🏀 No. 1 Kansas to Open Regular Season Hosting North Carolina Central

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 1 Kansas will open up the 2023-24 season when it plays host to North Carolina Central on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. (Central), in Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be televised on Big 12 NOW via ESPN+ with Steven Davis, Wayne Simien and Kennetra Pulliams on the broadcast.

TIPOFF

1. Honoring KU alum and legendary coach John McLendon, Kansas Athletics will host the inaugural McLendon Classic over the weekend of Nov. 5-6 on the campus of the University of Kansas. IN addition to the game, KU will host the McLendon Classic Community Event at the Lied Center on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 5 p.m. CT.
2. KU has won a mind-boggling 50-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 20-0.
3. Kansas posted a 28-8 overall record in 2022-23 and won the Big 12 regular season title with a 13-5 league mark. North Carolina Central went 18-12 in 2022-23, including a 10-4 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) where the Eagles finished second.
4. Kansas and North Carolina Central will meeting for the first time in men’s basketball. The Jayhawks are 8-0 all-time versus current MEAC teams and last faced a MEAC team defeating Howard, 96-68, in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.
5. Kansas returns three starters – KJ Adams Jr., Dajuan Harris Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr. – and eight letterwinners from last season. KU welcomes nine newcomers, including the 2023-24 coaches’ Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Hunter Dickinson. Dickinson, Harris and McCullar were on the All-Big 12 Preseason team as well.
6. Kansas is No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the fourth time in poll history, with all four coming in the Bill Self era – 2004-05, 2009-10, 2018-19 and 2023-24.
7. KU has been ranked in the AP top 10 in each of the last 39 polls dating back to the 2021-22 preseason poll. The 39 consecutive is the longest active streak in men’s college basketball.
8. Including 2023-24, Kansas has been the Big 12 coaches’ choice to win the league 20 times in the 27-year history of the conference.

UP NEXT

Kansas will host Manhattan College on Friday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. Central. The game from Allen Fieldhouse will be televised on Big 12 NOW via ESPN+. Kansas and Manhattan will be meeting for the first time in men’s basketball.