Kentucky's matchup with Kansas has gotten much tougher thanks to court rulings

Mark Pope and Kentucky have to find a way to beat Kansas.

Mar 19, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope speaks during an interview at the practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are set to take on the Kansas Jayhawks early in the non-conference slate this season. The third game of the season for Pope and the Wildcats will be on November 10th in Chicago, where the Wildcats will take on Bill Self's Jayhawks.

These two programs already faced off this offseason as Pope and Self went against one another trying to land Tyran Stokes, the #1 player in the 2026 class. Well, as all of Big Blue Nation knows, the Jayhawks got the best of the Wildcats, landing Stokes, who many expect to be the #1 pick in the NBA Draft.

Mar 30, 2026; Goodyear, AZ, USA; Tyran Stokes during the McDonalds All American Jam Fest at Millennium High School. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Many college basketball experts weren't all that impressed with the roster Kansas had outside of Stokes a few weeks ago, but things are changing quickly. Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. were just granted another year of eligibility and will be back for Coach Self. White averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks. Council Jr. averaged 12.7 points, five rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game last season for the Jayhawks. It is clear that the addition of these two players will really boost Kansas this season.

Jeff Goodman of The Field Of 68 has talked about the possibility that Kansas could be going after former Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. He was given a TRO for another year of eligibility, but it doesn't make sense, as his circumstances aren't the same as those of players like Mark Mitchell and Denzel Aberdeen.

Kentucky basketball head coach Mark Pope gives an update on the upcoming 2026-27 season during a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky July 24, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Even without the addition of Kaufman-Renn the Jayhawks have gotten a lot better and it is scary to think how good they would be if they added the former Purdue forward. In the CBS Sports rankings ahead of the college basketball season, the Jayhawks have now overtaken the Wildcats. Kansas is ranked 18th, and the Wildcats dropped to one spot below them at 19. The craziest part about this is the fact that the Jayhawks were not in the rankings prior to this.

Last season, the non-conference slate didn't go well for Pope and the Wildcats, and a big part of this was because they got off to a slow start. This matchup with Kansas will be the first marquee matchup for the Wildcats in non-conference play. If they can win in the Windy City, it would be huge for Pope and the Wildcats to hopefully win a lot of big games before SEC play rolls around.

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