LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 5 Kansas (5-1) opens a four-game home stand when it plays host to Eastern Illinois (3-4) on Tuesday, Nov. 28, at 7 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised on Big 12 NOW via ESPN+.
TIPOFF
- Kansas is 5-1 after its 69-60 win against No. 7 Tennessee in the consolation finals of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 22. The Jayhawks have been 5-1 or better for the last 12 seasons beginning in 2012-13. Eastern Illinois has won two of its last three games after its 85-39 win against Eureka College on Nov. 25.
- Kansas and Eastern Illinois are meeting for the first time in men’s basketball. The Jayhawks are 11-0 against the current membership of the Ohio Valley Conference.
- Kansas posted a 28-8 overall record in 2022-23 and won the Big 12 regular-season title with a 13-5 league mark.
- Kansas leads the nation in assists per game at 24.2, through games played on Nov. 25. KU has posted 20 or more dimes in four games this season, including a season-high 34 against North Carolina Central (11/6).
- Senior Hunter Dickinson leads the nation in rebounds per game at 12.7, through games played on Nov. 25. Dickinson has two games of 20 or more boards, including 20 versus No. 7 Tennessee (11/22).
- Graduate-senior Kevin McCullar Jr. leads the nation in triple doubles with two. He is just the seventh player in NCAA history to record consecutive triple doubles and the first since the 2007-08 season (Tony Lee of Robert Morris).
- Kansas was No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason poll for the fourth time in poll history, with all four coming in the Bill Self era – 2004-05, 2009-10, 2018-19 and 2023-24. The Jayhawks have held the No. 1 ranking through the first three polls of the season.
- KU has been ranked in the Associated Press top 10 in each of the last 41 polls dating back to the 2021-22 preseason poll. The 41 consecutive is the longest active streak in men’s college basketball.
UP NEXT
The last two NCAA National Champions will square off when 2023 champ and No. 4 Connecticut will come to 2022 champ and No. 5 Kansas on Friday, Dec. 1 in the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle. The game from Allen Fieldhouse will be televised on ESPN and will start at 8 p.m. (Central).
Kansas leads the all-time series with UConn, 3-0, with the last meeting resulting in a 70-61 Kansas win in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.
