Jayhawks headed back to the Big Apple in 2018

By Matt Tait Nov 24, 2017

Nick Krug

Kansas forward Mitch Lightfoot celebrates a bucket by teammate Frank Mason III during the second half of the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Thanksgiving in New York City has a nice ring to it.

From taking in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to holiday shopping on the streets of the city and good food and a festive atmosphere, the Big Apple has it all this time of year.

Thanks to a recent announcement from KU and ESPN, the Kansas basketball team will get to experience it one year from now.

KU announced this week that the Jayhawks were one of four teams selected to play in the 2018 NIT Season Tip-Off, a two-game, four-team event that will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Kansas will join Louisville, Marquette and Tennessee at the event, which is slated for Nov. 21 and 23 of 2018, the Wednesday and Friday surrounding Thanksgiving. Pairings for the event will be announced at a later date.

The Jayhawks have played in NYC four times in the Bill Self era, winning twice and losing twice.

Back in 1989, in Roy Williams’ second season in charge of the program, KU played in and won the Preseason NIT Tournament in New York City, knocking off UNLV and St. John’s in the Big Apple to bring home the title.

Next year’s event will mark the fourth consecutive year that Barclays Center has been the host for the event, which has been played, in some form or another, in New York City every November since 1985.

This year’s NIT Tip-Off features Seton Hall, Virginia, Vanderbilt and Rhode Island.

The NIT Season Tip-Off is one of 11 college basketball events owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.

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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.