The Kansas men’s and women’s basketball teams learned their league opponents for the 2026-27 season when the Big 12 released its scheduling matrices on Thursday.
The conference’s full schedules, complete with dates and times, are expected this fall.
The men’s team will take on Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State both home and away this season. The Jayhawks will host Arizona State, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, UCF, and West Virginia and travel to face Arizona, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, TCU, and Utah.
KU split home and away matchups with ISU last season, but beat K-State in both Lawrence and Manhattan for the first time in four years. The Jayhawks only played Baylor in Lawrence, where they won 80-62 on Jan. 16.
Outside of returning rotational pieces Paul Mbiya and Kohl Rosario, it will be a new-look roster for the Jayhawks this season as head coach Bill Self returns for his 24th year at the helm. KU features No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes and fellow five-star Taylen Kinney among a robust group of freshmen, as well as a quartet of transfers in guard Leroy Blyden Jr. (Toledo), forward Keanu Dawes (Utah), wing Dennis Parker Jr. (Radford) and center Christian Reeves (Charleston).
KU recently unveiled its nonconference slate, which is headlined by dates with Kentucky in Chicago (Nov. 10) and at UConn (Dec. 12). With the Jayhawks’ final nonleague game on Tuesday, Dec. 29, against New Orleans, they will likely begin Big 12 play the following weekend.
FULL LIST OF OPPONENTS
Home: Arizona State, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, UCF, West Virginia
Away: Arizona, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, TCU and Utah
Home and away: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State
The women’s team will face a familiar set of regional rivals twice each as part of its league slate.
The Jayhawks will battle Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State home and away this winter. They will host Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU and UCF, while traveling to face BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Utah and West Virginia.
KSU and OSU are repeat two-time opponents from the 2025-26 campaign, in which KU completed its first two-game sweep of its Sunflower Showdown rivals since 2013. However, the Jayhawks lost both home and away to the Cowgirls, including in a pivotal regular-season finale at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
KU dropped its lone contest against ISU last year when the Cyclones’ Kenzie Hare hit a buzzer-beater to win the game at Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 21.
The Jayhawks narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament last season despite memorable campaigns from Big 12 Freshman of the Year Jaliya Davis and first-team all-conference guard S’Mya Nichols. They concluded their season by losing to league foe BYU in the WBIT semifinals in Wichita.
KU returns Davis and Nichols, along with a small group of returning contributors including junior forward Regan Williams. The Jayhawks added a trio of freshmen, including 6-foot-4 McDonald’s All-American center Cydnee Bryant, and four transfers, headlined by Kansas City native and former Xavier guard Mariyah Noel.
KU’s nonconference schedule has not yet been released in full, but the Jayhawks are expected to face a trio of Big Ten opponents as they travel to Minnesota, host Northwestern and take on Nebraska in a neutral-site matchup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
FULL LIST OF OPPONENTS
Home: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, UCF
Away: BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Utah, West Virginia
Home and away: Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State
