lawson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Memphis, TN G 2 Charlie Moore 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Chicago, IL G 5 Quentin Grimes 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr The Woodlands, TX G 10 Elijah Elliott (W)   6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Southlake, TX G 11 Devon Dotson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Charlotte, NC G 12 Chris Teahan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Leawood, KS F 13 K. J. Lawson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Memphis, TN G 20 Garrett Luinstra (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Lawrence, KS F 22 Silvio De Sousa (I) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Luanda, Angola G 30 Ochai Agbaji 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Kansas City, MO C 33 David McCormack 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Fr Norfolk, VA C 35 Udoka Azubuike   7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Jr Delta, Nigeria F 44 Mitch Lightfoot 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Gilbert, AZ	Head coach Bill Self (Oklahoma State) Assistant coach(es) Norm Roberts (Queens (NY)) Kurtis Townsend (Western Kentucky) Jerrance Howard (Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 11, 2018

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

See also: 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	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.

References

1. "2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
2. "Fresh off Final Four, Kansas leads Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2018-19". ESPN.com.
3. "Kansas, Duke top way-too-early college basketball rankings for 2018-19". SportingNews.com.
4. "2018-19 college basketball rankings: Way-too-early projection has Kansas, Duke at top". CBSSports.com.
5. "Way-too-early top 25 for the 2018-19 college basketball season". Sports.Yahoo.com.
6. "Kansas Athletics statements regarding the NCAA decision on Silvio De Sousa". KUAthletics.com.
7. Tait, Matt (January 9, 2019). "Self: Doc says Azubuike's surgery 'couldn't have gone any better'". KU Sports.com.
8. "Bill Self updates timetable for Marcus Garrett's return". 247Sports.com.
9. "Vick to take leave of absence from Kansas basketball team". KUAthletics.com.
10. "KU's breakout NCAA Tournament star Malik Newman declares for NBA Draft". KansasCity.com.
11. "Another KU basketball player declares for the NBA draft". Kansas.com.
12. "Lagerald Vick to return to Kansas for senior season". KUAthletics.com.
13. "Kansas' Udoka Azubuike entering draft without agent". ESPN.com.
14. "Udoka Azubuike withdraws from NBA Draft. Here's what his return means for KU". KansasCity.com.
15. "Sam Cunliffe to leave Kansas". kuathletics.com.
16. "Former KU guard Sam Cunliffe chooses Evansville as transfer destination". KansasCity.com.