Could KU and Arizona become men’s basketball rivals in revamped Big 12 Conference?

Kansas men’s basketball games against Big 12 Conference additions Houston, Cincinnati, Brigham Young and UCF could prove quite exciting this season and for many seasons to come.

Ditto for KU hoops contests against three teams joining the league in 2024-25 — Colorado, Arizona State and Utah. It’s an eighth newcomer in Arizona, however, that figures to provide KU with an opponent that someday could become a true conference rival.

If the past is any indication, KU-Arizona will be a basketball game circled on the calendar by players, coaches, fans and TV networks alike.

KU is 8-4 all time versus Arizona in a series that dates to 1979. Of the 12 games, five have been decided by four points or less and seven by eight points or less.

In the NCAA Tournament, KU holds a 2-1 record over the Wildcats.

Arizona ended one of the greatest seasons in KU history courtesy of an 85-82 Sweet 16 victory on March 21, 1997, in Birmingham, Alabama. Arizona, a No 4-seed, went on to win the national title that season while top-seed KU finished 34-2.

The No. 2-seed Jayhawks on March 29, 2003, knocked off top-seed Arizona 78-75 in an Elite Eight game in Anaheim, California.

In the other NCAA game, KU, a No. 2-seed, beat the No. 3-seed Wildcats 83-80 on March 22, 1996, in a Sweet 16 battle in Denver.

KU, by the way, has a much better all-time record versus Arizona than Arizona State. The Jayhawks are 5-6 against the Sun Devils, 3-4 versus Cincinnati, 124-40 versus Colorado, 5-2 against Houston, 4-1 versus BYU, 2-0 vs. Utah and 0-0 vs. UCF.

In the Bill Self era, KU is 19-1 vs. Colorado, 1-0 vs. BYU, 1-0 vs. Utah, 0-2 vs. ASU, 2-2 vs. Arizona, and 0-0 vs. Houston, Cincinnati and UCF.

Asked about playing Arizona on a regular basis as a conference foe, Self told The Star recently: “I don’t know the historical aspect of it other than there’s been some big games. Arizona has beaten KU to go to the Final Four and KU has beaten Arizona to go to the Final Four. Tommy (Lloyd, head coach) is doing a great job out there. Arizona basketball has always been good since coach (Lute) Olson was there. It’ll continue to be great under Tommy. We’ll have some classic matchups.”

Here’s a closer look at the KU-Arizona series in men’s basketball as the series renews in 2024-25 for the first time in a long time — 13 years. We’ll start with the meetings in the all-important NCAAs.

KU basketball vs. Arizona series history

Kansas 83, Arizona 80

Sweet 16, West Regional, March 22, 1996, Denver

It was the Jacque and Jerod show as Jacque Vaughn and Jerod Haase combined for 29 points and 19 assists as the schools met in the first of two straight classic Sweet 16 games.

Haase, who finished with 16 points to Vaughn’s 13, secured 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who were led in scoring by Paul Pierce (20 points). Miles Simon and Michael Dickerson had 21 points apiece for the Wildcats.

B.J. Williams came off the bench to score 18 points and grab nine rebounds for the Jayhawks, who, with the win improved to 29-4. Arizona, which finished the 1995-96 season 26-7, led 27-15 after eight minutes. KU came back to lead 41-39 at halftime.

Dickerson missed a jumper with a minute left and Arizona up 79-78. Haase drilled a 3 off a pass from Vaughn, putting KU up for good. Vaughn followed with two free throws to conclude KU’s scoring. The Jayhawks went on to lose in the Elite Eight to Syracuse.

Arizona 85, Kansas 82

Sweet 16, Southeast Regional, March 21, 1997, Birmingham, Alabama

The Wildcats, the No. 4 seed in the Southeast Regional, shocked the top-seeded Jayhawks. The Wildcats, with revenge on their minds from the Sweet 16 loss to KU in the 1996 tourney, entered as 10.5 point underdogs with a 21-9 record.

Henry Bibby scored 21 points, Dickerson 20 and Simon 17. AJ Bramlett had 12 points and 12 rebounds for an Arizona team that went on to win the national title under Hall of Famer Olson.

Pierce scored 27 points while Raef LaFrentz and Ryan Robertson had 14 apiece for KU. Billy Thomas contributed 13 points while Vaughn, who picked up his fourth foul with 9:25 left, scored six points with eight assists. Haase, hampered by a wrist injury that left him ineffective, could only go 14 minutes, hitting 1 of 3 shots.

Bibby nailed a 3-pointer with 3:26 remaining, giving UA its biggest lead (75-62). His 3 opened an 11-0 run with UA up, 64-62.

