University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
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Kansas
#5 UConn Heads To Lawrence To Face Kansas
12/1/2025 12:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 5 UConn men's basketball team heads to one of the game's iconic venues on Tuesday night when it visits Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. The blue blood showdown is set for 9 p.m. and will air on ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla on the call.
It will mark the fifth meeting all-time between the Huskies and Jayhawks, a series led 4-0 by KU. The two programs have combined for a total of 10 NCAA titles, including three of the last four. The last meeting was early in the 2023-24 season when Connecticut visited Lawrence on Dec. 1, a 69-65 victory for Kansas in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. The trip to Allen Fieldhouse this year is the first in a two-year home-and-home series, with Kansas set to return to Connecticut in 2026-27.
The trip will mark UConn's first true road test of the season and its third game against a foe ranked in the current Kenpom top-20. Connecticut is in the midst of six games in 27 days against opponents currently ranked in the top-40. UConn debuted at No. 8 in the first NCAA NET rankings released Monday (Dec. 1), while Kansas checked in at No. 17.
The Huskies are coming off a 74-61 win over then-No. 13 Illinois in the SentinelOne Showdown at Madison Square Garden on Black Friday. Connecticut turned in its best defensive performance of the young season against the Illini, holding the high-powered offense to 32.1 percent shooting from the field and a 20.7 mark from 3-point range. Solo Ball led three Huskies in double-figures with 15 points, while Alex Karaban recorded 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. NYC-native Malachi Smith had his best game as a Husky in 24 minutes off the bench, scoring 14 points and dishing out a game-high nine assists against one turnover.
Tarris Reed Jr. leads UConn with 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and made his return to action for the first time since Nov. 15 in the Illinois game. Ball (14.3 ppg) and Karaban (14.0 ppg) join him atop the Husky scoresheet, with Karaban adding 5.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 'stocks' per game. Silas Demary Jr. checks in with 12.0 points and a league-best 5.9 assists per game, shooting 55.8 percent and grabbing 4.7 rebounds with 1.8 steals a night. Kenpom currently slates UConn with a top-12 offense and the No. 8 defense in America.
The Jayhawks enter Tuesday night's contest off a successful run at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, notching three wins in three days over Notre Dame, Syracuse and then-No. 17 Tennessee. Kansas was without star freshman Darryn Peterson in Vegas, who leads the Jayhawks with 21.5 points per game but has appeared in only two contests. Flory Bidunga scores 15.8 per game on 62.8 percent shooting and adds a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game. Tre White (14.4 ppg) and Melvin Council Jr. (10.8) also score in double-figures. Kansas grades out as a top-10 defense and holds opponents to 37.4 percent shooting from the field.
Following Tuesday night in Lawrence, UConn returns to Gampel Pavilion to take on East Texas A&M on Friday, Dec. 5.
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