KU Jayhawks men’s basketball schedule is set after game against Washburn is added
Kansas’ men’s basketball team will play host to NCAA Division II Washburn University at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, it was announced Monday.
The additional game brings KU to 27 scheduled games for the 2020-21 season. Teams are allowed to play 25 games plus two games in a multi-team event this season according to NCAA rules put in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Washburn is led by former KU guard and coaching staff member Brett Ballard, who played for the Jayhawks in 2000-01 and 2001-02. The 2001-02 team is the only Big 12 team to go undefeated in conference play at 16-0.
Ballard was on KU coach Bill Self’s coaching staff for seven years (2003-10) and was director of basketball operations for the final two seasons of that stint with the Jayhawks. He is 62-31 through three seasons as head coach at Washburn.
Last season Washburn went 16-13 and finished tied for fifth with Northeastern State in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association with an 11-8 league record.
KU leads the overall series with Washburn, 38-3. That includes an 8-0 record in exhibition play dating to 2004. This game will count as a regular-season game for KU but is an exhibition for Washburn.
“Coach Self called a couple weeks ago and with all the COVID situations going on they were scrambling a bit,” Ballard said Monday, explaining how the game was set up. “Coach said they may need a team last-minute to fill in a date. We wanted to make it happen. We were supposed to play KU as one of their exhibition games but the NCAA ruled there would be no exhibitions this year because of COVID.”
Indeed, the NCAA ordered all teams to scrap any exhibition games or scrimmages with other schools.
“It’s a good opportunity for us,” said Ballard, who noted the Ichabods’ schedule will consist of the KU contest plus 22 conference games. “We got permission (from league). They understood it was great exposure for our league and the financial side of it helps us tie up some loose ends.”
The last time the two teams met in a non-exhibition was Nov. 15, 2007. The Jayhawks rolled 92-60 in Allen Fieldhouse. The series dates to 1906. KU won the first six meetings. Washburn’s three wins came in 1913, 1928 and 1944 in Topeka.
No. 6 Kansas opens the season against No. 1 Gonzaga at 12:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida. KU will conclude the event by playing Saint Joseph’s at 1 p.m., the following day.
Here is an updated KU schedule for 2020-21
NOVEMBER
26-Gonzaga in Fort Myers, Florida, 12:30 p.m.
27-St. Joseph’s in Fort Myers, Florida, 1 p.m.
DECEMBER
1-Kentucky in Indianapolis
3-Washburn, 7 p.m.
5-North Dakota State
8-Creighton
11-Omaha
13-Tarleton State
17-at Texas Tech
22-West Virginia
JANUARY
2-Texas
5-at TCU
9-Oklahoma
12-at Oklahoma State
16-Iowa State
18-at Baylor
23-at Oklahoma
26-TCU
30-at Tennessee
FEBRUARY
2-Kansas State
6-at West Virginia
8-Oklahoma State
13-at Iowa State
16-at Kansas State
20-Texas Tech
22-at Texas
27-Baylor
MARCH
10-13-Big 12 Tournament, T-Mobile Center, Kansas City
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 6:02 PM with the headline "KU Jayhawks men’s basketball schedule is set after game against Washburn is added."
