NO. 7 KANSAS VS. NO. 10 ARKANSAS

LINE: KU -5.5

WHERE:

Providence, R.I. * Amica Mutual Pavilion (11,648)

WHEN:

Thursday, March 20, 2025 * 6:10 p.m. (CT)

WHAT:

NCAA Championship First Round

TV:

CBS

Play-by-Play: Andrew Catalon

Analyst: Steve Lappas

Reporter: Evan Washburn

Producer: Jonathan Segal

Director: Andy Goldberg

JAYHAWK RADIO NETWORK:

Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network

Webcast: KUAthletics.com/Radio

Play-by-Play: Brian Hanni

Analyst: Greg Gurley

Producer/Engineer: Steve Kincaid

TIPOFF:

— No. 7 seed Kansas (21-12) will face No. 10 seed Arkansas (20-13) in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Championship, on Thursday, March 20, at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. The contest will tip at 6:10 p.m. Central and will be televised on CBS.

— Kansas is making its 51st NCAA Championship appearance and has a 112-49 record in the event. The Jayhawks are 47-5 all-time in NCAA Championship first-round games, including 37-2 since 1981. KU has not lost a first-round contest since 2006. Kansas has advanced to 31 Sweet 16s, and 15 Final Fours, and four of its six national championships have been in NCAA Championship format (1952, 1988, 2008, 2022). Note: These include the 2018 vacated wins.

— Kansas is 8-6 all-time against Arkansas, including a 1-1 record in the NCAA Championship. Arkansas won the last meeting, 72-71, in 2023, in the NCAA Tournament second round in Des Moines, Iowa.

— Since seeding in the NCAA Championship began in 1979, Kansas is a No. 7 seed for the second time, with the first in 1981 where KU posted a 2-1 record.

— Kansas has faced 11 different teams in the 2025 NCAA Championship field and has posted a record of 5-9 against those opponents.

— Kansas is No. 20 in the NET report by the NCAA through games of March 16. To show the strength of the Big 12, the No. 20 rank is fifth in the Big 12 behind No. 3 Houston, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 9 Iowa State, and No. 12 Arizona. Kansas’ strength of schedule is No. 12 nationally, which is fourth in the league.

— Kansas leads the Big 12 in assists per game (17.7, fifth nationally) and blocked shots per game (4.8, 24th nationally). KU is second in the league in FG Pct. Defense (39.9%, 15th nationally) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.51, 25th nationally). KU ranks in the top three in five Big 12 team stats.

— Graduate C Hunter Dickinson leads the Big 12 in field goals made with 238 (14th nationally). He is second in the Big 12 in rebound average at 10.0 (11th nationally), and in double-doubles with 16 (10th nationally).

— Graduate G Dajuan Harris Jr. is second in the Big 12 in assists per game at 5.7, which is 30th nationally. Harris is third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.14, which is ninth nationally.

ABOUT KANSAS:

— Kansas (21-12, 11-9 Big 12) is coming off an 88-77 loss to Arizona in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on March 13. The Jayhawks, who are receiving votes in both polls, average 76.2 points per game with a +6.9 scoring margin. KU pulls down 38.5 rebounds per contest with a +3.8 rebound margin. Kansas is making 47.1% from the field, including 35.2% from three-point range.

— Kansas leads the Big 12 in assists per game (17.7, fifth nationally) and blocked shots per game (4.8, 24th nationally). KU is second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.51, 25th nationally) and third in rebounds per game (38.6, 31st nationally) and three-point field goal percentage defense (30.9%, 44th nationally). KU also averages 6.2 steals per game.

— Graduate C Hunter Dickinson has four straight and seven double-doubles in his last eight games after his 19 points and 12 rebounds against Arizona (3/13). A two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2024 and 2025, Dickinson leads Kansas in scoring at 17.6 ppg which is fourth in the Big 12. Dickinson also leads KU in rebounding at 10.0 rpg, which is second in the Big 12 and 11th nationally. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week, Dickinson is second in the Big 12 in double-doubles (16), which is 10th nationally. Dickinson is second on the team with 44 blocked shots and is also second on the team with 33 steals.

— Senior G Zeke Mayo is next in scoring at 14.5 points per contest, which includes three straight 20-point games in his last three outings. An All-Big 12 Third Team and Big 12 All-Newcomer Team honoree, Mayo leads Kansas with 85 threes made and has made 15 in his last three games. He is making 41.3 percent from beyond the arc. A two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, Mayo is second on the team with 98 assists and pulls down 4.8 rebounds per contest.

— Senior F KJ Adams is averaging 14.2 points in his last six games and 8.0 rebounds in his last five outings. He posted his third career double-double, the first of the season, with 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds versus Texas Tech (3/1). Adams is a starter who is scoring 9.2 points per game and pulls down 5.0 rebounds per game. Adams has 75 assists 24 blocked shots and 27 steals this season.

— Graduate G Dajuan Harris Jr. has 83 assists in his last 14 games. A three-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection (2023, 2024, 2025), Harris is averaging 9.2 points per game. At Baylor (2/1), Harris moved into second on the Big 12 career assists list, currently at 858, which is second on the KU career list. Harris is second in the Big 12 in assists per game at 5.7 and third in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.14, which is ninth nationally.

— Junior G Rylan Griffen is third on the team with 40 threes made. He has started 19 games this season and is averaging 6.4 points per contest. Freshman F Flory Bidunga leads KU with 52 blocked shots, which ranks fourth on the KU

— Freshman Blocked Shots list. Bidunga is second on the team with a 5.4 rebound average and he scores 5.9 points per game. He has a team-high 45 dunks this season.

