Duke basketball firmly favored against No. 1 Kansas, according to KenPom

The Blue Devils face the No. 1 team in the country on Tuesday night, but KenPom smells an upset brewing in Las Vegas.

The Duke Blue Devils will face their third top-25 opponent of the season on Tuesday night, and their trip to Las Vegas will be their most challenging yet.

Duke will play No. 1 Kansas, still undefeated through five games, as part of the 2024 Vegas Showdown. However, despite the Jayhawks’ ranking and record, one popular college basketball analytics site thinks the wrong team will start the week as the favorite.

KenPom gives Duke a 64% chance to upset Kansas in Vegas, a triumph that would give the Blue Devils two ranked wins in five days. They beat the Arizona Wildcats, 69-55, in Tucson on Friday night after superstar freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] scored 24 points.

Despite Duke’s early loss to the Kentucky Wildcats last week, KenPom still considers the Blue Devils the fourth-best team in the nation. Even with a home victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels on their resume, the Jayhawks are just eighth in the site’s rankings.

The more fans look at the numbers, it becomes clear why the Blue Devils are favored when rankings get stripped away. Duke has scored 84.6 points per game and allowed just 57.4 while Kansas scored 83.6 and allowed 67.6. That disparity comes despite head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team playing two ranked teams already, one at a neutral site and the other in a true road game. The Jayhawks’ home game against UNC is their only top-25 matchup thus far.

ESPN Analytics heavily favor the Duke Blue Devils against No. 1 Kansas

With a Tuesday showdown against the No. 1 team in the country coming up, ESPN Analytics likes the Blue Devils’ chances against Kansas.

The Duke Blue Devils will surely take the floor as underdogs against No. 1 Kansas in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but the ESPN Basketball Power Index isn’t so sure.

With the Blue Devils second in the national rankings after their Friday victory over Arizona, the ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Duke a 69.8% chance to upset the top team in the country.

Despite their 5-0 record and position atop every national ranking, the Jayhawks are all the way down at No. 10 in the BPI rankings. Through five games, the Blue Devils are scoring one more point per game than Kansas (84.6-83.6), but Duke has allowed 10 fewer points a night (57.4-67.6). After holding Arizona to 55 points and Wofford to 35 over the past two games, the Blue Devils lead the KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency metric.

The Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels, 92-89, but they did so in front of their home crowd. In Kansas’s only other major conference game, it beat the Michigan State Spartans 77-69.

Tuesday’s game tips off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN.

Florida men’s basketball to compete in 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational

The Gators join Kansas, Providence and Wisconsin in the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational.

Florida men’s basketball is set to participate in the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego, Sports San Diego officials announced on Thursday.

The Gators will compete alongside the Kansas Jayhawks, Providence Friars and Wisconsin Badgers, with first round games held on Thanksgiving Day and the championship and third place games following on Friday.

Tip off times and matchups will be revealed later, with all games set to air nationally on FOX or FS1.

“Quite simply this is an amazing field,” said Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego. “It was our goal to bring top college basketball teams to our event and these teams fit that mold. We can’t wait for next year.”

Kansas is expected to be one of the headliners while Providence and Wisconsin bring strong traditions of success. For the Gators, this event offers an opportunity to measure themselves against elite competition early in the season.

With a national audience tuning in, the tournament could serve as a critical moment for the Gators to showcase their growth and build momentum for the season ahead.

The 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational is scheduled for Nov. 27-28, 2025. $5 from every ticket sold will be going to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

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Iowa women’s basketball three stars from 71-58 win vs. Kansas

Revisiting three stars from Iowa women’s basketball’s neutral-site victory over Kansas.

Iowa women’s basketball continued its scorching start to the season by improving to 5-0 following Wednesday night’s 71-58 victory vs. the Kansas Jayhawks (4-1) from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes shot 25-for-55 (45.5%) from the field, including 8-for-21 from 3-point territory. Iowa also converted on 13-of-18 (72.2%) of their free throw attempts. While a low-scoring affair, the Hawkeyes were still able to outscore the Jayhawks 34-18 from the pained area.

Unlike most of their previous four games, the Hawkeyes relied heavily on their defensive play against Kansas by holding the Jayhawks to 19-for-52 (36.5%) from the field and 7-for-21 (33.3%) from beyond the arc.

