No. 1 Kansas plays No. 16 Arkansas in an exhibition game on Friday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 1 Kansas men's basketball team will play a benefit fundraising exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 25, at Arkansas. The contest will be held at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville and will end at 8:00 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network.

The Kansas at Arkansas contest is part of a series of exhibition games sponsored by CareSource, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting mental health providers and charities in each school's area. Kansas will donate proceeds from the game to the Kansas City-based Fore The Kids Foundation (forethekidskc.org). Arkansas will donate proceeds from the charity game to Arkansas Children's Hospitals.

Kansas is coming off a 23-11 season that saw it advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 33rd time^approx times in the last 34 years, a run that began in 1990. KU returns three starters, led by the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Hunter Dickinsona 2024 Consensus All-America Second Team, an All-Big 12 First Team and 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.

Graduate point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. 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 last three seasons and has finished in the conference's top five in assists per game each of the last three years. Two-time All-Big 12 selection and the 2023 Big 12 Most Improved player, KJ Adams Jr. is also back as a returning starter.

Other Kansas letter winners include redshirt junior forward Zach Clemence and sophomore guard Jamari McDowelll. 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 upperclassmen transfers. That includes the redshirt senior guard Shakeel Moore (Mississippi State), 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.

Kansas leads the overall series with Arkansas 8-6, and the two teams last met in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, with Arkansas earning a 72-71 victory. The 14-game series dates back to 1946 and the Oct. 25 contest will be the first exhibition meeting between the two schools.

The KU-Arkansas contest features Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer coaches Bill Selfwho celebrates his 22nd^nd season at Kansas and first-year Arkansas coach John Calipari.

In 21 seasons at Kansas with a 588-143 record, Self is three wins away from becoming the winningest coach in Kansas basketball history. He will be Dr. Passing FC “Phog” Allen, who posted a 590-219 record in 39 seasons at KU (1907-09; 1919-56). Additionally, Self has a career record of 795-248 in 31 seasons and is five wins away from becoming the third active NCAA D1 head coach to reach 800 wins all-time. Calipari is first at 813-260 entering his 34th season^Th season, while Tennessee's Rick Barnes went 806-415 in his 38th season^Th Career season.

This will be the third charity exhibition game Kansas has participated in in the last seven seasons. In October 2017, Kansas played against Missouri in Kansas City, Missouri to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief. Last season in October 2023, Kansas played Illinois to provide funding for rapid response and recovery from the devastating wildfires on Maui.

NEXT
Kansas hosts Washburn on Tuesday, October 29th for an exhibition contest at Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+