Men's Basketball Sets For No. 6 Kansas

Phog Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) - Lawrence, Kan.
SERIES RECORD: First meeting
RADIO: 1230 AM KSIX (Steven King)
TELEVISION: ESPN3.com/ESPN Full Court/Jayhawk TV
LIVE STATS: kuathletics.com

THE OPENING TIP
The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's basketball team will play its fifth game in 11 days when it heads to Lawrence, Kan., for a matchup with No. 6 Kansas on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The Islanders will be looking to stun the national powerhouse, which is looking for its school-record 63rd straight victory at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The game is the second of the preliminary matchups in the iBN Las Vegas Invitational, which will culminate Friday (vs. Bethune-Cookman) and Saturday (opponent TBD) at the Orleans Arena.

The Islanders are coming off an 83-70 loss to Ohio in a game where free throws played a major role. The Bobcats were 16-for-19 from the line, while Texas A&M - Corpus Christi was 14-for-27. Demond Watt had another big game for the Islanders, finishing with a career-best 26 points and 12 rebounds.

The Jayhawks have beaten all three of their opponents soundly this year, including the most recent game, a 93-60 win over North Texas on Friday, Nov. 19.

QUICK HITS
- The Islanders are one of eight teams playing in the LVI. The first two games are at campus sites for each team.
- Texas A&M - Corpus Christi is 3-17 against the Big 12 all-time. The Islanders last played in Kansas against Kansas State on Dec. 20, 2003. KSU won that game 89-50.
- Senior Demond Watt had a career-high 26 points and matched a career best with five assists to go along with 12 boards on Sunday.
- Watt currently leads the Southland Conference in rebounding (10.8), is tied for fourth in blocks (1.5) and is tied for eighth in scoring (17.0).
- Sophomore Terence Jones has gone over double digits in scoring in each of the last three games, averaging 15.0 points each contest.

LV INVITE
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi is one of eight teams to play in the iBN Las Vegas Invitational. The first two games will be played at campus sites (at Ohio and Kansas for the Islanders) and the final two games will be played in Las Vegas, Nev., at the Orleans Arena on Nov. 26 and 27.

Also joining Texas A&M - Corpus Christi in the event are Bethune-Cookman, who the Islanders play on Nov. 26, Northern Colorado and Valparaiso, of which they will play one on Nov. 27, and Arizona and Santa Clara, who the Islanders will not play. The two games in Las Vegas will be streamed live courtesy iBN Sports.

AGAINST THE BIG 12
Tuesday's contest against OSU was the second of four games this season against Big 12 opponents for the Island University. Texas A&M took the first contest between the conference and Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, 86-65, on Monday, Nov. 15, and the Cowboys slipped by the Hoosiers with a late rally on Wednesday. In addition to those games, the Islanders have tonight's game at Kansas and one at Texas Tech (Jan. 2) later on in the 2010-11 campaign. The schedule is so Big 12 heavy that head coach Perry Clark has joked that he should attend Big 12 Media Day next year.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is 3-17 all-time against foes from the Big 12, including a 1-1 slate against A&M and a 1-2 mark against Texas Tech. Tuesday's game at Kansas will be the first meeting between the two schools.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DEMOND
Senior Demond Watt has shown throughout his career that he can be one of the top power forwards in the Southland Conference, but just as impressive is his propensity for stepping it up in big games.

His last time out against Ohio, Watt posted one of the top performances in the Southland this year, pouring in a career-high 26 points to go along with 12 rebounds and a career-high tying five assists. Watt went 11-for-13 from the line and had an impressive six of his 12 boards come on the offensive end. It was his 13th career double-double, placing him in third on the Islanders' all-time list.

That wasn't his only career-high performance this week, though. In one of the biggest games of his career against Texas A&M last Monday, Watt showed up in a big way, with 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. It marked the most rebounds by an Islander player since Corey Lamkin had 18 at Air Force on Jan. 21, 2004.