That KU had a winning streak of 58 consecutive home exhibition games prior to Wednesday’s loss to No. 11 Louisville attests to the power of Allen Fieldhouse, but also to the way preseason schedules are changing.
That streak consisted primarily of victories against Division II schools from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, with teams like the EA Sports All-Stars, Australia’s Geelong Supercats and something called Pella Windows all in the mix.
That’s a long way from the Cardinals and even longer from this Sunday’s opponent, No. 2 Duke, with tipoff scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game to be televised on ESPN. This new brand of exhibition, more and more common in modern college basketball’s expanded preseason, gives the Jayhawks a trial by fire.
“Of course I’d love to win, no question,” KU coach Bill Self said of the Duke game. “But I want us to build off of the things that happened (against Louisville) and improve in those areas that we weren’t very good and have to learn how to compete in a manner in which you got to compete.”
Self has said he plans to mix up the Jayhawks’ starting lineup, as he did between the games against Pittsburg State and Louisville. He’ll put in Leroy Blyden Jr. for Taylen Kinney and Christian Reeves, a former Blue Devil, for Paul Mbiya.
“Just a game,” KU guard Melvin Council Jr. said after the loss to Louisville. “We got to learn from tonight with film, take it over to Duke. Win or lose, we just got to be better than what we (were) tonight and try to keep a lead.”
After an ignominious conclusion to its 2025-26 season at the hands of UConn in the Elite Eight, Duke is back with another squad that should be among the favorites to win the title this season.
Gone is the exceptional All-American forward Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft last season. However, the Blue Devils retain some key talents in guards Cayden Boozer and Caleb Foster, wing Dame Sarr and center Patrick Ngongba II.
That returning core alone might be enough to justify a high ranking for Duke, but the Blue Devils also add former Wisconsin guard John Blackwell, one of the top transfers in the country who averaged 19.1 points per game last year, and 7-foot-2 freshman center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje.
Boumtje Boumtje, who is from Florida but played for FC Barcelona, is just 17 after reclassifying up to join the team and will not be eligible for next year’s NBA Draft, but he looks as promising as any first-year player. He has rare skill and touch for his size and posted 19 points in Duke’s first exhibition, tying for the scoring lead with Sarr and adding seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 102-62 victory over Belmont.
The Blue Devils then faced preseason No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday and won by a similar margin, this time led by 21 points in 21 minutes on 9-for-12 shooting from freshman point guard Deron Rippey Jr.
Sunday’s matchup will take Duke away from the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time this year. It is the first matchup in a home-and-home exhibition series that the schools are calling the Blue Blood Classic. KU coach Bill Self said there really wasn’t much planning involved beyond “Do you want to come here and we’ll return it the next year and let’s try to both make a little money off of it?” The game isn’t part of KU’s season-ticket package, so the athletic department can use the proceeds for “things that are pretty important to programs right now.”
“I guess that’s about the extent of the conversation,” Self said with a smile. “Shrewd negotiating went on to get that.”
The teams will battle next October as well at Cameron, a venue to which Self has never been and which he described as a potential “bucket-list” destination.
