“I told the kids, ‘Do not expect this one to be easy,”’ KU men’s basketball coach Roy Williams said of Boise State.

The unheralded Broncos, who visit Allen Fieldhouse for a 7:05 p.m. tipoff, fell to No. 17-ranked Cincinnati, 73-61, on Saturday night at UC’s Shoemaker Center.

Cincinnati needed a game-ending 18-4 run to overcome the Broncos of the Big West Conference, who led with seven minutes left.

“I don’t think it will be easy,” Williams cautioned. “It should be interesting to see how we come out and play.”

Junior forward Abe Jackson scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to pace Boise State on Saturday. Center Richard Morgan scored 13 points, while guard Booker Nabors and forward Delvin Armstrong had 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Boise State, which confounded Cincinnati with dribble penetration on offense and sticky zone defense.

“They were so quick I was kind of surprised we could get in there (lane),” Nabors, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound freshman guard, told the Idaho Statesman after the game. “It proves we can play with anybody.”

Who knows what would have happened if Kejuan Woods had stayed out of foul trouble? Woods, a 6-6, 210-pound senior from Inglewood, Calif., hit one of nine shots and scored three points in 20 minutes.

“You can always say, ‘What if?’ But if this team is going to be successful, there will be a night when Kejuan or anybody is in foul trouble,” Boise State coach Rod Jensen said.

“It would have been nice to have him going full speed, but he took two quick fouls and was on his heels the rest of the night.”

Tonight, the Broncos complete their rugged season-opening road trip one Jensen has looked forward to a long time.

“This is going to give our guys a chance to see how it’s done at the highest level,” Jensen said. “We’re playing two of the top-quality programs. They can show us what we need to do to get where they are at.”

Big on basketball tradition, Jensen actually contacted KU officials about playing a game in Allen Fieldhouse.

“I always wanted to see a basketball game at Kansas,” Jensen said. “I told my guys, ‘Let’s go to Kansas sometime.”’

Boise State receives $35,000 for its appearance here.

KU will not return the trip.

“Only so many schools have called coach Williams about coming to play here. They are one of them. That may show something. They will be confident and fired up,” KU sophomore forward Nick Collison said.

“They called to play here. You have to wonder. They must have confidence,” KU junior forward Jeff Carey said.

Boise State has just one player taller than 6-foot-8 junior pivot Trever Tillman, a 6-11, 260-pounder, who went 0-for-3 shooting at Cincy. KU counters with Eric Chenowith (7-1), Drew Gooden (6-10), Collison (6-9) and Carey (6-11).

“Those are sizes we don’t see every week. It’s kind of uncommon for us,” Jensen said.

The Jayhawks, 3-0, will next meet Washburn at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.