LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball will start its defense of its NCAA National Championship when it plays host to Omaha on Monday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. (Central) inside Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be televised on Big 12 NOW via ESPN+ with Dave Armstrong, Wayne Simien and Kennetra Pulliams on the call.
TipOff
- Kansas has won a mind-boggling 49-straight home openers beginning in 1973-74 under head coach Ted Owens. KU coaches Larry Brown (5-0) and Roy Williams (15-0) never lost a home opener and Bill Self is 19-0.
- Kansas opened the season with a 93-64 exhibition win against Pittsburg State on Nov. 3.
- Kansas leads the all-time series 2-0 with Omaha – 109-64 on Dec. 18, 2017 and 95-50 on Dec. 11, 2020 – with both games played in Allen Fieldhouse.
- KU returns two starters and seven letterwinners from last season’s 34-6 team that finished tied for first in the Big 12 with a 14-4 record. KU advanced to its NCAA-record 32nd-consecutive NCAA Tournament, winning the national title.
- KU’s two starters returning include redshirt-junior guard Dajuan Harris Jr. who led the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.81, which was 14th nationally, and redshirt-junior Jalen Wilson who is KU’s leading returning scorer (11.1 ppg) from last season. He led KU in rebounds per game at 7.4 last year.
- Wilson was named to the 2023 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List for the second straight season. Redshirt-senior transfer guard Kevin McCullar was named to the 2023 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List.
- For the 11th-consecutive year, Kansas enters the 2022-23 season ranked seventh or higher as KU is tied with Baylor at No. 5 in the 2022-23 preseason Associated Press poll released Oct. 17.
- Kansas will be celebrating 125 years of basketball in 2022-23.
- Fans attending the Omaha contest will have the opportunity to take home a piece of the 2022 Final Four floor, the same court Kansas won the NCAA National title in New Orleans last April.
Up Next
Kansas will conclude its two-game homestand when it plays host to North Dakota State on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. (Central). The game will be televised on Big 12 NOW via ESPN+.
