LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball’s preseason exhibition slate wraps up Sunday, Oct. 25, with a game at home against Duke.
Both teams enter the matchup in the top 25 of the preseason USA TODAY coaches poll, the Jayhawks tied for No. 18 and the Blue Devils ranked No. 2. So far this preseason, KU has won at home against Pittsburg State and lost at home against No. 11 Louisville. Duke beat both Belmont and No. 9 Tennessee at home.
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Here are some things to know before the scheduled noon CT tip-off inside Allen Fieldhouse:
How did the Duke exhibition come together?
This exhibition is called the Blue Blood Classic, and next year will see the Jayhawks play in Durham, N.C. According to KU coach Bill Self, putting it together wasn’t all that complicated. The two sides talked about having a home-and-home series where each program could make some money and moved forward.
Self explained after Wednesday's game that the exhibition against Duke is not a part of the KU season-ticket package. That means the money earned can be used toward things he described as pretty important to programs right now.
What does Kansas want to get out of this exhibition matchup?
Self acknowledged it would be great to come away with a win, but more importantly he wants his team to build off what it did against Louisville. He wants to improve in the areas where the Jayhawks struggled, and learn how to compete at the level necessary against a team as good as Duke. The matchup against Louisville felt like a conference game even though it was just a preseason game, and he thinks it’s important to continue to get used to that as KU prepares for the regular season.
Kansas senior guard Melvin Council Jr. also talked about wanting to learn what they can from the film of the Louisville loss, and that win or lose the Jayhawks need to perform better than they did against the Cardinals. Council, while not perfect against Louisville, was one of the players who nearly led KU to a win that evening. He finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists.
How healthy is Taylen Kinney?
There was some concern about freshman guard Taylen Kinney’s health following the Louisville defeat, after he didn’t play the final 7-plus minutes of the game. Self said postgame that Kinney was just cramping, so they gave him an IV. Overall, Self thought Kinney played fine but didn’t have a moment where he controlled it.
Kinney finished with four points and six assists in about 20 minutes of action. Moving forward, Self is looking for both him and sophomore guard Leroy Blyden Jr. to be more productive. Blyden, a transfer from Toledo, is preparing for his first season with the Jayhawks.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: What to know before Kansas basketball faces Duke in exhibition game