Just days after clobbering the Green Phoenix by more than 40 points to start the season, the Kansas Jayhawks fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels in a double-digit loss of their own.
Now, Kansas is only a few days removed from facing the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils, a program that (as of late) has been outpacing the Jayhawks for the Blue Blood throne.
Between the most recent against the Texas A&M Corpus Christi and the top-25 matchup against Duke, Kansas has just one game to further cement its winning streak: the Princeton Tigers. Kansas head coach Bill Self has to use this game to further remind his players who they are and which program they play for.
Kansas needed these two get-right games
On Tuesday, Nov. 11, the Jayhawks faced the Texas A&M-CC Islanders, a team that was already 1-2 overall and 0-2 on the road. With the game being in Lawrence and Kansas still being a top-25 team, the Jayhawks had to dominate the Islanders on both ends of the court.
They did just that. With a 77-46 victory over the Islanders, a win that held exactly what Self and his team needed to rebound from their loss to the Tar Heels.
Not to mention, they did so without star freshman Darryn Peterson checking into the matchup, which Self said was due to a lingering hamstring issue.
Bill Self on Darryn Peterson sitting out tonight’s game #kubball pic.twitter.com/OLvJQMJGsf
— Kansas Nation (@thekansasnation) November 12, 2025
Against UNC, the Jayhawks were outshot, out-rebounded, and out-possessed as the Tar Heels beat up on Kansas at seemingly every turn of the game. To Kansas's 27 rebounds, North Carolina had 39. To Kansas's 44.8 percent shooting from the field, North Carolina shot 51.5 percent.
The numbers go on and on like this as you look down the stat sheet from the top-25 matchup between the two Blue Bloods.
After the game against the Islanders, the Jayhawks are set to face the Princeton Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 15, in another game that's an opportunity for Kansas to rediscover its footing.
Then, on Nov. 18, the true test takes place as the No. 25 Jayhawks and the No. 6 Blue Devils tip off from Madison Square Garden in New York City. If Self and his staff don't use these two games in between North Carolina and Duke to get their team right, Kansas might be in a world of hurt in just eight days.
Kansas and Princeton are scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 15, and the game will be available on ESPN+. It is the second chance for the Jayhawks to right their ship before taking on the Blue Devils.