Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 1 Kansas will conclude its exhibition play for the 2023-24 season when it hosts Fort Hays State on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Tipoff from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 7 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on Big 12 NOW via ESPN+.
TIP OFFS
• Kansas is coming off an exhibition loss at No. 25 Illinois, 82-75, on Oct. 29. The contest was originally scheduled as a secret scrimmage, but KU head coach Bill Self and Illini coach Brad Underwood made the game a fundraiser to provide financial resources for rapid response and recovery for the devastating wildfires on Maui. Fort Hays State will be playing it first game of the season when it comes to Lawrence.
• The Fort Hays State game is actually Kansas’ fifth exhibition game this season. Besides the Illinois contest, the Jayhawks went 2-1 in three exhibition contests in Pureto Rico, Aug. 3-7. KU senior Hunter Dickinson led the team with 19.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Redshirt-senior Dajuan Harris Jr. paced KU with 6.7 assists per contest and 3.6 steals per game.
• Kansas posted a 28-8 overall record in 2022-23 and won the Big 12 regular season title with a 13-5 league mark. Fort Hays State is coming off a 21-9 season where it tied for third in the MIAA with a 15-7 league record. The Kansas contest will be its first of the 2023-24 season.
• Kansas leads the overall series with Fort Hays State, 12-0, including 9-0 in exhibition play. These two teams last met Oct. 24, 2019, a KU 86-56 win in Allen Fieldhouse.
• Kansas is No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the fourth time in poll history, with all four in the Bill Self era – 2004-05, 2009-10, 2018-19 and 2023-24.
• KU has been ranked in the AP top 10 in each of the last 39 polls dating back to the 2021-22 preseason poll. The 39 consecutive is the longest active streak in men’s college basketball.
• Kansas is 94-11 all-time in exhibition games. The Jayhawks are 62-4 in exhibition games under Bill Self.
• Kansas is celebrating 126 years of men’s basketball in 2023-24.
UP NEXT
Kansas will officially open the regular season when it plays host to North Carolina Central on Monday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised on Big 12 NOW via ESPN+. Kansas and North Carolina Central will be meeting for the first time in men’s basketball.
The KU-UNCC game is part of the McLendon Classic, a Nov. 5-6 event honoring KU alum and two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee John McLendon. Besides the game, on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 5 p.m. CT, KU will host the McLendon Classic Community Event at the Lied Center. For more information on the McLendon Classic click here.
