Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball Schedule Highlights
The Kansas men's basketball season is approaching quickly, and as the fans transition from a phenomenal football season into the basketball season, what games stand out on the schedule?
We've already done a ranking of the entire non-conference schedule, but here are some games that you absolutely have to tune in for.
Duke Blue Devils
The Kansas Jayhawks will be tested early on in the season as they travel to Indianapolis, Indiana to take on the Duke Blue Devils in the State Farm Champions Classic. The two blue bloods will each be going through some changes. With this game being the third game of the regular season it will be a good test to see how both teams retooled their roster and gauge where these teams are at in preparation from the offseason.
The Blue Devils will finally be transitioning from head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and Jon Scheyer will be taking over full time. The Blue Devils have once again loaded up on five star recruits, specifically down in the paint. One of those players is 7'1" center Dereck Lively. Lively was rated as the No. 1 overall player in ESPN's rankings for the class of 2022 and was also named the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022. He earned the honor of McDonald's All-American and chose Duke over North Carolina, and Kentucky.
Another player to watch is freshman forward Dariq Whitehead. Whitehead stands 6'7" and was ranked as the No. 2 overall player in ESPN's 100's ranking for the class of 2022. He was ranked as the No. 1 player at his position by ESPN and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Florida. He chose Duke over Kansas and Florida State.
This is going to be a tremendous matchup for these two teams and again it will be a good test for both squads. It will be interesting to see how the Jayhawks matchup with the size and athleticism of Duke.
Missouri Tigers
The Kansas Jayhawks will travel on the road to Columbia, Missouri on December 10th to take on the Tigers in the Hyvee Boarder Showdown. This is no question a highlighted game due to the historical rivalry between these two teams. Last year these two teams met up in Lawrence, Kansas and the game was a complete blow out. The Jayhawks would extend their winning streak inside Allen Fieldhouse to 14 consecutive games. The Jayhawks would win by 37 points which was the largest margin of victory by Kansas since 1977.
The Missouri Tigers will be starting over as former head coach Cuonzo Martin moves on and new head coach Dennis Gates takes over. Mizzou will be returning a few players, and one of those is their leading scorer Kobe Brown. Brown started all of the Tigers' 33 games last season leading them in both scoring averaging 12.5 points a game and rebounds with an average of 7.6. He was able to earn 2nd Team All-SEC.
The Tigers also recruited 6'8" forward Aidan Shaw from Overland Park, Kansas. Shaw was a four-star recruit by both ESPN and 247Sports. He was awarded the DiRenna Award which is given to the player of the year in the Kansas City metro. Some former recipients include Tamar Bates, Christian Braun, and Zeke Mayo.
The nostalgia this series provides to so many fans is why it made the list. No matter the outcome the fans get up for this game and should be entertaining.
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kansas Jayhawks will take on the Kentucky Wildcats inside Rupp Arena on January 28th for the Big 12/ SEC Showdown. Not only is this another matchup of two blue bloods but the timing of this game is crucial. For Kansas this game in wedged right in the middle of Big 12 conference play and even more importantly it follows a game with the Baylor Bears. This will be a tough test for the Jayhawks and I would say this is the No. 1 key game on the schedule.
These two teams faced off last season inside Allen Fieldhouse, and the Wildcats came ready to play. They would win that game 80-62 and would snap a 17-game home winning streak for the Jayhawks. In the end KU would get the last laugh as they would go on and win the national championship.
The Wildcats, like every year have numerous players enter into the NBA draft and retool their lineup with top tier talent. This year is no different as head coach Joh Calipari would bring in two 5-star recruits and two 4-star recruits. One of those 5-star recruits is small forward Chris Livingston. Livingston stands at 6'6" and was ranked as the No. 12 prospect by ESPN. His accolades are heavy as he was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Ohio. He was also awarded McDonald's All-American and was named to the Jordan Brand Classic. He chose Kentucky over Ohio State, Kansas, and North Carolina.
I expect this to be a challenging game due to the timing of the game, the fact that it will be on the road in a hostile environment, and it will be following what will probably one of the biggest matchups in the Big 12. Everyone tunes in for these types of games and with it being played in January it will be a good test to see where the Jayhawks are physically and mentally.
Big 12
If we are being honest, the entire Big 12 schedule will be important in the 2022-23 season. We saw how competitive this league was last year as it came down to the very end. Many people would argue the Big 12 is the best basketball conference in all of college basketball. It should be noted that for the second time in three years the Baylor Bears have been forecasted to win the Big 12. The Jayhawks are projected to finish 2nd followed by Texas and TCU. Every one of these teams were battling it out to wrap up the 2021-22 season.
Every year these teams play Kansas at their very best. Kansas is a blue blood and is coming off of a national title. Each team is going to want to knock the champs off their throne and I would expect to get the best from the opponent every single game.
Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.
Follow Blue Wings Rising on Twitter.
Listen to the official podcast of Blue Wings Rising: The Rock Chalk Podcast.
