Kansas’ preseason schedule takes another big swing Sunday, when the No. 17 Jayhawks host No. 2 Duke in the first Blue Blood Classic at Allen Fieldhouse.
Tipoff is set for noon, and ESPN will carry the exhibition live from Lawrence.
The matchup lands just days after Kansas dropped an 89-83 decision to No. 11 Louisville on Wednesday, a game that gave Bill Self another look at how his team responds against elite competition. Self said the exhibition doesn’t come with the usual conference-game weight, but it does serve a purpose beyond basketball.
“The good thing about the game is it’s not a conference game. It’s not on the season ticket package, so that money can be used toward things that are pretty important to programs right now” - a clear nod to NIL resources for players.
Self also said he could not remember exactly how the home-and-home arrangement with Duke came together.
“I don’t remember,” KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self said, asked whose idea it was to set up the home-and-home series of practice games.
“It (probably) was, ‘Hey, do you want to come here and we’ll return it the next year and let’s try to both make a little money off of it?’ I guess that’s about the extent of the conversation … so shrewd negotiating went on,” Self added jokingly.
Duke has looked every bit like a top-two team through its exhibition work. Jon Scheyer’s fifth Blue Devils squad has already put up 100-point nights twice at home, starting with a 102-62 rout of Belmont on Oct. 8 and following that with a 103-64 demolition of No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday.
Freshman guard Deron Rippey Jr. led the way against the Volunteers with 21 points and three steals. Wisconsin senior transfer guard John Blackwell added 18 points, hitting four of six from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard/forward Dame Sarr scored 15, junior center Patrick Ngongba finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard/forward Sebastian Wilkins and freshman center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje each had 11.
Sophomore guard Cayden Boozer, the brother of 2026 No. 3 overall NBA Draft pick Cameron Boozer, dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds and posted a plus-24 plus-minus.
Duke dominated the glass and controlled the paint against Tennessee, outrebounding the Vols 44-29, shooting 20 of 59 from the field and 4 of 18 from 3-point range, and outscoring them 46-16 inside.
Self said he wants Kansas to keep building off what it learned against Louisville while also sharpening its edge before the games start to count.
“Of course I’d love to win, no question,” Self said, asked what he’d like to see in the final exhibition game of the preseason. KU defeated Pittsburg State 80-62 in a game held in conjunction with the 42nd Late Night in the Phog.
“But I want us to build off of the things that happened tonight and improve in those areas that we weren’t very good, and we have to learn how to compete in a manner in which you’ve got to compete against the best.
“That game (KU vs. Louisville) tonight … hey guys, that was a conference game already from a competitive standpoint. So that’s what we need to get used to playing against,” Self added.
Kansas guard Council called Sunday’s game against Duke another chance to learn from the Louisville loss and bring that lesson forward.
“Just a game. We’ve got to learn from (the Louisville game), take it over to Duke. Win or lose we’ve got to be better than we were (against Louisville) and try to keep a lead,” he said.
Council said he liked what he saw from the Jayhawks in the loss to the Cardinals.
“We can fight with anybody. We can compete with anybody,” Council said.
“Our young guys … they don’t back down. They don’t care who it is.
That’s what I got from this game.”
Kansas will open the season for real Nov. 2 against Fordham, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
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The freshmen also had their say, with Tyran Stokes, Taylen Kinney and Trent Perry each contributing in a game that never felt too big for them. Kansas finished exhibition play 1-2, but the bigger takeaway was the response after Duke pushed ahead, as the Jayhawks kept battling and gained a useful dose of live-game experience along the way. For a roster leaning on youth, that kind of showing may end up mattering just as much as the result. [Read more 🡒]