Iowa also forced 16 turnovers, which the Hawkeyes were able to convert into seven points on the night.

Wednesday’s victory makes Jan Jensen the second head coach in program history to start their Iowa tenure 5-0, joining Angie Lee, who started 7-0 in 1995-96.

As the Hawkeyes continue to stay hot to start the year, here are the three stars that helped lead the team to another victory.

Lucy Olsen

Olsen shared the team lead in points Wednesday night by finishing with 16 points on 5-of-11 (45.5%) from the field, including 3-for-5 (60%) from deep. Olsen also converted on 3-of-4 (75%) free throw attempts. The senior guard collected six additional assists and three rebounds in her 36:26 of playing time.

While the senior’s offensive showing should be expected, it is always well-appreciated, especially in a low-scoring but competitive game like it was against Kansas.

Hannah Stuelke

Stuelke, who co-led the team in scoring alongside Lucy Olsen, finished with her fifth-career double-double after collecting ten rebounds to pair with her 16 points scored. Stuelke also managed to add four assists throughout the game as well.

The junior forward shot 6-for-12 (50%) from the field and converted 4-of-5 (80%) from the charity stripe in her 32:45 of game action.

Similar to Olsen, the contribution from Stuelke should not come as a surprise to Iowa fans but is always a luxury to have available.

Kylie Feuerbach

While Feuerbach wasn’t necessarily a large factor offensively, as she scored five points off 2-for-7 from the field and 1-for-3 from the free throw line in 26:54 of game time, she was a leader defensively Wednesday night.

Feuerbach led the team in steals with three takeaways, which helped the Hawkeyes thwart the Jawhawk offensive attack throughout the contest.

With the Hawkeyes’ defensive effort able to secure the victory Wednesday night, Feurerbach’s actions should not go unnoticed.

Next for the Hawkeyes is a return home to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where they will have a matchup vs. Washington State (2-2) on Sunday, Nov. 24.

Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be telecast on the Big Ten Network alongside the radio broadcast from the Hawkeye Radio Network.

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Notre Dame football loses 2025 commit, flips to Kansas Jayhawks

A not so happy Monday for the Irish

It wasn’t the news many wanted to hear on Monday morning. Now former Notre Dame football commit [autotag]Justin Thurman[/autotag] flipped to the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Florida running back had been committed to the Irish since early August of last year, but he decided South Bend wasn’t the place for him. As the nation’s No. 477 overall prospect on the 247Sports composite, this is clearly a loss for Notre Dame.

This could be a consequence of the Irish adding another back to the class. Nolan James committed a week ago after being in the Boston College’s 2025 recruiting class.

Thurman seemed firm with his pledge to Notre Dame, but now they must continue looking for another running back in the class. It has been fairly common for the Irish to take two in each cycle, so expect another flip in the near future.

Recruit Justin Thurman Saturday, April 20, 2024, at the annual Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.

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Kansas knocks BYU from undefeated ranks with bizarre carom on pooch punt

Kansas went into BYU and knocked the Cougars from the unbeaten ranks

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels’ foot — not feet nor arm — wound up delivering the key play in the Jayhawks’ 17-13 win over previously undefeated BYU on Saturday.

Daniels was called on for a pooch punt in the fourth quarter. He placed it perfectly, not in the coffin corner, off the helmet of one of the Jayhawks.

Kansa

4th & 14 at BYU 36
(13:23 – 4th) Jalon Daniels punt for 26 yds , Evan Johnson returns for no gain to the BYU 3 Evan Johnson fumbled, recovered by KU Quentin Skinner

Kansas recovered the live football and on the next play, Devon Neal scored on a 3-yard run to give the Jayhawks the lead for good.

The Cougars came in 9-0 and seventh in the College Football Playoff Ranking. They never got untracked against the Jayhawks.

Their lead at 13-10 came after a 10:30 drive to start the final quarter. It was the last points they scored.

Quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw an interception late in the first half and his pass on fourth down on BYU’s final drive came up short of a first down inside the Kansas 10.

Wide receiver recruit Bryson Hayes decommits from Huskers

Nebraska football lost a commitment on Saturday.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers received a decommitment from class of 2025 wide receiver Bryson Hayes. He flipped to the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.

