No. 1 Kansas hosts Washburn on Tuesday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 1 Kansas men's basketball team will complete its exhibition portion of the 2024-25 season when it hosts the Washburn Ichabods on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Allen Fieldhouse. The game begins at 7 p.m. (Central) and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Kansas is coming off an 85-69 loss to No. 16 Arkansas in an exhibition game on Oct. 25. The Kansas-Arkansas contest was part of a series of exhibition games sponsored by CareSource, in which proceeds from ticket sales benefit mental health service providers and charities within each school's footprint. Kansas will donate its proceeds from the game to the Kansas City-based Fore The Kids Foundation (forethekidskc.org).

Kansas leads the overall series with Washburn at 40-3, including a 9-0 record in exhibition contests. The teams last met on Dec. 3, 2020, a regular-season game at Kansas and a Washburn exhibition contest during the COVID season. KU won the contest 89-54.

Washburn head coach Brett Ballard played two seasons for Kansas (2000-01 and 2001-02) and was a member of the only team in Big 12 history to go undefeated in league play, going 16-0 in the 2001-02 season. Ballard later spent seven seasons on the KU men's basketball team under KU head coach Bill Self.


Kansas is coming off a 23-11 season in which it advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 33rd time in the last 34 years, a run that began in 1990. KU returns three starters, led by Dickinson, who is the 2024-25 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, a 2024 Consensus All-America Second Team, an All-Big 12 First Team and a Big 12 Newcomer of the Year selection. The center was the only player in the Big 12 to average a double-double (17.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg) last year.

Harris was the starter each of the last three seasons and was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. A three-time All-League honoree, Harris has led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio in two of the past three seasons and has been in the top five in the conference in assists per game each of the past three years. KJ Adams, Jr., the two-time All-Big 12 selection and the 2023 Big 12 Most Improved Player, is also back as a returning starter.


Other Kansas letter winners include redshirt junior forward Zach Clemence and sophomore guard Jamari McDowell. Clemence redshirted last season and played in 44 games in his two seasons at Kansas. McDowell played in 31 games during the 2023-24 season, averaging 7.2 minutes per contest.


Kansas welcomes nine newcomers, including six high school transfers. That includes redshirt senior guard Moore (Mississippi State) and junior guard AJ Storr (Wisconsin), senior security guard Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), junior guard Rylan Griffen (Alabama), junior guard Noah Shelby (Rice) and senior guard David Coit (Northern Illinois). Freshman Center Flory Bidungaa McDonald's All-American last season and freshman guard Rakease Passmore Both are expected to have an immediate impact in 2024-2025.

Historically, Kansas is 95-12 in exhibition games. KU has won the last 55 exhibition games at Allen Fieldhouse since 1994. With the 106-71 win over the Puerto Rico Select Team on August 3, 2023, Kansas has scored over 100 points in 31 exhibition games, including 15 under head coach Bill Self. The Jayhawks are 63-5 in exhibition play during Self's 21 seasons at KU.



KANSAS HOOPS RADIO BROADCASTS MOVE FROM 105.9 TO 92.9 “THE BULL”
As announced on October 25, all men's basketball radio broadcasts in Kansas will move from 105.9 FM to 92.9 FM The Bull in Lawrence. Fans can tune in now to 92.9 FM to catch all of the play-by-play coverage of the upcoming Kansas men's basketball season. The decision to move the stations follows parent company Great Plains Media (GPM)'s recent sale of 105.9 FM to Kansas City-based Reyes Media. While the format change to a Spanish-language station on 105.9 FM is not expected until January 1, 2025, the proactive move to 92.9 FM ensures continuity throughout the basketball season with no mid-season interruptions.

NEXT
Kansas will open the 2024-25 regular season against Howard at 7 p.m. CT on Monday, November 4 at Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.


The Howard game will be the second annual McLendon Classic as KU begins the season against an HBCU opponent. The competition celebrates University of Kansas alumnus and legendary coach John McLendon and the McLendon Leadership Initiative.