The Kansas men’s basketball team learned the first couple pieces of information about its Big 12 Conference schedule on Monday morning with the announcement of a pair of ESPN Big Monday games for the season ahead.
The Jayhawks will travel to Houston to face the Cougars at the Fertitta Center on Feb. 1 and then host Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse on March 1. Both games will take place at 8 p.m. and be televised on ESPN.
These are the first and last games of the Big 12’s five-weekend Big Monday slate. KU is 85-25 in its history on Big Monday, but perhaps the most notable statistic is that it has still not lost one of these games at Allen Fieldhouse in 23 seasons under head coach Bill Self.
Self’s record, which is now up to 41-0, was certainly put to the test during the 2025-26 campaign with some memorable matchups, including an 82-78 victory over then-unbeaten Arizona on Feb. 9 without star guard Darryn Peterson, which was also the first time in Self’s tenure that a No. 1-ranked team had visited Lawrence. KU also beat then-No. 5 Houston 69-56 at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 23.
The Jayhawks had already picked up a road Big Monday victory last season as well when Peterson hit two late 3-pointers to lift KU over Texas Tech, 64-61, on Feb. 2.
KU did not make the trip to the Fertitta Center during the 2025-26 season. It has not been especially kind to the Jayhawks since Houston joined the conference. They lost there in blowout fashion, 76-46, in the 2024 regular-season finale, then weren’t quite able to pull off the upset in a 65-59 loss the following season.
Last year, KU picked up that home win against the Cougars but lost to them 69-47 in the Big 12 tournament.
This year’s Houston team lost much of its production from last season but returns defensive anchor Joseph Tugler and adds transfers such as guards Corey Hadnot II (Purdue Fort Wayne) and Dedan Thomas Jr. (LSU) and forward Delrecco Gillespie (Kent State), as well as the freshman duo of guard Ikenna Alozie and center Arafan Diane.
As for Iowa State, last year the Jayhawks and Cyclones split their two meetings, one at Allen Fieldhouse that kicked off a long winning streak for KU and one at Hilton Coliseum that ended it. The Cyclones bring back a frontcourt starter in Blake Buchanan and promising young guards Jamarion Batemon and Killyan Toure.
The rest of the Big 12 schedule has not yet been revealed. KU opens its season on Nov. 2 against Fordham and plays its final nonconference game against the newly renamed LSU New Orleans on Dec. 29.
