KU’s men’s basketball team has played UConn 4 times. And one team has won ‘em all
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU holds a 4-0 head-to-head edge over UConn entering their 2025 Allen Fieldhouse game.
- Kansas has four NCAA titles; UConn has six, highlighting elite program pedigree.
- Their four prior meetings span 1995–2023, including an NCAA tourney win for KU.
A marquee matchup of tradition-rich men’s basketball programs is coming to Allen Fieldhouse this week.
The Kansas Jayhawks, winners of four NCAA Tournament championships, play host to the Connecticut Huskies, winners of six NCAA crowns, at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The Huskies clipped the nets in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023 and 2024. The Jayhawks, who also have claimed two Helms Foundation titles accounting for six championship banners in the fieldhouse, won the NCAA tourney in 1952, 1988, 2008 and 2022.
These elite programs have played just four times head-to-head. KU takes a 4-0 record over UConn into Tuesday’s game — the first of a two-year home-and-home series that will send KU to Storrs, Conn. for a nonconference game during the 2026-27 season.
KU defeated UConn in the most recent meeting, 69-65, on Dec. 1, 2023 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU also has won, 73-61, in a second-round NCAA Tournament contest on March 19, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa; 73-65, on Jan. 19, 1997 in Hartford, Connecticut and, 88-59, on Jan. 28, 1995, in Kansas City.
Here’s a look at each game in the teams’ all-time series:
No. 5 Kansas 69, No. 4 UConn 65, Dec. 1, 2023, Allen Fieldhouse: UConn had won 24 consecutive nonconference games by double figures — including six in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
But the Huskies’ 13-game (overall) win streak also ended in Lawrence in the Big 12/Big East Battle, despite UConn guard Tristen Newton hitting 6 of 9 three-point tries and scoring 31 points.
A heavy-hearted KJ Adams, who headed to Austin, Texas the morning after the game for his mother’s memorial service, scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He went 6-of-9 from the free throw line with five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in 39 minutes.
The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Adams swished two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to give KU a 69-65 lead. He was fouled and sent to the line after grabbing a defensive rebound on a possible-game winning 3-point attempt by Cam Spencer from the corner with three seconds to play, UConn down, 67-65. Spencer was 1-of-7 from 3-point range.
“It was the most fitting way the game could end,” KU coach Bill Self said, “with KJ making his last two free throws before going home tonight saying his last goodbye.”
Yvonne Elise Adams, a former women’s basketball player at Texas A&M, died Nov. 17, 2023 following a long bout with cancer.
“Guys, this game belonged to one person, that dude right there,” Self said in the locker room after the game, pointing to Adams, who is a member of KU’s support staff this season as he rehabs after surgery to repair a torn Achilles. He has hopes of playing pro basketball starting next season.
“Can you imagine the stress he’s been under, and for him to play for you guys (teammates) the way he did tonight, knowing he’s getting on a plane to go say goodbye (to his mom) tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.? Wow … what a stud, stud,” Self exclaimed. “You guys put your arm around that cat.
“Excuse me for being emotional.” Self added. “When KJ goes through struggles in his life, he can look back and say, ‘There’s nothing harder than that (losing his mom while pursuing a college basketball career).’ That’s what winners do. He’s a frickin’ winner. The dude is not the best free-throw shooter in the country, but tonight they put that dude on the line because he was shooting it — because it was bigger than a normal free throw.”
KU’s Kevin McCullar hit three 3’s in the final six minutes and finished with 21 points. Hunter Dickinson had 15 points with nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
UConn center Donovan Clingan was held to eight points and seven boards.
“Just like Kansas, at UConn we don’t do the moral victories or silver linings,” Huskies coach Dan Hurley said. “Tristen carried us tonight. That was a virtuoso performance. I thought the program and our guys showed a champion’s heart by putting ourselves in position to have a 3 to steal it and get out of here with a win.”
KU led 16-5 five minutes into the game and, 38-31, at halftime. UConn scored the first five points of the second half, taking its first lead on a Newton 3 with 10 1/2 minutes remaining. The Jayhawks led, 61-54, with four minutes to play. KU was able to hang on for the win.
“We’ll get low after this one,” Hurley said. “We’re not accustomed to losing where we have the program at. Our expectation of tonight’s game — it was going to be really hard. There’s not many teams in the country in this kind of showdown.”
No. 7 KU 88, No. 2 UConn 59, Jan. 28, 1995: The men’s and women’s teams from the schools played a nationally televised doubleheader at Kemper Arena.
