Kansas basketball to host Texas A&M in 2018 Big 12/SEC Challenge

By Matt Tait May 25, 2017

Nick Krug

The Jayhawks come together during a timeout in the second half, Thursday, March 9, 2017 at Sprint Center.

After two thrilling years of Kansas-Kentucky clashes in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the Jayhawks will turn to a former Big 12 Conference foe to try keep the excitement going during the 2017-18 season.

No, not that one.

Despite building fan speculation that Missouri’s recent successes on the recruiting trail might be enough to inspire a rebirth of the Border War, specifics of the fifth edition of the two-conference showdown were released Thursday morning and the Tigers were not even included.

With four fewer teams in the Big 12 Conference, not all of the SEC teams are able to participate in the challenge each season and with KU having faced Kentucky in each of the past two seasons — along with its rotating match-up in the Champions Classic in November — the Jayhawks were due to be matched up with a different team: Texas A&M.

Kansas is 3-1 all-time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, having split with Florida during the first two years and swept UK during the past two.

For the third consecutive season, the challenge will take place on the same day, with 10 games being shown on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU throughout the day Jan. 27, 2018. Game times have not yet been released.

Kansas’ scheduled match-up with the Aggies means that, when it’s over, the KU basketball program will have faced three of the four teams that recently left the Big 12 — Colorado, Nebraska and Texas A&M.

The Jayhawks are 20-1 all-time against Texas A&M, including a 19-1 mark as members of the Big 12 from the 1996-97 season through 2011-12. KU is 9-1 vs. A&M inside Allen Fieldhouse, with the only loss coming in 2007, when A&M standout Acie Law IV hit a big shot late in a tough game between ranked teams to give the Aggies a 69-66 victory.

The Big 12 as a whole has a similarly impressive record against the SEC in this challenge, owning a 25-15 mark in its first four years, having won the series outright during the first three before tying at five wins apiece last season.

2018 Big 12/SEC Challenge – Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018

Baylor at Florida

Tennessee at Iowa State

Texas A&M at Kansas

Georgia at Kansas State

Oklahoma at Alabama

Oklahoma State at Arkansas

TCU at Vanderbilt

Mississippi at Texas

Texas Tech at South Carolina

Kentucky at West Virginia

Joel Embiid re-imagined as 'Game of Thrones' character in new video

Show/Post Comments

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.