LAWRENCE, Kan. (KUAthletics.com) – The No. 1 Kansas men’s basketball team will play a charity fundraising exhibition game at Arkansas on Friday, Oct. 25. The contest will be played at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville and will tip at 8 p.m. CT and be televised on the SEC Network.
The Kansas at Arkansas contest is part of a series exhibition games sponsored by CareSource in which proceeds from ticket sales will benefit mental health providers and charities within each school’s footprint. Kansas will donate proceeds from the game to the Kansas City based Fore The Kids Foundation (forethekidskc.org). Arkansas will donate proceeds from the charity game to Arkansas Children’s Hospitals.
Kansas is coming off a 23-11 season where it advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 33rd time in the last 34 years, a run that started in 1990. KU returns three starters led by Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Hunter Dickinson, a 2024 Consensus All-America Second Team, All-Big 12 First Team and the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year selection. The center was the only player in the Big 12 to average a double-double (17.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg) last year.
Graduate point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. has been the starter each of the last three seasons and was the 2023 Big 12 Defensive player of the Year. A three-time all-league honoree, Harris has led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio two of the last three seasons and has ranked in the top five in the conference in assists per game each of the last three years. Two-time All-Big 12 selection and the 2023 Big 12 Most Improved player, KJ Adams Jr. is also back as a returning starter.
Other Kansas returning letterwinners include redshirt-junior forward Zach Clemence and sophomore guard Jamari McDowelll. Clemence was a redshirt last season and has played in 44 games during his two seasons at Kansas. McDowell played in 31 games and averaged 7.2 minutes per contest in 2023-24.
Kansas welcomes nine newcomers that include six upperclassmen transfers. Those include redshirt-senior guard Shakeel Moore (Mississippi State), junior guard AJ Storr (Wisconsin), senior guard Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), junior guard Rylan Griffen (Alabama), junior guard Noah Shelby (Rice) and senior guard David Coit (Northern Illinois). Freshman center Flory Bidunga, a McDonald’s All-American last season, and freshman guard Rakease Passmore will both be looked to provide an immediate impact in 2024-25.
Kansas leads the overall series with Arkansas, 8-6, and the two teams last met in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, with Arkansas claiming a 72-71 win. The 14-game series dates back to 1946 and the Oct. 25 contest will be the first exhibition meeting between the two schools.
The KU-Arkansas contest will pit Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer coaches Bill Self, who enters his 22nd season at Kansas, and Arkansas first-year coach John Calipari.
In 21 seasons at Kansas with a 588-143 record, Self is three wins from becoming the winningest coach in Kansas basketball history. He will pass Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen who was 590-219 in 39 seasons at KU (1907-09; 1919-56). Additionally, Self has a career record of 795-248 in 31 seasons and is five wins from becoming the third active NCAA D1 head coach to amass 800 all-time wins. Calipari is first at 813-260 entering his 34th season, while Tennessee’s Rick Barnes is next at 806-415 entering his 38th career season.
This will be the third charity exhibition game Kansas will have participated over the last seven seasons. In October 2017, Kansas played Missouri in Kansas City, Missouri which raised money for Hurricane Katrina relief. Last season in October 2023, Kansas played at Illinois to provide financial resources for rapid response and recovery for the devastating wildfires in Maui.
UP NEXT
Kansas will host Washburn for an exhibition contest at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+
