Last week, amidst all the hype surrounding Kansas’ trip to Wembley to face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils in what was college football’s first-ever FBS game inside the historic grounds, the Big 12 released its basketball schedules, and Kansas’ was among the most anticipated.
Mark your calendars… Almost time for Kansas Hoops! ⏳#RockChalk x @fnbo pic.twitter.com/CHCMSarWPB
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) September 17, 2026
While the Jayhawks’ initial matrix release seemed to provide some concerning matchups, the full release of the schedule probably turned out more favorable than expected.
That being said here are the three most important stretches in Kansas’ season.
No. 3 The end-of-season grind
It is a widely held belief that every team wants to be peaking towards the end of the season, so that they can truly be playing their best basketball when it is do-or-die. Kansas’ final three games of the regular season provide that opportunity against battle-tested sides.
From Feburary 27th, through March 6th, KU will take on Kansas State (home), Iowa State (home) and Baylor (away). This is a great combination to get a final gauge on the team heading into the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas State will provide a fiery Sunflower Showdown against new coach in Casey Alexander. The Cyclones are bound to be a fixture deep into the postseason in what serves as Kansas’ final home game of the season. Baylor head coach Scott Drew has had his ups and downs in his 23 seasons so far, but the Bears will always provide a physically demanding game.
No. 2 The trickiest out-of-conference slate you will find
While losses aren’t punished as much as they are in college football, no team ever wants to experience a slide. If KU doesn’t play their cards right, this slide could well be in effect.
From December 6th through the 19th, Bill Self’s squad will take on Missouri (neutral), UConn (away) and Ohio State (neutral)
Not only will all three of these teams be favorites for the NCAA Tournament, but not a single one of these games is inside Allen Fieldhouse. While Dennis Gates hasn’t been perfect with the Tigers, his 2026 recruiting class ranked No. 9 in the nation and is bringing in five-star combo guard Jason Crowe Jr. Also, the switch of Bryson Tiller from Kansas to Missouri will surely not be forgotten by anyone.
The Huskies stifled the Jayhawks inside Allen Fieldhouse in a gritty 61-56 win for Dan Hurley, and ultimately UConn made it all the way to the national championship game before falling to Michigan.
Lastly while Ohio State isn’t going to be labeled as a giant killer, head coach Jake Diebler has shown year-on-year progression with the Buckeyes and will have KU circled as a massive chance for the game’s biggest scalp.
No. 1 This is why the Big 12 is the nation’s toughest basketball conference
From February 1st until the 13th, Kansas will have a dizzying stretch of Houston (away), Texas Tech (home), Arizona State (home) and Iowa State (away)
Kelvin Sampson has long taken pride in how difficult his teams are to score against; combine an already gritty opposition with a rocking Fertitta Center, and you have a nightmare in front of you.
While there is no consensus yet on Grant McCasland’s team, McCasland has taken to the Red Raiders like a duck to water. McCasland is also 2-1 against Self at TTU, and if it weren’t for Darryn Peterson's heroics last season, it would be 3-0.
The Sun Devils will be welcoming Randy Bennett, who will still be ironing out the kinks of any first-year head coach, but there is no promise that game will be a walk in the park. After all, that was the thinking against Bobby Hurley last season.
Finally, to end this brutal stretch is only just Iowa State away from home. The same coach in T. J. Otzelberger, who ended Kansas’ eight-game winning streak last season inside Hilton Coliseum. No easy task whatsoever.
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