No. 24 Kansas to Face No. 5 Duke in Champions Classic Tuesday at Madison Square Garden – University of Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 24 Kansas (3-1) is set to face No. 5 Duke (4-0) at the State Farm Champion Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 18. The contest will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York City and be televised on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, and Kris Budden on the call.
Kansas is coming off a 76-57 win against Princeton on Nov. 15. The Jayhawks are 3-1 or better for the 22nd time in Bill Self’s 23 seasons at KU. Duke posted its second-straight 100-point win with a 100-62 victory against Indiana State on Nov. 10.
On the floor, Duke leads the all-time series 8-7, but Kansas has won the last two meetings and five of the last six dating back to 2013. The most recent battle was a 75-72 Kansas win on Nov. 26, 2024, in the Vegas Showdown in Las Vegas last season.
Kansas has won five straight and eight of its last nine Champions Classic games. KU is 9-5 in the event which is more wins than any of the four teams. Duke is 8-6 in the Champions Classic, while Kentucky is 6-8 and Michigan State is 5-9.
Freshman guard Darryn Peterson leads Kansas with a 21.5 points per game average. He has missed the last two contests. Sophomore center Flory Bidunga is coming off his first double-double of the season that included a career-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds against Princeton (11/15). Bidunga scores 17.0 points per game and leads KU with 7.8 rebounds per outing. His 2.5 blocked shots per contest are first in the Big 12 and 30th nationally and his 76.3 field goal percentage is second in the league and ninth nationally.
Senior guard Tre White just missed a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds against Princeton (11/15). He is scoring 12.0 points per contest and pulls down 4.3 rebounds per game. Redshirt freshman forward Bryson Tiller (9.0 ppg) is second on the team with a 5.0 rebound average. Tiller is tied for the team lead with seven threes made, along with freshman Kohl Rasario (8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg).
Senior Melvin Council Jr. (7.0 ppg) leads KU with 23 assists and his 5.8 assists per game are sixth in the Big 12 and 48th nationally. Other KU regulars include graduate guard Gee Ngala (5.3 ppg, 4-6 3FGs), senior guard Jayden Dawson (5.3 ppg, four threes), redshirt-sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson (two starts, 3.0 ppg), and redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell (1.5 ppg).
Kansas is averaging 80.3 points per game and has a plus-20.0 scoring margin. The Jayhawks pull down 39.5 rebounds per contest with a plus-9.0 rebound margin. KU averages 16.0 assists and 6.5 steals per contest. KU leads the Big 12 and is 12th nationally with 7.0 blocked shots per game. The Jayhawks make 8.8 threes per game.
UP NEXT
Kansas travels to Las Vegas for the Players Era next week, beginning with a matchup against Notre Dame on Monday, Nov. 24. The contest will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena, with tipoff set for 2:30 p.m. (Central) on TNT. KU will play Syracuse the following day, Nov. 25, at the same location and at 2:30 p.m. (Central). The Jayhawks will conclude the event either Nov. 26 or 27 with a to-be determined opponent.