Not to surrender without a fight, KU converted on eight straight possessions late. After 3s by Thomas and Robertson, KU lagged by one with 21.1 seconds left. Bibby hit two free throws with 18.2 seconds left to put Arizona ahead 85-82.

KU’s chances at overtime failed. Thomas missed a 3-pointer. Robertson missed a 3 and LaFrentz, who rebounded Robertson’s miss, dribbled the ball beyond the arc to the corner and misfired on a 3 as well.

Kansas 78, Arizona 75

Elite Eight, West Regional, March 29, 2003, Anaheim, California

No. 2-seed KU toppled the No. 1-seed Wildcats in the West Regional final to reach the Final Four in Roy Williams’ final season at KU.

Kirk Hinrich scored 28 points and blocked a 3-point attempt by Jason Gardner in the final seconds.

The Jayhawks, who wound up with a 30-8 record, squandered leads of 16 points in the first half and 14 in the second, but still managed a victory.

Nick Collison was held to eight points and nine rebounds by U of A. Fellow Iowa native Hinrich was 6 of 17 from 3 and 10 for 23 overall. He added five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.

After the Jayhawks were called for a shot clock violation, Arizona took possession with 7.1 seconds remaining. Gardner released a shot from 25 feet, but Hinrich slapped the ball away. Luke Walton retrieved and fed back to Gardner in the left corner, but his second attempt to tie the game missed as time expired.

Jeff Graves had 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Keith Langford also scored 13 points for KU.

Gardner led the Wildcats (28-4) with 23 points. Walton had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Arizona 91, Kansas 74

Jan. 25, 2003, Lawrence

The Wildcats, the No. 1 team in the country, rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat No. 6 KU in Allen FIeldhouse. That still stands as the largest lead relinquished in a loss by the Jayhawks in school history.

Salim Stoudamire scored a career-high 32 points against the Jayhawks, who led 44-24 with 5:37 left in the first half.

“In the first half we looked as good as anybody in America,” KU coach Williams said. “In the second half we looked like a team that couldn’t win another game the rest of the season. It’s impossible to figure out, let alone explain.”

The loss snapped KU’s 25-game home winning streak. The Jayhawks’ 13-point halftime lead was the biggest blown in Williams’ 15 years as head coach.

Langford scored 27 points, including 11 points in a three-minute span in the first half. Gardner had 23 points and Rick Anderson 15 points for Arizona. Collison and Hinrich each had 15 points for Kansas.

Kansas 76, Arizona 72 (OT)

Nov. 25, 2007, Lawrence

The No. 4-ranked Jayhawks defeated unranked Arizona at Allen Fieldhouse thanks in large part to Brandon Rush, who scored five of his 17 points in overtime, including two dunks on his surgically-repaired knee.

Darrell Arthur had 20 points and Mario Chalmers 14 for Kansas, which improved to 5-0 to Arizona’s 3-2 mark.

Arizona kept it close to the end thanks to Chase Budinger and Jerryd Bayless. Budinger hit six 3-pointers and had 27 points to help the Wildcats rally from an 11-point deficit. Bayless finished with 19 points for the Wildcats, who were coached by Kevin O’Neill with Olson on a leave of absence.

Rush started the second half and played 36 minutes — eight more than his first two games combined since his return from surgery — hitting 6 of 12 shots.

“I know one thing, he’s getting the day off tomorrow,” Self said after the contest.

Arizona 61, Kansas 49

Maui Invitational, Nov. 22, 2005, Lahaina, Hawaii

Chalmers committed seven turnovers as the unranked Jayhawks fell in the first round of the tourney to the No. 9 Wildcats at Lahaina Civic Center.

Mustafa Shakur and Kirk Walters each scored 13 points for Arizona, with Walters’ total a career high for the junior forward. Walters, who went 4-for-6 shooting, and Mohamed Tangara, who hit his only shot of the game, were the only Wildcats to shoot better than 50%. Hassan Adams scored 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting. Chris Rodgers had 12 points on 3-for-10 shooting and Ivan Radenovic went 1 for 9 and had two points.

Sasha Kaun had 12 points for Kansas, which committed 27 turnovers and went 7:40 without a field goal in the second half after tying the game at 41 with 11:33 to play. KU did overcome a 20-4 deficit, tying the game at 41 with 11:33 left.

“I was disappointed in how we played, not how we lost, because Arizona’s a great team,” Self said. “I thought we might be nervous and then Arizona’s pressure set the tone early. Then we dug ourselves another hole we couldn’t climb out of.”

