Kansas basketball schedule 2024-25: Duke, UNC, Michigan State among Jayhawks' top nonconference games

The Jayhawks' 2024-25 nonconference schedule is full of intriguing matchups

By Cameron Salerno Aug 20, 2024 at 12:21 pm ET• 4 min read

Kansas opens up the 2024-25 season on Nov. 4 at home against Howard and plays another game at Allen Fieldhouse against North Carolina as part of a loaded nonconference slate. The Jayhawks will play in one of two marquee matchups (vs. Michigan State) in a doubleheader at the State Farm Champions Classic during the opening month of the season; Duke vs. Kentucky is the other. 

The Jayhawks have games vs. Creighton, Missouri, NC State and Furman on the schedule before Big 12 play starts at the turn of the calendar year. With Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joining the conference, the Big 12 is expected to be as strong as ever.

Expectations for Bill Self and company will be as high as ever after a disappointing exit in the NCAA Tournament last spring. After falling to Gonzaga in the second round, Kansas loaded up in the transfer portal by landing former Wisconsin and St. John's forward AJ Storr, Alabama forward Rylan Griffen and South Dakota State guard Zeke Mayo alongside blue-chip incoming freshmen Flory Bidunga (No. 14 overall) and Rakease Passmore (No. 49 overall). 

Kansas is ranked No. 1 in Gary Parrish's latest Top 25 and 1 . It will have a strong case to open as the preseason top-ranked team because of the newcomers on the roster and the return of veterans Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr.

Here are the top five Kansas nonconference games to watch this season.

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1. Duke (Vegas Showdown)

When: Nov. 26, 2024 Where: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas)

One of the best matchups in the sport will take place during the opening month in Sin City when Kansas faces Duke. The Blue Devils are another team in contention to be the preseason top-ranked team due to the arrival of five-star forward Cooper Flagg - one of the most anticipated incoming freshmen in recent memory. But it's not just Flagg that makes the Blue Devils matchup with Kansas so appealing, as the program returns their (projected) starting backcourt in Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. Duke added Mason Gillis (Purdue), Maliq Brown (Syracuse) and Sion James (Tulane) to the top-ranked high school recruiting class that features Flagg, Khaman Maluach, Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel, Patrick Ngongba ll and Darren Harris. Both teams will likely be ranked in the top five when this game tips off.

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2. vs. North Carolina 

When: Nov. 8, 2024 Where: Allen Fieldhouse (Lawrence, Kansas)