KU Jayhawks vs. Arkansas Razorbacks in first round of NCAA Tourney: Starters, TV details
The Kansas Jayhawks will tangle with the Arkansas Razorbacks in a first-round NCAA Tournament West Regional game on Thursday night in Providence, Rhode Island.
Here is what you should know about the game:
THE DETAILS
When/where: 6:10 p.m. Central Time Thursday, Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island.
TV: CBS.
Radio: WHB (810) in Kansas City; ESPN Wichita (92.3 FM) in Wichita.
PROBABLE STARTERS
P | No. | Arkansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 4 | Trevon Brazile | 6-10 | Jr. | 6.5 |
F | 11 | Karter Knox | 6-6 | Fr. | 7.8 |
F | 44 | Zvonimir Ivisic | 7-2 | Soph. | 9.3 |
G | 1 | Johnell Davis | 6-4 | Sr. | 11.2 |
G | 21 | D.J. Wagner | 6-4 | Soph. | 11.1 |
P | No. | Kansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 24 | KJ Adams | 6-7 | Sr. | 9.2 |
C | 1 | Hunter Dickinson | 7-2 | Sr. | 17.6 |
G | 5 | Zeke Mayo | 6-4 | Sr. | 14.5 |
G | 3 | Dajuan Harris | 6-2 | Sr. | 9.2 |
G | 6 | Rylan Griffen | 6-6 | Jr. | 6.4 |
About No. 7 seed Kansas (21-12): KU leads the all-time series against Arkansas, 8-6. ... KU has lost three of the last four meetings. … The teams have met twice in the NCAA Tournament. KU won, 93-81, in an Elite Eight game on March 23, 1991 in Charlotte, North Carolina. KU fell to Arkansas, 72-71, in a second-round game on March 18, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. … The Jayhawks lost to the Razorbacks, 85-69, in an exhibition on Oct. 25, 2024 in Fayetteville, Ark. Dajuan Harris had 26 points, three steals and two assists and Rakease Passmore 11 points for KU. D.J. Wagner and Boogie Fland had 24 points and 22 points respectively for Arkansas. … Kansas is making its 51st NCAA Tournament appearance and has a 112-49 record in the event. The Jayhawks have advanced to 31 Sweet 16 games and 15 Final Fours. KU has won the NCAA title in 1952, 1988, 2008 and 2022. … KU is 47-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament first-round games including 37-2 since 1981 . … KU has won its last 16 first-round games, a run that started in 2007. KU last lost a first-round game in 2006. ... It doesn’t include the 2018 vacated win by the IARP. … Kansas enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed for just the second time in program history, the first being in 1981 when the Jayhawks went 2-1 and advanced to the Sweet 16. … Kansas returns to the NCAA West Region for the first time since the 2023 season. ... 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 percentage defense (39.9%, 15th nationally) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.51, 25th nationally).
About No. 10 seed Arkansas (20-13): Arkansas coach John Calipari, a former assistant at KU for both Ted Owens and Larry Brown, is 6-7 all-time in games coached against Bill Self. Self in fact is 7-5 against Calipari while at KU. Included is the 2008 NCAA Championship title game when Kansas defeated Calipari’s Memphis Tigers, 75-68 in overtime, in San Antonio. Self was 6-5 against Calipari when Calipari was at Kentucky. Also included was the 2012 NCAA title game won by Kentucky, 67-59, in New Orleans. ... When Self was at Illinois, Calipari’s Memphis squad defeated Illinois in 2002. ... The Razorbacks went 1-1 in the recent SEC Tournament. Arkansas beat South Carolina, 72-68, and lost to Ole Miss, 83-80, in Nashville, Tennessee. … Arkansas has won five of its last seven games. The team had a five-game losing streak from Jan. 4-18 (Missouri, LSU, Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee). … The Razorbacks, coached at the time by Eric Musselman, earned a trip to the 2023 Sweet 16 with a 72-71 win over top-seeded Kansas at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Devo Davis scored 21 second-half points, to help erase a 12-point deficit. After Davis fouled out late, Ricky Council sealed the victory by scoring 11 of the Hogs’ final 15 points, including the final five from the line. A Jordan Walsh 3-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining capped an 11-0 run and put Arkansas in front for the first time since scoring the game’s first points. KU was led by Jalen Wilson, who had 20 points. Current Jayhawks KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris had 14 and 12 points respectively.
