Kansas basketball: What do we know about the Jayhawks 2023-24 schedule?
Exhibition — Fort Hays State
Each season, Kansas schedules preseason exhibition games with local schools such as Emporia and Pittsburg State. This season, the Jayhawks are set to line up against Fort Hays State, a D-II school located in Hays, Kansas. The last time KU played the Tigers, they won by a score of 86-56. These contests are merely for Bill Self to test out new lineups and see how his guys compete in real-time games instead of practice.
Champions Classic — Kentucky
The Champions Classic is one of the most hyped-up regular season tournaments each season. It includes Kansas, Michigan State, Kentucky, and Duke, four premier programs in the sport. Kansas defeated Duke in 2022-23. After facing off against Kentucky last season in the Big 12-SEC Challenge (which had its existence come to an end in 2022-23), KU will now play the Wildcats in one of its first contests of the season. UK does not have one of its more potent teams for the upcoming year, though they would improve considerably if Oscar Tshiebwe returned to school.
Maui Invitational
The last time Kansas played in Maui, they defeated Obi Toppin-led Dayton in a thrilling overtime contest to win the tournament. It is a three-round tournament consisting of a three-day schedule (first round, semifinals, and championship game). Marquette, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Syracuse, UCLA, Purdue, and host school Chaminade will compete in this year’s field. Even if the Jayhawks are knocked out early, they will play consolation rounds versus other teams.
Big East-Big 12 Battle — UConn
UConn and Kansas are the two reigning champions of March Madness, and they will launch a blue-blood showdown in the Big East-Big 12 Battle. Both schools are expected to come into the season as top-10-ranked teams, and the coaching duel between Bill Self and Dan Hurley should be a fun one. KU defeated Seton Hall by 26 last year in the conference challenge that began in 2019.
Border War — Mizzou
The renewed Border War has not been very competitive thus far, as Kansas has defeated Mizzou by a combined 65 points in the past two seasons. Considering this year’s game is back in Allen Fieldhouse, we might see another blowout. Still, there is no doubt that fans will show up and heckle as loud as they can in this matchup, so it should be one of the more fun contests in the non-conference slate.
Home-And-Home — @ Indiana
Indiana and KU began a home-and-home with each other starting last season, and the Jayhawks obliterated them in Allen Fieldhouse last season. It might be closer this year when Kansas heads to Bloomington to play the Hoosiers in the historic Assembly Hall. Some added incentives in this game are that Mackenzie Mgbako just committed to IU, so Kansas will try to show him why he made the wrong college decision.
Ivy League — Yale
Jon Rothstein reported on Twitter that Kansas would host Yale as part of their non-conference schedule. Though it has not been confirmed, the two are expected to meet at some point. Yale is the favorite to win the Ivy League this season. KU defeated fellow Ivy school Harvard 68-54 in 2022-23.