Head coach Bill Self expressed that he was unhappy with his team in the win last week against Chattanooga and his team responded against WSU.

Nov 19, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Travis Releford (24), guard Ben McLemore (23), and guard Elijah Johnson (15) watch play during the second half of the game against the Washington State Cougars at the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center. Kansas won 78-41. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

The Jayhawks had big performances from Ben McLemore, Travis Releford, and Perry Ellis. Releford had a team-high 17 points and went 6-of-7 from the field. McLemore kept his good play going as he scored 11 points (his third straight game with double-digit points). Ellis was second on the team with 12 point, but how did he get most of his points?

Ellis went a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line and the Jayhawks as an entire team only missed two free throws all game. They went 20-of-22 from the charity stripe as a team.

The only Cougar to reach double-digit points was Washington State’s leading scorer, Brock Motum. Motum scored 14 points and also led the team with seven rebounds.

WSU shot just 29.1 percent from the field and went 4 of 22 from beyond the 3-point line. The Jayhawks also forced the Cougars to commit 14 turnovers.

On defense, Kansas got another huge performance out of Jeff Withey. Withey caused a ton of havoc for Brock Motum and the rest of Washington State. He recorded five blocks and six rebounds in the game.

Kevin Young was Kansas’ leading rebounder with ten rebounds.

The Jayhawks are now 3-1 on the season.

Kansas’ next game will be against the St. Louis Billikens. This game will be the Championship Game for the Edward Jones CBE Hall of Fame Classic. St. Louis is 2-1 on the season and defeated Texas A&M 70-49 in their semifinal game.

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Kansas led 32-17 at halftime, but let the Redhawks pull within six points in the second half. However, the Jayhawks turned that six point lead into a 19 point win to end the game.

November 09, 2012; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks center Jeff Withey (5) dunks the ball as Southeast Missouri State Redhawks forward/center Colin Ferguson (41) defends in the first half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

The biggest player for the Jayhawks on Friday night was senior center Jeff Withey. Withey recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. He also was a dominating force on defense with five blocks in the game.

Kansas also got huge performances from their two freshman starters. Both Perry Ellis and Ben McLemore started for the Jayhawks and were the first tandem of freshman to start for Kansas since the 1969-1970 season.

McLemore was a force on the broads with 12 rebounds in the game (tied Withey for most on the team). He also scored nine points. Ellis was two rebounds shy of a double-double as he scored 15 points and pulled in eight rebounds.

On offense, Kansas shot 38.7% from the field and outscored the Redhawks in points in the paint (38 to 20), points off turnovers (14 to 10), and second chance points (12 to 5).

The Jayhawks struggled from beyond the three-point stripe. The entire team went 2-for-22 and had a three-point percentage of 9.5%.

Defensively, Kansas held Southeast Missouri State to 29% from the field and out rebounded them 49 to 37.

Kansas’ next game will be against the No. 13 Michigan State Spartans. Michigan State opened up their season on Friday against UCONN in Germany. UCONN defeated Michigan State 66-62.

The game against MSU will be apart of the State Farm Champions Classic at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Tuesday, November 14th.

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Nov 5, 2012; Lawrence, KS, USA; Washburn Ichabods guard Martin Mitchell (12) defends against Kansas Jayhawks forward Perry Ellis (34) in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won the game 62-50. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

One of the biggest freshman to step onto the court this season for the Jayhawks is Perry Ellis. Ellis committed in the fall of 2011.

In their first exhibition game, Perry Ellis had 15 points, seven rebounds, and one steal in 16 minutes while having 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in the team’s second exhibition game.

How will Perry Ellis perform this season and what will he contribute to the Jayhawks?

George: Perry Ellis is the next in line of great power forwards for Kansas. Losing Thomas Robinson hurts, but Ellis has the ability to step right in and take over.

Ricky: Perry Ellis will be a staple for the Kansas Jayhawks this year. I believe the “Big 3″ is Kansas are Withey, Johnson, and Ellis. Bill Self recruited him as a freshman in high school and compared his game to KU great Wayne Simien. Ellis will make the crowd go wild with the “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk.”

Each week, the staff at Through the Phog will react on the previous games in Big 12 basketball and other news that happens in the conference. We are always welcoming of comments that you might have on the topics covered each week. Our current staff includes lead editor George Pike, along with staff writer, Ricky Widmer.