Hayes is the 144th wide receiver in the 2025 class and the ninth overall player from the state of Kansas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He originally committed to Nebraska on April 14.

Hayes has visited a couple of teams since his commitment to Nebraska. He officially visited the Jayhawks on June 7 and the Huskers on June 14. He also visited Kansas State on June 21, wrapping up his month of visits.

Even with this decommitment, the Huskers 2025 recruiting class is still strong. The class itself ranks 27th overall nationally per the 247Sports team rankings. This class includes wide receiver talent, headlined by Isaiah Mozee. Now, as they build for the future, the Huskers will look to find another talented playmaker in the class.

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North Carolina Tar Heels lose to Kansas Jayhawks to drop to 1-1

The North Carolina Tar Heels lost to the Kansas Jayhawks in a wild road game on Friday night, falling to 1-1 on the year.

The North Carolina Tar Heels lost a basketball game on Friday night.

UNC went to Allen Fieldhouse to play the Kansas Jayhawks, the team that started the season atop the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The Jayhawks, led by Preseason All-American center Harris Dickinson, led by as many as 20 points in the first half before taking a 53-38 advantage to the break, but the Tar Heels dragged themselves in front with a 38-24 stretch across the majority of the second half.

Despite leading by three points with 3:52 left to play, however, UNC only scored three points the rest of the way to lose 92-89. The Tar Heels were held completely scoreless for the final two minutes.

RJ Davis, a First Team All-American last year and the Preseason ACC Player of the Year, made three of his 15 attempts from the floor and went 1/7 from 3-point range to end up with 16 points.

The Tar Heels turned the ball over 11 times as a team, giving up 16 points on the ensuing possessions, and they were outscored 50-32 in the paint.

UNC now sits 1-1 for the season, and the Blue Devils get their own battle with the Jayhawks on November 26.

Roy Williams had a perfect reason for not attending Kansas-North Carolina at Allen Fieldhouse

Roy Williams is a man of PRINCIPLE.

Two-time AP Coach of the Year and three-time national champion Roy Williams is currently retired after a long and successful career.

But long before he was the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels for nearly two decades between 2003 and 2021, he led the program for another college basketball juggernaut for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Williams coached Kansas between 1988 and 2003, winning Naismith College Coach of the Year in 1997. He was replaced by Bill Self, who still coaches Kansas.

The two men’s basketball teams are scheduled to play against each other on Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET, in Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. Both teams are currently ranked top-10 in the nation with the Jayhawks at No. 1 overall. So everyone is wondering if Williams will attend the game.

According to Andrew Carter, who spoke to Williams, the answer is no.

Williams could not find it in himself to go to Allen Fieldhouse and applaud when the other team scores, even if that other team is the Tar Heels, where he had so much success and experience.

He is clearly a man of principle, which is why he appeared to refuse to cheer for North Carolina State during the March Madness tournament in 2024.

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Duke vs. Kansas ranked as the best non-conference game of the college basketball season

College basketball analyst Andy Katz ranked his 10 best non-conference games of the 2024-25 season on Thursday, including three Duke games.

The Duke Blue Devils have one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country this upcoming college basketball season, and people around the country are taking notice.

College basketball analyst Andy Katz released his ranking of the top 10 non-conference games for 2024-25 on Thursday, and Duke’s game against the Kansas Jayhawks took the top spot.

Thanks to top-ranked freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], Olympian 7-footer [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], and offseason darling [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag], Duke’s stellar freshman class has the Blue Devils among the early favorites for the national championship. The Jayhawks, however, might be one of the only teams with better preseason odds as Kansas starts the year as the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Despite their 23-11 record and a second-round NCAA Tournament exit in 2023-24, the Jayhawks reloaded with Alabama Crimson Tide guard Rylan Griffen and Wisconsin Badgers guard AJ Storr from the transfer portal. With that duo paired with 7-footer Hunter Dickinson, who joined Flagg on the preseason AP All-America team, Kansas looks like a juggernaut.

The two powerhouse programs meet in Las Vegas on November 26.

The Blue Devils’ December 4 game against the Auburn Tigers, a part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, came in ninth on Katz’s list and their February battle with the Illinois Fighting Illini at Madison Square Garden finished out the list at tenth.

Auburn starts the year 11th in the coaches poll while Illinois will start the season as the No. 24 team.