16 National Telecasts, Match-Up vs. Florida Highlight Kansas Men's Basketball Schedule
July 22, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas men’s basketball schedule in PDF
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Sixteen national telecasts, a match-up with defending NCAA champion Florida and a home game against 2006 NCAA Sweet-16 participant Boston College highlight the 2006-07 Kansas men’s basketball schedule, released Saturday by Kansas Athletics.
In all, 16 of the Jayhawks’ 31 contests will be televised nationally, including conference tilts against Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, and non-conference bouts against Boston College, DePaul and Southern California. The Jayhawks will appear three times on CBS, 12 times on ESPN/ESPN2 (including four Big Monday telecasts) and once on ABC. In addition, ESPN’s College Gameday will come to Lawrence for the second time in three seasons, when the Jayhawks square off against Texas A&M on the network’s featured game Feb. 3. KU hosted Gameday in its inaugural season in 2005.
“One very positive thing about the schedule is the 16 national TV exposures prior to the Big 12 and NCAA championships,” head coach Bill Self said. “This will be a team that America will certainly get a chance to see play.”
Kansas, the reigning regular-season co-Big 12 and postseason Big 12 champs, opens the season with a pair of exhibition games at Allen Fieldhouse against in-state opponents Washburn (Nov. 2) and Emporia State (Nov. 7). The Jayhawks have won 28 consecutive home exhibition games, dating back to the 1993-94 season.
KU begins the regular season Nov. 11, when it hosts Northern Arizona. A victory would extend Kansas’ home-opener winning streak to 34. Kansas then welcomes Oral Roberts Nov. 15. The Golden Eagles are fresh off their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 22 years; the game reunites Self not only with a team he once coached, but also with current ORU head coach Scott Sutton, who served as a graduate assistant under Self at Oral Roberts during the 1995-96 season.
Kansas will continue its home stand against Towson University (Nov. 19) and Tennessee State (Nov. 21). Those on-campus battles are actually the first two games of the Las Vegas Invitational; the teams then move to Las Vegas for the event’s final games over Thanksgiving weekend.
While in Vegas, Kansas will first take on Ball State Nov. 24. The next day the Jayhawks will square off against defending national champion Florida. The contest will air on ESPN at 9:30 p.m. CST.
KU will then play seven of its next eight games in Allen Fieldhouse. On Nov. 28, the Jayhawks will host Ivy League opponent Dartmouth, before hitting the road for a brief road trip to Chicago to take on DePaul (Dec. 2).
The Jayhawks return home for a match-up against Pac-10 foe USC Dec. 4. KU will also play Toledo (Dec. 9) before entertaining ACC-power Boston College Dec. 23. The game will air on CBS at 12:30 p.m. CST. Detroit-Mercy (Dec. 28) and Rhode Island (Dec. 30) close out the non-conference home schedule.
A road trip to Columbia, S.C., pits the Jayhawks against South Carolina Jan. 7. The Gamecocks feature a talented line-up that has led it to two straight postseason NIT championships.
KU then opens Big 12 Conference play, hosting Oklahoma State (Jan. 10) on ESPN2. Other conference match-ups at Allen Fieldhouse include Colorado (Jan. 27), Texas A&M (Feb.3), Kansas State (Feb. 7), Nebraska (Feb. 17), Iowa State (Feb. 26) and Texas (March 3). The Jayhawks’ four appearances on ESPN’s Big Monday include Missouri at home (Jan. 15), at Nebraska (Jan. 29), at Kansas State (Feb. 19) and at Oklahoma (Feb. 26).
“This is a highly competitive schedule,” Self said, “one that will give us a good early test to see where we are as a team – especially playing Florida over Thanksgiving. And the Big 12 will be every bit as competitive as it always is.”
Kansas will add another non-conference home game, to be played some time in December. Kansas Athletics will release those details when they become available.