The Rebecca Lobo-led UConn women, who went on to win the national title, defeated KU 97-87. KU’s men won going away in the second game of the twin bill.
UConn’s Ray Allen, who went on to play 18 years in the NBA, led all scorers with 23 points. KU held UConn to 26.2% shooting to the Jayhawks’ 47.1%.
“Playing a great team like Connecticut adds something. We had a different aura coming out of the locker room today. Our intensity was at another level,” KU point guard Jacque Vaughn, who now is an assistant coach on Self’s KU coaching staff, said after the game.
KU coach Roy Williams initially did not want to schedule this game well into the conference season. He did so because of the exposure the doubleheader would bring to the KU men’s and women’s programs. UConn was coached by Jim Calhoun, a good friend of Williams and fellow Hall of Famer.
“The bottom line is we were really good,” Williams said. “We were mentally more in tune than we’ve been in a long time.”
Jerod Haase hit four 3s and scored 20 points with six rebounds, two assists, seven turnovers and two steals in 30 minutes. Sean Pearson scored 17 points, while Vaughn scored nine points with 10 assists and seven rebounds. Raef LaFrentz had nine points and 11 rebounds for KU, which led by 20 at halftime.
UConn’s Donny Marshall had 18 points and nine rebounds with three steals. UConn was 3-of-18 from 3 to KU’s 8-of-17.
No. 1 KU 73, unranked UConn 65, Jan. 19, 1997: Paul Pierce scored 14 points and dished five assists with five rebounds in a game played at the Hartford Civic Center.
LaFrentz had 14 points and six rebounds and Haase had 10 points, five assists and three steals. Billy Thomas hit three 3s and had 11 points off the bench for KU, which improved to 18-0.
Rashamel Jones hit three 3s and scored 22 points with five rebounds, while Richard Hamilton hit four 3s and had 21 points for the Huskies.
“I’m very impressed with Kansas. They came into a building where a team was playing with emotion, energy — and we played as hard as we possibly could play — and they’re a terrific basketball team. They’re coached by certainly as good a coach as there is in the country in Roy Williams,” Calhoun said.
Williams singled out point guard Vaughn, who had nine points and five assists in 30 minutes.
“As tough as can be,” Williams said of Vaughn after the game. “This morning at the shootaround I really didn’t think that he was going to play. (Vaughn suffered a knee strain in practice.) I told our staff at the pre-game meal I thought there was a 20% chance he would play. The only way I would play him was if he confidently felt like he would be OK.
“This morning he didn’t feel that way. But he did a lot of stretching after he got back to the hotel and then came here (to arena) and really warmed up hard and said it felt better and said he wanted to try it. It’s hard for me to deny him anything. I congratulated him with the team because he’s the all-time assist leader in Kansas history.
“There’s been a lot of good players there, but nobody gives it up any better. He’s just an outstanding kid and as tough as you can be and a heck of a player.”
No. 1 seed KU 73, No. 9 seed UConn 61, March 19, 2016: Wayne Selden scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Perry Ellis had 21 points and eight boards as KU won the second-round NCAA Tournament game in Louisville.
Selden and Ellis combined to shoot 17-for-27 from the floor as KU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in three postseasons. The Jayhawks had lost in the round of 32 the previous two seasons, falling to No. 10 seed Stanford in 2014 and No. 7 Wichita State in 2015.
Selden had poor games in each of those season-ending losses. He scored two points on 1-for-4 shooting against Stanford, then failed to score on 0-for-4 shooting versus the Shockers.
“That was a different me,” Selden said. “You grow. You get older and become a different player. I’m a different animal now.”
Sterling Gibbs had 20 points for the Huskies (25-11), who trailed by 24 points in the first half.
With 1:38 left, Devonte’ Graham dribbled past halfcourt and lobbed a pass over Jalen Adams. Selden caught it with one hand and slammed for a 67-52 lead.
At one point the Huskies missed 12 straight shots during a seven-minute stretch that pushed KU’s lead to 40-16.
Selden stepped up at a crucial time when UConn made a run in the second half. After the Huskies trimmed a 24-point deficit to 52-43 with 8:47 left, Selden made an aggressive move into the lane where he hit a short jumper.
Selden on the next possession drove to the lane from the right corner before reversing to his right shoulder for an 8-foot jumper.
“We had some individuals step up and make some good plays,” KU coach Self said, “and I thought Wayne driving the ball and putting pressure on the defense was good.”
For UConn, Daniel Hamilton scored 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds. Rodney Purvis had 17 points but went 2 for 7 from 3-point range.