Kansas 90, Arizona 87

Great Eight, Dec. 2, 1997, Chicago

LaFrentz scored 32 points, including two free throws with 27.6 seconds to play to preserve a narrow Kansas victory in the Great Eight. His two foul shots were made after LaFrentz suffered a cut on his head that would later require three stitches.

Robertson dished 10 assists for the No. 2-ranked Jayhawks, who led No. 4 Arizona by 20 points with 10 minutes to play. UA’s Simon had 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting

A 21-5 Arizona run, over a span of 5:27, brought the Wildcats within a bucket on Bibby’s 3-point shot with two minutes to go. LaFrentz was hit in the head by Jason Terry of the Wildcats but gave Kansas a lead of 88-84 with his two foul shots.

Terry responded by drilling a 3-point shot to bring the Wildcats within a point with 14.7 seconds to go. Pierce who had 17 points, passed to Robertson, who advanced the ball to Kenny Gregory. Gregory missed a shot with seven seconds to play but secured the offensive rebound to score two seconds later. Bibby, who scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats, missed a 3 at the buzzer.

Kansas 105, Arizona 97

Dec. 1, 2001, Tucson, Arizona

Drew Gooden scored 23 points and tied his career high with 15 rebounds, while Jeff Boschee contributed 19 points as No. 8 KU beat No. 4 Arizona at McHale Center.

The Wildcats cut a 16-point deficit with 11 minutes left to four points on two occasions, but each time the Jayhawks answered. Langford, just a freshman, scored 19 points. Hinrich had 16 points and nine assists and Collison had 14 points and nine rebounds. Gardner scored a career-high 34 points for the Wildcats.

Walton had 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists and Anderson went for 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Arizona got within 87-83 when Walton made two free throws with 3:43 to go, and were close again at 99-95 on a 3-pointer by Anderson with 28 seconds remaining. But Jeff Carey made two free throws and Hinrich hit four down the stretch.

Arizona 84, KU 67

Dec. 23, 2008, Tucson, Arizona

Jordan Hill scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Jamelle Horne tallied 19 points and 13 rebounds in the battle of unranked teams with 8-3 records. Josh Fogg scored 14 points while Nic Wise had 16 points and eight assists. KU held standout Budinger to five points on 1-for-9 shooting in the game played at McHale Center.

Wise was 10-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. Sherron Collins scored 16 points, Marcus Morris 12 and Cole Aldrich 10 for the Jayhawks.

Kansas 87, Arizona 79

Las Vegas Invitational, Nov. 27 2010, Las Vegas

The Jayhawks, who were ranked No. 6, defeated unranked Arizona in the last meeting between the teams.

Marcus Morris scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while his brother Markieff Morris added 15 points for Kansas, which had six players score in double figures. Derrick Williams scored 27 points with eight rebounds for the Wildcats. He fouled out with 2:27 left. Arizona never inched closer than five points after that.

“I don’t think anyone would argue (Williams) was the best player on the court,” Self said. “Arizona is good. It was great to play such a good team in a close game. We didn’t play smart at times, but we started so great. We found out a lot about ourselves in the second half.”

Thomas Robinson added 14 points while Tyrel Reed had 13 for the Jayhawks, who improved to 6-0. Marcus Morris played with four fouls over the last 7:13 and did not foul out.

Kyle Fogg added 18 points and Lamont Jones had 11 for the Wildcats, who committed 19 turnovers to Kansas’ 12. Tyshawn Taylor and Travis Releford both added 10 points for Kansas.

Kansas 86, Arizona 57

Dec. 7, 1981, Lawrence

The Jayhawks rolled to their 17th consecutive victory at Allen Fieldhouse. Kelly Knight scored 19 points while David Magley had nine rebounds and Tad Boyle three steals for Jayhawks, who led by as many as 30 points in the second half.

“I’m not going to slit my wrists because we lost. It’s not the end of the world,” Wildcats coach Fred Snowden said after the contest.

Just 8,400 fans attended that game at Allen. KU’s next game was a 77-74 overtime loss to Kentucky, which snapped the Allen win streak. That game drew 14,150 fans.

Kansas 78, Arizona 60

Dec. 31, 1979, Tucson, Arizona

In the first-ever game played between the teams. KU won by 18 points at McHale Center in Tucson. It snapped a three-game KU losing streak. The Jayhawks, 3-5 after the win over the Wildcats, entered having lost consecutive games to Kentucky, Pepperdine and Arizona State. Arizona at that point was 5-4. Ricky Ross had 16 points and while Tony Guy and John Crawford had seven rebounds apiece.