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Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 19/19 Kansas will face No. 10/11 Louisville in exhibition play on Friday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m. CT at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The contest will be televised on the ACC Network with Dave O’Brien and Seth Greenberg calling the action.
Kansas is coming off a 21-13 season in 2024-25 where it advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 34th time in the last 35 years, a run that started in 1990. Kansas finished sixth in the Big 12 with an 11-9 record. Under second-year head coach Pat Kelsey, Louisville finished 27-8 last season and 18-2 in the ACC where finished tied for second.
Kansas leads the overall series with Louisville, 6-5, and the two teams last met on Jan. 16, 1993, at Kansas 98-77 win in Louisville. Kansas has won four of the last five meetings with Louisville in a series that dates back to 1959. The Oct. 24 contest will be the first exhibition meeting between the two schools.
Kansas is No. 19 in both the Associated Press and the USA TODAY Coaches polls entering the 2025-26 season. This marks 34th-consecutive season Kansas is ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Men’s Basketball Poll. Since 2006-07, this marks the 20th consecutive season Kansas has been ranked in the coaches’ poll. Including 2025-26, KU has been ranked in 34 of the last coaches’ polls, a streak that started in 1991-92.
Under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self, who enters his 23rd season at Kansas, KU features returners Flory Bidunga, Jamari McDowell and Elmarko Jackson. KU has eight newcomers featuring freshman Darryn Peterson, the top-rated recruit in the nation, and four upperclassmen transfers – Melvin Council Jr., Jayden Dawson, Nginyu “Gee” Ngala, and Tre White.
Peterson, the third No. 1 ranked national recruit to play for Self at Kansas, joining Andrew Wiggins and Josh Jackson, is surrounded by a talented freshmen class this year, including Kohl Rosario, Paul Mbiya, Bryson Tiller, Samis Calderon, and Corbin Allen.
UP NEXT
Kansas will conclude exhibition play when it hosts Fort Hays State on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. The contest will be televised on ESPN+.
KU leads the all-time series against Fort Hays State, 13-0, including an 11-0 record in exhibition games. The last time these teams met was on Nov. 1, 2023, in Lawrence, which resulted in an 73-55 Kansas win.
