๐Ÿ€ Game Preview: vs. Washburn

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The No. 7/5 Kansas Jayhawks open its home portion of the 2020-21 season when they host the Washburn Ichabods on Thursday, December 3 at 7 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The game will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Dave Armstrong and Chris Piper calling the action.

Kansas looks to continue its impressive 47-straight wins in home openers which dates back to the beginning of the 1973-74 season under head coach Ted Owens. In doing so, Kansas will face off against former KU guard and staff member, Brett Ballard, the head coach of the Washburn Ichabods. Ballard played at KU in 2000-01 and was on Bill Self’s staff from 2003-10.

The Jayhawks enter Thursday’s contest ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press Poll, marking the 222nd consecutive week the Jayhawks have been ranked dating back to 2008-09. The 222-consecutive weeks in the polls is an all-time college basketball record, surpassing UCLA’s previous record of 221 from 1966-80.

Kansas is coming off a pair of victories at neutral sites against Saint Joseph’s (Nov. 27) in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off and most recently against No. 20/9 Kentucky in the State Farm Champions Classic. Through three games, Kansas has had three different players lead the team in both scoring and steals, while junior Ochai Agbaji leads the team with 17.3 points per game.

Kansas leads the overall series with Washburn, 38-3, which includes an 8-0 record in exhibition play dating back to 2004. The last time the two teams met in a non-exhibition contest was Nov. 15, 2007, a KU 92-60 win in Allen Fieldhouse. The series dates back to 1906 and Kansas won the first six meetings. Washburnโ€™s three wins came in 1913, 1928 and 1944 with all three victories in Topeka. Since 1944, Kansas has won 13 straight against Washburn, which includes eight exhibition battles.

Following Thursday’s home-opener, Kansas will return home to host North Dakota State on Saturday, December 5 at 3 p.m. That game will also air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.