KU basketball vs. Duke: A look at series history, numbers behind Jayhawks-Blue Devils
No. 5 Kansas basketball travels to Indianapolis, where it faces No. 8 Duke on Tuesday in the State Farm Champions Classic.
Everything about this matchup is must-see TV; two top-ranked teams boasting returning talent and high-profile freshmen.
These two programs own some of college basketball's richest history. Here's a look at some of the all-time numbers, including a few that have to do with Tuesday's game.
What is KU basketball's record against Duke?
The Jayhawks have five wins all-time against the Blue Devils, with the most recent coming in 2018 − an 85-81 victory in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas has won four of the last six matchups.
Duke, however, dominated the series before Bill Self took over as Kansas' head coach. Led by head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils won six of the first seven games.
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Kansas' games against Duke are almost always a close battle
Seven points or fewer separated these teams in all but two of their 13 matchups.
Duke won the last meeting by two points in 2019. Kansas won a 2018 battle in overtime by four points. Two years prior, the Jayhawks won by a pair.
Kansas' biggest victory in the series came in 2013 when it won by 11. Duke's largest margin of victory came in 1989 when it won by 25.
This year marks Duke's first game against Kansas without former head coach Mike Krzyzewski
Believe it or not, this will be the first matchup between the two programs without Krzyzewski following his retirement after the 2021-22 season.
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Kansas is just 2-6 against Duke without head coach Bill Self
Self won't be on the sidelines Tuesday. It's the first time since he took over as head coach ahead of the 2003-04 season in which he won't coach on the Jayhawks sideline for this matchup.
Self's absence comes as part of a self-imposed four-game suspension by the Kansas program. Kansas suspended Self and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend due to the NCAA infractions case against the program.
Norm Roberts will serve as the Jayhawks' acting head coach for those first games.
“Norm will do a great job,” Self said before the season began. “I mean, he’ll do a great job. I mean, the guy’s been a head coach in the Big East. And we’ve been together a long time. And there’s a correlation in us being successful and who your coaches are. And we’ve had the best staff. I don’t know that anybody can compare with the staff that we’ve had over time, and of course Norm has been a huge part of that. So, he’ll do well and our players will respond.”
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Duke and Kansas combine for 9 NCAA basketball championships
Duke's five college basketball titles are tied with Indiana for fourth all-time among all programs. Kansas' four championships are tied with Connecticut for sixth.
The Blue Devils' last championship came in 2015. Kansas won the 2022 NCAA title.
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Adam Hensley is a digital producer with the USA Today Network. You can follow him on Twitter @A_Hens83 or reach him at ahensley@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: A look at KU basketball's series history against Duke
