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Shorthanded Jayhawks aim for third straight win vs. Washburn

Nov 15, 2007 - 3:12 PM Washburn (0-1) at No. 4 Kansas (2-0) 8:00 pm EST

LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Already missing Brandon Rush, Kansas' depth is being tested early on.

Fourth-ranked Kansas will aim for a third straight win when it hosts Washburn on Thursday in the second game of the Jayhawk Invitational.

Rush, a junior, nearly entered the NBA draft last June but suffered a torn ACL in a pickup game and had to return to school.

The team's leading scorer a season ago, Rush will be sidelined until December 1, and now sophomore guard Sherron Collins will join him on the sidelines.

Collins scored 10 points before leaving Sunday's 85-62 win over Missouri-Kansas City with an ankle injury. It turned out to be much worse than expected, and he underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture on Monday.

The loss of Collins is just another blow to a team that lost its top rebounder, Julian Wright, to the NBA.

However, Collins' injury should not slow down the Jayhawks, who have had five players reach double figures in each of the first two games.

Junior guard Mario Chalmers scored a career-high 23 points on Sunday and Russell Robinson scored 15 points with a career-high nine assists.

Washburn lost to UMKC in the first game of the Invitational and has lost 33 of its 36 meetings with Kansas. The Ichabods have lost seven straight against the Jayhawks dating to 1944, including a 99-69 exhibition loss last season.