KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Next season’s matchups for the Big East/Big 12 Battle, an annual NCAA Division I men's college basketball series, have been announced.
Kansas will host the University of Connecticut, who will be defending their national championship, at Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 1.
The 2023 Champs vs. The 2022 Champs 🤩 🙌@UConnMBB | @KUHoops pic.twitter.com/hpreRechOd
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) April 6, 2023
Kansas has never lost to Connecticut, with the last meeting being a 73-61 win on March 19, 2016, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Des Moines.
The Jayhawks will appear in the Big East/Big 12 Battle for the fifth time, with Kansas holding a 3-1 record.
Kansas defeated Seton Hall last December in Allen Fieldhouse. Its sole loss in the tournament was at Villanova in 2019 by one point.
Kansas State will host 3-time NCAA champion Villanova at Bramlage Coliseum on Dec. 5.
Big East Big 12 Battle takes Bramlage
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) April 6, 2023
📄 https://t.co/hXofnSHE0K#KStateMBB x @Big12Conference pic.twitter.com/zzbEaNbOgm
This will be just the second meeting between the programs, with the first being more than 80 years ago when Villanova defeated K-State on Dec. 27, 1940, in Philadelphia.
K-State is 0-3 all-time in the Big East/Big 12 Battle, with losses to Marquette in 2019 and 2021 and Butler in 2022.
Overall, the Wildcats are 24-27 all-time against Big East opponents, including 11-4 at home. Their last win against a Big East team came against Creighton in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament in Charlotte.
K-State head coach Jerome Tang, who recently won Naismith National Coach of the Year, led the Wildcats to a 26-10 record in his first year at the helm. The Wildcats tied for third place in the Big 12 and appeared in the Elite Eight for the 13th time in program history.
Its 26 wins are the third-most in program history and the most since winning 27 in 2012-13.
The series, which has been played annually since 2019, will expand to 11 games in 2023-24 and 2024-25 due to increased membership for both leagues.
The Big 12 will host six games in the 2023-24 season, while the Big East will host six the following season.
The rest of the matchups are as follows:
- Texas Tech at Butler, Nov. 30
- Creighton at Oklahoma State, Nov. 30
- Iowa State at DePaul, Dec. 1
- Houston at Xavier, Dec. 1
- St. John's at West Virginia, Dec. 1
- TCU at Georgetown, Dec. 2
- Texas at Marquette, Dec. 5
- Providence at Oklahoma, Dec. 5
- Seton Hall at Baylor, Dec. 5
The times of each game have yet to be determined.
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