Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team to play fellow blueblood in home-and-home series

Shreyas Laddha
·1 min read
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The Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team will play fellow hoops blueblood North Carolina in a home-and-home series starting in the 2024-25 season, the two schools announced Monday.

The first matchup will be at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence on Nov. 8, 2024. The following year, the two teams will play at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 14, 2025.

The teams have played each other 12 times since the 1957 NCAA title game, but this will be just their second meeting at Allen Fieldhouse and first in the Dean Smith Center.

“These will be two great games from programs whose rich histories are intertwined so much,” KU coach Bill Self said in a news release. “It will be a special day in both Chapel Hill and Lawrence when we play and I am looking forward to it.”

The last time KU played UNC, the Jayhawks completed a thrilling comeback to beat the Tar Heels 72-69 and win the 2022 NCAA championship.

Kansas is the winningest program in college basketball history, with 2,385 all-time victories, while North Carolina is third on the list with 2,347. The series is tied at 6-6 and Kansas has won the last four matchups, all during the Self era at KU.

The two teams have met seven times in the NCAA Tournament, including two NCAA title games — in 1957, a UNC triple overtime 54-53 win, and the 2022 matchup. Kansas is 5-2 against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.