KU to open Big 12 basketball season vs. Baylor as complete 2015-16 schedule is released
For Bill Self and the Kansas basketball program, the road to a 12th straight Big 12 title will begin and end at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks will open the conference season against Baylor at 3 p.m. on Jan. 2 in a nationally televised game on CBS. The finish line will come at home against Iowa State on Saturday, March 5. In the months in between, Kansas will face the usual 18-game round-robin, the contents of which were released Thursday afternoon by the Big 12 Conference.
The release of the 2016 Big 12 slate provided the final piece of the Jayhawks’ complete 2015-16 schedule, which also includes a marquee early-season game against Michigan State on Nov. 17 in Chicago and a much-anticipated showdown against Kentucky at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 30.
The Jayhawks will also travel to the Maui Invitational in late November and face Pac-12 foe Oregon State in the annual home game at the Sprint Center. The Jayhawks' only true non-conference road game will come at San Diego State on Dec. 22.
After facing Baylor in the Big 12 opener, the Jayhawks will play host to Oklahoma on on Jan. 4 before traveling to play Texas Tech in Lubbock on Jan. 9. The opening five-game stretch concludes with a mid-week trip to West Virginia (Jan. 12) and home game against TCU on Jan. 16.
The Jayhawks will play host to in-state rival Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 3 — four days after playing host to Kentucky — and Kansas will make the return trip to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 20.
The latter K-State game will begin a closing stretch that includes three of the last five games on the road. The Jayhawks will also take trips to Baylor (Feb. 23) and Texas (Feb. 29), sandwiched around a home game against Texas Tech.
Here is a look at the schedule (home games in CAPS are aat Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence and some TV times and channels are TBA):
Date | Opponent | Time | TV |
Friday, Oct. 9 | Late Night in the Phog (scrimmage) | ||
Wednesday, Nov. 4 | PITTSBURG STATE (exhibition) | ||
Tuesday, Nov. 10 | FORT HAYS STATE (exhibition) | ||
Friday, Nov. 13 | NORTHERN COLORADO | ||
Tuesday, Nov. 17 | vs. Michigan State* | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
Monday, Nov. 23 | vs. Chaminade** | 8 p.m. | ESPNU |
Tuesday, Nov. 24 | vs. UCLA/UNLV** | 3:30 or 9 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
Wednesday, Nov. 25 | vs. TBA** | TBA | ESPN/2/U |
Tuesday, Dec. 1 | LOYOLA (Md.) | ||
Saturday, Dec. 5 | HARVARD | ||
Wednesday, Dec. 9 | HOLY CROSS | ||
Saturday, Dec. 12 | vs. Oregon State*** | ||
Saturday, Dec. 19 | MONTANA | ||
Tuesday, Dec. 22 | at San Diego State | TBA | CBS Sports |
Tuesday, Dec. 29 | UC IRVINE | ||
Saturday, Jan. 2 | BAYLOR | 3 p.m. | CBS |
Monday, Jan. 4 | OKLAHOMA | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
Saturday, Jan. 9 | at Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPNU |
Tuesday, Jan. 12 | at West Virginia | 6 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Saturday, Jan. 16 | TCU | 1 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
Tuesday, Jan. 19 | at Oklahoma State | 6 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Saturday, Jan. 23 | TEXAS | 1 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
Monday, Jan. 25 | at Iowa State | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
Saturday, Jan. 30 | KENTUCKY**** | TBA | ESPN |
Wednesday, Feb. 3 | KANSAS STATE | 8 p.m. | ESPNU |
Saturday, Feb. 6 | at TCU | 11 a.m. | ESPN/2 |
Tuesday, Feb. 9 | WEST VIRGINIA | 6 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Saturday, Feb. 13 | at Oklahoma | 1 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
Monday, Feb. 15 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
Saturday, Feb. 20 | at Kansas State | 5 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
Tuesday, Feb. 23 | at Baylor | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Saturday, Feb. 27 | TEXAS TECH | 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
Monday, Feb. 29 | at Texas | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
Saturday, March 5 | IOWA STATE | TBA | ESPN/2 |
March 9-12 | Big 12 Tournament*** |
*Champions Classic at United Center in Chicago
**Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii
***at the Sprint Center
****Big 12/SEC Challenge
To reach Rustin Dodd, call 816-234-4937 or send email to rdodd@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rustindodd.
This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 1:13 PM with the headline "KU to open Big 12 basketball season vs. Baylor as complete 2015-16 schedule is released."