Louisville Cardinals (0-0) at Kansas Jayhawks (0-0)
Exhibition Game One
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Allen Fieldhouse: Lawrence, Kan.
Television: ESPNU
Announcers: Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Seth Greenberg (analyst)
Favorite: No line
Series: Kansas leads, 6-5
Last Meeting: Kansas won 90-82 on Oct. 24, 2025 in Louisville (Exhibition)
Series History:
Statistics (from 2025-26):
Louisville Uniforms:
Relevant Videos:
It feels hard to believe, but since winning the national championship in 2022, Kansas has not been back to the Sweet 16. That includes two seasons where the Jayhawks began the year ranked No. 1 in the country.
Hopes are still high that Bill Self’s program is not one on the decline, but it might take a better-than-expected 2026-27 to make believers out of the most pessimistic of KU fans. Thankfully for Rock Chalk, there are plenty of reasons to believe that such an overachievement is possible.
The biggest of those reasons is freshman Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 recruit from the class of 2026 and the player currently most likely to be taken No. 1 overall in next June’s NBA Draft. Stokes, a Louisville native, is a versatile, physical scorer who can handle the ball, create for himself and others, and make life difficult for opposing defenses with his size and athleticism. The expectations are enormous, and Self has already drawn comparisons to some of the program’s most talented former players. If Stokes lives up to the hype, he could give Kansas the kind of individual star capable of carrying a team deep into March.
Stokes won’t have to do it alone, though. Senior guard Melvin Council Jr. and former Louisville guard Tre White provide some valuable continuity, while Toledo transfer Leroy Blyden Jr. and five-star freshman Tay Kinney (who was heavily pursued by Pat Kelsey before picking the Jayhawks) are expected to play significant roles in the backcourt. Blyden brings speed and legitimate three-point shooting ability, while Kinney gives Self another highly touted young guard with plenty of offensive upside. There are certainly some questions about how quickly the newcomers will settle in, but Kansas has the pieces to put together a pretty dangerous perimeter rotation.
The frontcourt is where things get especially interesting. Utah transfer Keanu Dawes should provide a versatile, productive presence alongside Stokes, while former Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn adds experience and scoring punch if his eligibility situation allows him to play. Kansas also has a pair of 7-foot options in Paul Mbiya and College of Charleston transfer Christian Reeves. Replacing Flory Bidunga’s rim protection and interior presence won’t be easy, so figuring out whether that group can consistently defend the paint and rebound against elite competition will be one of the biggest storylines of the season.
As always, the expectations in Lawrence are sky-high, but this isn’t necessarily a finished product. Kansas has plenty of athleticism and scoring potential, and Stokes gives the Jayhawks a potential superstar around whom to build. The questions are whether the new pieces can develop chemistry, whether the frontcourt can hold up defensively, and whether the team can find enough consistency from beyond the arc. If those answers go Kansas’ way, Self could have another team capable of making a serious run in March. If not, the Jayhawks could once again find themselves still trying to put all the pieces together when the stakes are highest.
Notable:
—Louisville center Flory Bidunga spent the past two seasons at Kansas, where he was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2025-26.
—Kansas guard Tre White spent the 2023-24 season at Louisville. He averaged 12.3 ppg for a Cardinals team that went 8-24.
—Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes was born in Louisville and lived in the Derby City until the age of nine.
—Louisville’s 39-game winning streak in exhibition play was snapped four years ago with a 57-47 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne. The exhibition loss was U of L’s first ever against a college opponent, and its first overall since Dec. 2, 2000 when Denny Crum’s final Cardinal team fell 87-86 in double overtime to the Global Sports All-Stars. The Cardinals also dropped an exhibition game to Kentucky Wesleyan the next season, and fell to Kansas a year ago.
—Louisville is 1-1 all-time in exhibition games against Division-I opponents, losing to Kansas and defeating Bucknell last season.
—Kansas is 104-11 all-time in exhibition games.
—Kansas has won 58 consecutive exhibition games inside Allen Fieldhouse, a streak which dates back to 1994.
—Kansas’ last exhibition loss at home was a 93-82 defeat at the hands of the Australian National Team on Nov. 29, 1993.
—Kansas is 68-5 in exhibition games under Bill Self.
—Louisville is 2-3 all-time in games against Kansas played at Allen Fieldhouse.
—Louisville enters its third season under head coach Pat Kelsey who holds a 51-19 record while in The Ville.
—Kansas head coach Bill Self is beginning his 24th season in Lawrence and is 633-167 at the helm of the program.
—Kansas is coming off an 80-62 win against Pittsburg State on Oct. 16 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU played 12 players 11 or more minutes in the contest and was led by fifth year Tre White who scored 16 points that included four threes made.
—Kansas is starting a season ranked in the preseason AP poll for the 35th consecutive year.
—Louisville is No. 11 in the preseason AP poll for a second consecutive year. It’s the first time the Cardinals have started back-to-back seasons ranked since 2016-17 and 2017-18.
—Louisville is 50-0 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play.