Kansas Looks to Stay Unbeaten vs UConn

Two of college basketball’s blue bloods will face off in what should be an exciting matchup inside Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night when the No. 21 ranked Kansas Jayhawks welcome in the No. 5 ranked UConn Huskies.

These are two programs who have become familiar with one another over the last several years as Tuesday night’s matchup versus the Huskies will be the third between the two blue bloods since March 2016 and the fifth in a series that dates back to January 1995.

The two teams first faced off as part of a unique double-header at Kemper Arena (now Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City that featured both the men’s and women’s teams from each school.

The UConn women’s team, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma, defeated KU in the first game. But the men’s team – who was ranked No. 7 in the country – was able to easily avenge them with a dominate 88-59 win over Jim Calhoun’s No. 2 ranked Huskies.

The next meeting came just a few years later in January 1997 when the No. 1 ranked Jayhawks traveled to Hartford to take on the Huskies in their own gym. KU came away with a 73-65 win thanks to a strong effort from two future all-time Kansas greats in Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz.

Kansas and UConn didn’t face one another again until March 2016 when the Jayhawks defeated the Huskies 73-61 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16.

KU defeated the Huskies for a fourth time when UConn came to Lawrence in December 2023. The No. 5 ranked Jayhawks defeated the fourth ranked, reigning national champion Huskies 69-65 thanks to a 21-point scoring night from Kansas guard Kevin McCullar Jr.

Now the Jayhawks will have a chance to put that 4-0 unbeaten winning streak on the line against a good UConn squad led by a quartet of upperclassmen averaging double figures, including senior center Tarris Reed Jr. (15.5 points per game), junior guard Solo Ball (14.3 points per game), senior preseason All-American forward Alex Karaban (14.0 points per game), and junior Silas Demary Jr. (12.0 points per game).

The Huskies are 6-1 coming into this game with two top 25 wins under their belt, defeating No. 7 BYU and No. 13 Illinois. Their only loss came at the hands of No. 4 Arizona nearly two weeks ago.

The Jayhawks are 6-2 on the year with losses to North Carolina and Duke. In Darryn Peterson's absence, sophomore center Flory Bidunga has taken over as the leading scorer for the team the last few weeks averaging15.8 points per game on the season, followed closely by senior guard Tre White who averages 14.4 points per game.

Tipoff between Kansas and UConn is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT with the game airing live on ESPN.