— Junior G AJ Storr scored a season-high 19 points against UCF (3/12) in the Big 12 Championship. Storr has started four games and he is scoring 5.8 points per contest.

— Senior G David Coit has made 22 threes in his last 10 games, including a 4-for-6 effort at Houston (3/3). Coit has three starts and is second on the team with 46 threes made. Coit averages 5.2 points per game.

— Graduate G Shakeel Moore has started nine games and is averaging 3.8 points per contest.

THE KANSAS-ARKANSAS SERIES:

Kansas leads the overall series with Arkansas, 8-6, and the two teams last met in the 2023 NCAA Tournament second round in Des Moines, Iowa, with Arkansas claiming a 72-71 win. The 14-game series dates back to 1946. On Oct. 25, 2024, Kansas played at Arkansas in a charity fundraising exhibition contest that benefited mental health providers and charities within each school’s footprint. Arkansas won the game 85-69.

PREDICTION:

The day when college basketball fans from all across the United States anxiously await the start of what many view as the most exciting, breathtaking, exhilarating, etc., four days the sport of college basketball has to offer has finally arrived. There’s nothing quite like the first four days of the NCAA Tournament.

Throughout the next four days, hearts will be broken; dreams will be dashed, the unexpected will rise above, and, at some point during the madness, Cinderella will appear and capture the hearts of those who suddenly find themselves passionate about a team they knew very little about days earlier.

On Thursday night, Kansas, the No. 7 seed in the West Region, will take the court against Arkansas, the No. 10 seed, at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. Tipoff is set for 6:10 p.m. Central, with the game airing on CBS.

Make no mistake about it; tonight's game could very well be the biggest of the year, at least up to this point, for Bill Self and the Jayhawks. For the second straight year, Kansas was tabbed the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball and a favorite to cut down the nets on the first Monday night in April.

A year ago, fourth-seeded Kansas, after defeating No. 13 seed Samford, lost to Gonzaga, the No. 5 seed, 89-68, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Playing in Salt Lake City, Utah, Self’s squad led by one point at the half, but Gonzaga outscored Kansas, 46-24, in the second half.

This season, Kansas, after starting the year atop the college basketball polls, will take the court against Arkansas on Thursday night unranked. For the first time in Self’s tenure, Kansas, having never been lower than a four-seed, finds itself in unfamiliar territory.

While it’s been mentioned several times since the matchup was announced on Sunday night, this isn’t the first time that Kansas and Arkansas have met on the hardwood this season. On October 25, Bill Self’s squad lost to John Calipari’s Razorbacks, 85-69, in Fayetteville, Ark.

Tonight's meeting between Kansas and Arkansas will have a completely different look and feel this time around. The game inside Bud Walton Arena was a glorified practice (exhibition) that was played in four quarters instead of two 20-minute halves.

Arkansas clearly got the best of Kansas that night but did so with Hunter Dickinson, Rylan Griffen, and Shakeel Moore sidelined with injuries.

Dajuan Harris (26) and Rakease Passmore (11) were the only players to score in double-figures for Kansas, while the Razorbacks were led by D.J. Wagner (24), Boogie Fland (22), and Zvonimir Ivisic (18).

Looking ahead to tonight, Dickinson and Griffen will play significant minutes and, according to Self, Moore has a chance to make his return to the court against the Razorbacks.

The news is good and bad for Arkansas. Guard Boggie Fland, who hasn’t played since Arkansas lost at Missouri on January 18, will make his return to the court against Kansas. However, Adou Thiero, who leads the team in both points and rebounds per game, is out with an injury.

A week ago, Kansas defeated UCF 98-94 (OT) in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. Zeke Mayo (24), Hunter Dickinson (23), AJ Storr (19), and KJ Adams (15) led the way for Kansas on the offensive side of the court.

In defeating UCF, Kansas shot 34-of-76 (44.7%) from the field, 12-of-27 (44.4%) from behind the arc, and 18-of-23 (78.3%) from the free-throw line. The Jayhawks won the battle on the glass and outscored UCF's bench 30-13.

Kansas, in losing to Arizona 88-77 in the quarterfinals, scored just 13 points off the bench. The Jayhawks had several opportunities to earn a second victory over the Wildcats, but Arizona, with 35 points off the bench, eventually pulled away from Kansas.

When looking at this Kansas team, the recipe for success against Arkansas on Thursday is simple — play to your ceiling. There’s no need for Self’s squad to make things complicated tonight.

Dajuan Harris will be tested tonight. Arkansas has tough, talented, and athletic guards. How will Harris respond? Hunter Dickinson and Zeke Mayo will need to be just as productive against the Razorbacks as they were against UCF and Arizona last week.

Kansas will need to be aggressive on the defensive end of the court, rebound the basket, and not allow Arkansas a lot of clean looks from behind the arc. Most importantly, Kansas can't afford to miss layups in transition, bunnies around the basket, or give Arkansas extra scoring opportunities with careless or unnecessary turnovers.

KJ Adans needs to be aggressive around the paint, catch some lobs, rebound the basketball, and play with the same level of energy he always plays with. Self, when addressing the media on Thursday, said Kansas has to get Rylan Griffen some looks tonight. You can bet that Griffen is going to get some clean looks from behind the arc tonight, and he needs to convert.

AJ Storr, Flory Bidunga, David Coit, and Shakeel Moore (if available), must produce when called upon.

It would be an absolute shock if Kansas comes out flat against Arkansas later tonight. If the Jayhawks are serious about making a run in March, that run will get started against the Razorbacks at 6:10 p.m. (CT)

KANSAS 78

ARKANSAS 72

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