🏀 No. 13 Kansas to Close Out Regular Season vs. UTEP Thursday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 13/14 Kansas (18-8, 12-6 Big 12) will host UTEP (12-10, 8-8 Conference USA) Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. (Central) on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+. The game will be KU’s final regular-season contest before the Big 12 Championship, March 10-13 in Kansas City, Missouri.

For Thursday’s game, Kansas Athletics will provide 1,300 tickets to front line workers. The initiative was created to honor the first responders in the Lawrence community who have selflessly sacrificed their health for the benefit of others. Recipients of the 1,300 include:

  • LMH Health and KU Health Systems
  • Lawrence Douglas County Fire/Medical
  • Lawrence Emergency Medicine
  • KUPD/Lawrence PD
  • Kansas Highway Patrol

Kansas is 12-1 in Allen Fieldhouse this season and coming off a 71-58 win against No. 2 Baylor on Feb. 27. UTEP brings a four-game winning streak to Allen Fieldhouse after its 77-62 victory against Charlotte on Feb. 28.

The Kansas-UTEP series dates back to 1966 with the Miners leading 3-1. The first meeting was an epic 81-80 overtime win for UTEP, then known as Texas Western, in second round of the NCAA Tournament in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Western went on to win the 1966 NCAA title. KU won the last matchup with UTEP, 67-63, on Nov. 30, 2013, in the third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. This will be the first meeting between the two schools in Lawrence.

Kansas Notables

  • 13/14 Kansas (18-8, 12-6 Big 12) closes out regular-season play when it hosts UTEP (12-10, 8-8 Conference USA) Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. (CT) on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
  • Kansas Athletics will provide 1,300 tickets to front line workers for the UTEP at Kansas men’s basketball game.
  • Kansas is No. 10 in NET nationally in strength of schedule among the 357 teams listed. Kansas’ NET is No. 10, which is second in the conference.
  • Kansas’ 14 Quadrant 1 games played in 2020-21 are tied for the most in the Big 12 with Kansas State. KU is 6-8 versus Quadrant 1 teams, 3-0 vs. Q2, 3-0 vs. Q3, 5-0 vs. Q4.
  • After its 71-58 win against No. 2 Baylor on Feb. 27, KU is 7-6 versus ranked opponents this season and its 13 games are tied with Northwestern for the most in NCAA DI this season. KU’s seven wins are tied for the most in NCAA Division I with Iowa and Michigan.
  • With its win against Baylor (2/27), under Bill Self KU is 9-1 against Associated Press top-5 teams in Allen Fieldhouse, including 1-0 this season.
  • With its win against Baylor, KU has won 12 league games for the 21st consecutive season. Kansas has won 11 league games for the last 27 seasons and the current 27-year streak with 10-plus league wins is the longest active streak in the nation. Kansas has won 10 or more conference games 58 times overall.
  • Kansas leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (40.5%) and rebound margin (4.4).
  • Redshirt-freshman Jalen Wilson is second in the Big 12 in rebounding at 8.3 rpg. His nine double-doubles are second overall in the Big 12. He has six double-doubles in the last eight games.
  • Junior David McCormack leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 51.3%.

UP NEXT

Kansas will enter the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, March 10-13, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., as the No. 2, 3 or 4 seed. KU will open play in the event’s quarterfinals on Thursday, March 11.

Kansas is 76-28 all-time in postseason conference tournaments, including a 46-12 record in the Big 12 Championship. The Jayhawks have won 15 league tourney titles with 11 of those in the Big 12 era and its last in 2018. Kansas is 20-3 in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals.