Duke plays at Kansas on Sunday, and in Lawrence, they’re calling it the Blue Blood Classic. Okay, the State Farm Blue Blood Classic, but same idea. It’s a big deal. It’s also a long way from what exhibition games were just a few years ago.
And Kansas may be different from what it was just a few weeks ago, too, as Trey Kaufman-Renn is now on the roster. He didn’t suit up for Louisville, and we’re not sure if he will Sunday, but presumably Duke is practicing as if he will.
And he adds a nice element to KU’s roster, which is already talented.
These were Bill Self’s starters against Louisville: Paul Mbiya, Taylen Kinney, Tre White, Melvin Council, and Tyran Stokes.
Former Duke center Christian Reeves and former NC State wing Dennis Parker came off the bench, along with Kohl Rosario.
White, who we saw at Louisville in 2023-24, and again when Duke crushed Illinois in the Garden in 2025, has been on a basketball walkabout. Kansas is his fourth school, and he had a great game against his old team on Wednesday, scoring 21 on the Cards.
Council, you may remember, pretty much nuked NC State in 2025, scoring a career-high 36 points. He had 20 against Louisville. Before that game, he got a lot of criticism from Jayhawks fans.
After? The fans loved him and he became a major factor for Kansas.
Tyran Stokes, considered by many to be the best freshman in the nation, didn’t shoot that well against Louisville, but he finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. The book on Stokes before he signed was that he was not always a good influence on a team, and that he had trouble controlling his negative emotions. Has Self helped him to become more selfless? Too early to tell, but the pun was hard to pass up.
Overall, Kansas didn’t shoot all that well against Louisville, hitting just 7-29 from deep, and fell behind. However, the Jayhawks did rally and made it a game.
So what to expect on Sunday?
Well, at least two Jayhawks may have some extra adrenaline. White lost to Duke when he was at Louisville, and Reeves might want to show Duke what it’s missing (on the other hand, Reeves probably moved down the rotation when Kaufman-Renn joined the team, and that may not be what he expected when he signed with KU).
Duke will have to deal with Kinney, who is a talented and smart freshman guard, and Council. But they’ll also have to deal with Stokes. Whatever his body language and negative emotions imply, his talent is no joke. He absolutely has a chance at being the #1 pick in next summer’s NBA Draft. Stokes has excellent passing skills and he’s got a very high basketball IQ. From all appearances, he’s a major talent.
On the downside, Kansas has added Kaufman-Renn and White in recent weeks, and Council is back now, too. Self is a smart and talented coach who commands respect, but it may take some time to get everyone on the same page.
For Duke fans, it’ll be interesting to see how Jon Scheyer employs Dame Sarr. Will he go after the freshman point? Will he glue himself to Council? Or will a stronger Sarr go after Stokes?
For the Blue Devils, taking several freshmen into the Phog will be an interesting challenge. We’ve seen enough of JoJo Boumtje Boumtje to know he’s a load all over the court, but has he ever played at anywhere like Phog Allen? Probably not.
Cayden Boozer and John Blackwell are experienced college guards, but Deron Rippey is not. Cameron Williams has flashed some real potential, but he’s stepping into one of the great gyms in basketball. Can he adjust? Could Bryson Howard explode? It’s going to happen. The only question is when.
We don’t expect we’ll see a lot of Maxime Meyer in this one, but he could surprise us.
Our guess is that an experienced Pat Ngongba and a highly precocious Boumtje Boumtje will be tough for Kansas to control, but Duke may have trouble with Stokes, Council, and White as well.
Fouls will be important. Ngongba has always been susceptible there, and Stokes is pretty good at drawing them.
Also, there’s a chance that Caleb Foster could play on Sunday, but that’s not at all certain.
In the end, this is an exhibition game, but Kansas students camped out to get to the front of the line for the student ticket lottery, and this game, this particularly exhibition, is being sponsored by State Farm and this game has a freaking name. For an exhibition game!
So while it won’t count against the record, there is a lot of excitement about Duke visiting Lawrence. Scheyer and his staff know this, but there are a lot of young players on the roster, and it’s impossible to know how they’ll react playing in a very difficult road environment.
We’ll add links as we find them.
- Kansas vs. Duke: When, how to watch the Blueblood Classic, and Phoggy Notes
- Kansas adds controversial reinforcements ahead of scrimmage against Duke
- Duke basketball’s Caleb Foster has a ‘chance’ to play vs Kansas, Jon Scheyer says
- Kansas Lands Former Purdue Star Trey Kaufman-Renn On Eve of 2026-2027 Season
- Kansas to host Duke in ‘Blue Blood Classic’ exhibition
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