Kansas Basketball: Breaking down 2023-24 non-conference schedule

Tournaments and special contests

There’s a bountiful amount of early-season tournaments and specially marked games the Jayhawks will be in this season.

November 14: State Farm Champions Classic vs. Kentucky (in Chicago, IL)

Since being founded in 2015, Kansas is knotted with Duke for the best record in the fairly even Champions Classic at 7-5. That includes a split 2-2 record against the Wildcats. As always, Kentucky is cycling through freshmen and transfers, though having Antonio Reeves back and Tre Mitchell in the fold are key. This will be the first major spotlight game for freshmen DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards, so it’ll be interesting to see how they handle the pressure.

November 20-22: Maui Invitational (in Lahaina, HI)

The Jayhawks are one of the frequent fliers to the annual Hawaiian basketball mecca, one of five programs with at least three tiles in Maui Invitational history. They’ll likely enter the tournament as the favorite this year, but it’s one of the most loaded fields in history. The other teams: Gonzaga, Marquette, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA, and Chaminade. That’s a murderer’s row of teams, at least three of whom seem likely to fly back to the continental United States with two losses on their ledger.

December 1: Big East/Big 12 Battle vs. UConn

In four competitions, the Big 12 has surprisingly never won the battle between the conferences (though they’ve tied three times). Kansas will have its hands full with one of the best teams in the nation and the defending national champions, the Huskies. It should be an interesting game between two teams that will still be looking to get into a groove after roster overhauls. Being at home helps Kansas.

December 9: HyVee Hoops Border Showdown vs. Missouri

The Border War is always intense, but last year, it was a non-contest. Kansas smacked Mizzou by 28 points, its second consecutive rout in the long-running battle, which has tilted nearly 2-to-1 for the Jayhawks. The Tigers haven’t beaten their counterpart since 2012 – when they were both in the Big 12 – and Kansas has won 13 of the last 15 in the series. The loss of Kobe Brown is tough on Dennis Gates’ team, but he did add Connor Vanover and Caleb Grill in the transfer portal.

Kansas’ non-conference schedule runs the gamut in 2023-24. It will be a big indicator as to how far the Jayhawks can go.