Courtesy of Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The two winningest programs in college basketball history will meet for the second-straight season in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge when Kansas plays at Kentucky, ESPN announced Thursday. The game from Rupp Arena will be played on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.
Last season, Kansas surpassed Kentucky to become the all-time winningest program in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks’ run to the 2022 NCAA National Championship put KU’s all-time victories at 2,357. Kentucky is next at 2,353. KU, UK and North Carolina (2,323) are the only schools with more than 2,300 all-time wins.
Kansas has won four of the last six meetings with Kentucky and KU is 7-5 versus UK in the Bill Self era. This will be the fifth meeting between the two blue blood schools in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, with the series tied at 2-2 in the event.
The SEC/Big 12 Challenge enters its 10th year in 2023, with the Big 12 holding a 48-40 (54.5%) record versus the SEC in the event. The Big 12 won the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019 Challenges.
Kansas is 5-4 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, having split with Florida in 2013-14 and 2014-15, as both teams claimed home victories. KU then swept a home-and-home series with Kentucky, claiming a 90-84 overtime in Allen Fieldhouse in 2016 and a 79-73 win in Lexington, Kentucky in 2017. In 2018, Kansas defeated Texas A&M, 79-68, in Allen Fieldhouse and in 2019 lost at Kentucky, 71-63. In 2020, KU defeated Tennessee, 74-68, at home in the event and Tennessee defeated Kansas, 80-61, in 2021 in Knoxville. Last season, Kentucky defeated Kansas, 80-62 in Lawrence.
Dating back to 2007, Kansas is 9-6 in conference challenges (1-1 vs. Arizona, 2-0 vs. UCLA, 1-1 vs. Florida, 2-2 vs. Kentucky, 1-1 vs. Tennessee, 1-0 vs. Texas A&M, 1-0 vs. Creighton and 0-1 vs. Villanova).
Fans can secure season tickets today for Kansas men’s home games. Tickets are available for as low as $500 by visiting www.kuathletics.com. To order season tickets, fans must be active members of the Williams Education Fund for as little as $100. More information is available by calling 785.864.3141.
2023 SEC/Big 12 Challenge – Jan. 28, 2023
- KANSAS at Kentucky
- Arkansas at Baylor
- Texas at Tennessee
- TCU at Mississippi State
- Alabama at Oklahoma
- Auburn at West Virginia
- Ole Miss at Oklahoma State
- Florida at Kansas State
- Iowa State at Missouri
- Texas Tech at LSU
