Bill Self has spent more than two decades turning the Kentucky-Kansas matchup on its head, and Tuesday night may offer one more jolt to the rivalry.
When Self took over at Kansas before the 2003-04 season, the Jayhawks were staring up at Kentucky in just about every meaningful way. Kansas trailed UK 3-19 in the head-to-head series, and in the chase for the all-time men’s college basketball wins lead, the Jayhawks were 48 victories behind Kentucky and seven behind North Carolina.
Now the balance has shifted so much that when No. 24 Kentucky and No.
15 Kansas meet Tuesday night in the 2026-27 State Farm Champions Classic at Chicago’s United Center, Self’s program will be just six wins back of Kentucky, 2,446 to 2,440, in the all-time race. Kansas has also won the last two meetings with the Wildcats and six of the last eight.
Self’s record against Kentucky at Kansas stands at 9-5. If the Jayhawks win again Tuesday, he would become only the 14th men’s basketball coach ever to reach double-digit victories against the Wildcats.
That possibility comes with a layer of uncertainty around Self’s future. He will turn 64 on Dec. 27, and after multiple hospitalizations in recent years tied to cardiac issues, it is hard not to ask whether this could be the last time Kentucky sees a Self-coached Kansas team.
Self addressed that kind of talk at Big 12 Media Days last month in Kansas City.
“What my legacy is, hopefully what we do this year and what we do next year,” Self said. “ ... I’m certainly not thinking like it’s my last (season).”
The UK-KU connection runs deep, long before Self entered the picture. Adolph Rupp, the Halstead, Kansas, native and Kansas alumnus who built Kentucky into a powerhouse, went 4-0 against his alma mater while guiding the Wildcats to 876 wins and four NCAA championships over 42 seasons from 1930 through 1972.
Kentucky’s next coach, Joe B. Hall, was even tougher on Kansas, going 12-1 against the Jayhawks.
Self first faced Kentucky while coaching Tulsa. In Tubby Smith’s first season at UK, the 1997-98 Wildcats beat Self’s Golden Hurricane 74-53 five days before Christmas on the way to Kentucky’s seventh NCAA championship.
At Kansas, Self opened with three straight wins over Kentucky, dropped the next three, then has gone 6-2 against the Wildcats since.
“Bill has been an incredible leader there,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said last week. “I think for these great coaches, one of the things that you notice, he’s been able to evolve and reinvent himself over and over and over again ...
He’s done it really successfully. He continues yet.
(It is) why (he) is one of the great coaches.”
Kentucky did claim the biggest game it ever played against Self’s Kansas teams, beating the Jayhawks 67-59 in the 2012 NCAA title game behind Anthony Davis and Co.
Kansas later moved past Kentucky as the all-time wins leader during the 2022 NCAA tournament, when Self and the Jayhawks captured a second national championship to go with the one they won in 2008. By the end of the next season, Kansas had built a 10-game cushion over UK.
Then came the fallout from the FBI’s 2017 investigation into college basketball recruiting practices. After the NCAA process finally played out, Kansas was ordered in 2023 to vacate 15 wins from the 2017-18 season after a player was retroactively ruled ineligible, putting Kentucky back in front in the all-time wins race.
This season’s Kansas roster has also drawn attention because of the way it came together. Self landed two highly touted Kentucky high school recruits, Louisville’s Tyran Stokes and Newport’s Taylen Kinney, and both have been starting for the Jayhawks.
Kansas’ other three starters - wing Tre White, big man Trey Kaufman-Renn and guard Melvin Council Jr. - are veterans whose eligibility has been preserved by court injunctions. Kansas announced Monday that Council is out with a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
A Kentucky win Tuesday would give Mark Pope’s program another early boost after the Wildcats upset Duke in the Champions Classic two seasons ago, a result that helped launch Pope’s era on a wave of good feeling.
A Kansas win would push Self into one of the most exclusive coaching clubs in the sport: the group with 10 or more career victories over Kentucky.
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Kentucky Gets Another Early Chance To Make A National Statement
The Champions Classic is back Tuesday night at Chicagos United Center, and for Kentucky it brings another one of those early-season stages that can shape the national conversation before conference play even begins. Since the event was created in 2011, the doubleheader featuring Michigan State, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky has become one of college basketballs most recognizable showcases, a spot where rankings, reputations and first impressions all get tested in a hurry.
For the Wildcats, the matchup with Kansas is more than just another November game. It is a chance to measure themselves against a perennial power in a setting built for high-end competition, with the kind of spotlight that can tell a lot about where a team stands and where it still needs work. Even in a season that is still just getting started, this is the sort of night that can carry real weight. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Is In A Real Recruiting Fight With North Carolina
Kentuckys recruiting board for the 2027 class already has one of its biggest names circled in CJ Rosser, a five-star power forward who sits near the top of the national rankings. The Wildcats have not just offered Rosser, they have made him a priority, bringing him to campus for both official and unofficial visits as they work to stay in the mix for a prospect with the kind of upside that can shape a class.
North Carolina is in the same battle, and the Tar Heels recent commitments have not cooled their interest in Rosser. For Kentucky, the appeal goes beyond tradition and playing time, with the program also believed to have a strong hand when it comes to NIL opportunities, which could matter in a race this tight. The next steps in Rossers recruitment should tell a lot about whether the Wildcats can turn early priority into real momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Faces Its First Real Test Against A Title Contender
Kentuckys early-season tune-up phase gives way to something far more revealing in the College Basketball Champions Classic, where Kansas arrives as the kind of opponent that can show a team exactly where it stands. The Wildcats have handled James Madison and Manhattan to open the year, but this one should tell a much clearer story about how ready they are for the level of pressure that comes with title-contender basketball.
For Kentucky, the formula starts with making shots from deep and keeping Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes from taking over the game. The Wildcats will also need meaningful production from newcomers Alex Wilkins and Zoom Diallo, two players whose early-season contributions could matter even more against a team with Kansas size, talent and edge. [Read more 🡒]