Bill Self’s 2026-27 Kansas team is walking into another nonconference slate with very little room to breathe. From a true road trip to UConn to neutral-site showdowns with Kentucky and Missouri, the Jayhawks will get tested early before the Big 12 grind even starts. There are plenty of games worth tracking, but these are the six that stand out most.
One of the sharpest early-season measuring sticks comes on Nov. 10 against Kentucky. Kansas will face two ACC opponents in exhibition play, but this is the first time the Jayhawks meet a power conference team away from Allen Fieldhouse in a game that counts.
The backdrop is already loaded. Kentucky and Kansas experienced very different March finishes last season, even if both ended with second-round exits.
Otega Oweh buried a deep buzzer-beater to force overtime against Santa Clara, while Kansas fell when St. John’s Dylan Darling scored at the horn.
Tyran Stokes adds another layer, since Kentucky was among his top three schools before he picked Kansas. And both teams are familiar with one of Kentucky’s biggest offseason additions: Milan Momcilovic, who scored 20 points and hit four 3-pointers against the Wildcats for Iowa State, and who also had four threes and 18 points the last time he played Kansas.
The Border Showdown arrives next on Dec. 6, with Missouri meeting Kansas at a neutral site in Kansas City. That alone gives it a different feel than a home-and-home series, because the winner gets bragging rights for the full calendar year.
The short drive for both fan bases should help the atmosphere, even if it’s not at either school’s arena. Bryson Tiller’s move from Kansas to Missouri adds another wrinkle, and the Jayhawks have won four of the five games since the rivalry restarted in 2021.
Then comes the first true road test: at UConn on Dec. 12.
Kansas has played UConn twice in Ben Hooke’s time around the program, and both of those games came in Allen Fieldhouse. This time the Jayhawks go to Gampel Pavilion, where the Huskies again look loaded after last year’s national championship game run.
UConn added Najai Hines from Seton Hall and another dangerous shooter to go with Braylon Mullins and Duke’s Nik Khamenia. The matchup down low between Hines and Paul Mbiya should be a central battle, and Kansas’ switch-everything defense has already quieted UConn in both previous meetings.
The question is whether the Jayhawks can score enough to pull off what would be a major early road win.
Kansas gets another heavyweight test on Feb. 1 at Houston. Bill Self against Kelvin Sampson is the kind of coaching matchup that immediately raises the temperature, and the recent history between these teams has delivered tight, physical basketball.
The teams split their meetings last season, with Kansas winning in Allen Fieldhouse and Houston taking the Big 12 Tournament game in which Kansas managed only 47 points, its fewest since March 2024 at Houston. The Cougars have become the conference standard since joining the Big 12, and Kansas is still trying to take that crown back.
Joseph Tugler has been one of the best defenders in the country, and Tre White’s 23 points against Houston last year stands out as one of the few bright spots for Kansas in that matchup.
Feb. 6 brings Texas Tech to Lawrence for a game with plenty of memory attached. A year ago in Lubbock, Kansas pulled off one of the stranger comeback wins of the season after Texas Tech star Christian Anderson was mysteriously injured, and Darryn Peterson’s pair of 3-pointers in the final 80 seconds finished the job.
The Red Raiders come back with J.T. Toppin and Darrion Williams, who spent one year at NC State before returning, and they also brought in Hofstra’s Cruz Davis to handle the perimeter creation.
Grant McCasland and Self bring very different styles to the floor, and that contrast should matter again, especially with Kansas built around defense and athleticism.
The final game on the list comes Feb. 20 at Arizona, and it has the kind of national-star appeal that scouts will circle immediately. Tyran Stokes against Caleb Holt gives this one plenty of buzz, even if Arizona’s overall roster makes Holt more of a piece than the central hub he was at BYU.
The Wildcats are deep, physical and long, and 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas adds another layer to a matchup that should feature plenty of eyes on both ends. If Stokes is going to strengthen his case as a top pick, this is the kind of stage where a signature moment would go a long way.
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