What: 24 KANSAS VS. NOTRE DAME

Where: Las Vegas, Nev. • MGM Grand Garden Arena (9,994)

When: Monday, November 24, 2025 • 2:30 p.m. (CT)
Players Era

Television: TNT

Play-by-Play: Brandon Gaudin

Analyst: Robbie Hummel

Sideline: Nabil Karim

Producer: Bert Bondi

Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network

Webcast: KUAthletics.com/Radio

Play-by-Play: Brian Hanni

Analyst: Greg Gurley

Producer/Engineer: Steve Kincaid

TIPOFF

No. 24 Kansas (3-2) will face Notre Dame (3-1) in the opening round
of the Players Era, Monday, Nov. 24. Tip from MGM Grand Garden
Arena is set for 2:30 p.m. (Central) and the game will be televised
on TNT.

KU will face Syracuse (4-0) in the second round of the Players Era on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 2:30 p.m. (Central) in the same location and also on TNT.

Kansas is coming off a 78-66 loss to No. 5 Duke in the Champions Classic on Nov. 18 at Madison Square Garden. Notre Dame is coming off an 86-79 win against Bellarmine on Nov. 19.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series with Kansas, 9-3, in a series that dates back to 1928. The last meeting between the schools was Jan. 23, 1988, a Notre Dame 80-76 win in South Bend, Indiana.

Kansas is 133-24 (84.7%) following a loss in the Bill Self era, including 1-0 this season.

Kansas leads the Big 12 and is 13th nationally in blocked shots per game at 6.4. The Jayhawks are second in the league, 29th nationally, in three-point field goal percentage defense at 25.6 percent. Sophomore Flory Bidunga leads the Big 12 with 11 blocked shots this season, and his 2.2 blocks per game are fourth in the league and 40th nationally. Bidunga’s 75.0 field goal percentage is second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally.

Kansas head coach Bill Self is 612-157 in his 23rd season at KU. Last season, Self became Kansas’ all-time winningest coach, surpassing Phog Allen, who was 590-129 in 36 seasons on the KU sidelines. Self is in his 33rd season overall with an 819-262 record. He is one of only four active coaches with 800 or career wins – Rick Barnes, John Calipari, and Kelvin Sampson.

ABOUT KANSAS

No. 24 Kansas (3-2) is coming off a 78-66 loss to No. 5 Duke in the Champions Classic on Nov. 18 in Madison Square Garden. Through five games, Kansas is averaging 77.4 points per game and has a plus-13.6 scoring margin. The Jayhawks pull down 37.6 rebounds per contest with a plus-5.0 rebound margin. KU averages 15.8 assists and 6.2 steals per contest. KU leads the Big 12 and is 13th nationally
with 6.4 blocked shots per game. The Jayhawks make 7.8 threes per game.

Freshman guard Darryn Peterson leads Kansas with a 21.5 points per game average. He has missed the last three contests. Peterson has six threes made and he has four steals. Sophomore center Flory Bidunga posted his first double-double of the season that included a career-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds against Princeton (11/15). Bidunga scores 16.4 points per game and leads KU with 7.4 rebounds per outing. His 75.0 field goal percentage is second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally and
his 2.2 blocked shots per contest are fourth in the league and 40th nationally.

Senior guard Tre White has just missed a double-doubl in each of his last two games with 22 points and nine rebounds versus Duke (11/18) and 12 points and eight rebounds against Princeton (11/15). He is scoring 14.0 points per contest and his 5.2 rebounds per game are tied for second on the team. Senior Melvin Council Jr. (8.6 ppg) leads KU with 29 assists and his 5.8 assists per game are fourth in the Big 12 and 41st nationally.

Redshirt freshman forward Bryson Tiller (8.4 ppg) is tied for second on the team with a 5.2 rebound average. Tiller is tied for the team lead with seven threes made, along with freshman Kohl Rasario (7.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg). Other KU regulars include graduate guard Gee Ngala (5.3 ppg, 4-6 3FGs), senior guard Jayden Dawson (5.2 ppg, five threes), redshirt-sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson (one start, 2.4 ppg), redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell (1.2 ppg, 8.2 minutes per game), and freshman
guard Samis Calderon (6.8 minutes per game).

THE KANSAS-NOTRE DAME SERIES

Notre Dame leads the all-time series with Kansas, 9-3. The series dates back to 1928, with the last meeting being Jan. 23, 1988, a Notre Dame 80-76 win in South Bend, Indiana. KU coach Phog Allen was 0-3 versus Notre Dame, while Ted Owens was 2-5, and Larry Brown 1-1.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

Make Kansas 4-2 or better for the 20th consecutive season and the 22nd time in Bill Self’s 23 seasons at KU … Make the Kansas-Notre Dame series 9-4 in favor of the Irish … Make Kansas 1-1 in neutral site games this season … Make Bill Self 613-158 while at Kansas, 820-263 all-time and 1-2 versus Notre Dame, 1-0 while at Kansas … Make Kansas 2,418-911 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

Make Kansas 3-3 for the first time since the 2005-06 season when the Jayhawks were also 3-3 … Make the Kansas-Notre Dame series 10-3 in favor of Notre Dame … Make Kansas 0-2 in neutral site games this season … Make Bill Self 612-159 while at KU, 819-264 all-time and 0-3 5-5 all-time versus Notre Dame, 0-1 while at Kansas … Make KU 2,417-912 all time.

DUKE LEFTOVERS

Kansas is 3-2 for the first time since the 2011-12 season, where the Jayhawks were also 3-2.

Kansas is now 9-6 in the Champions Classic, ending a five-game winning streak in the event.

Kansas outscored its opponent in the paint (40-38) for the third consecutive game, and tied a season high for points in the paint with 40.

Kansas outscored Duke in fastbreak points (13-9) and has outscored its opponent in fastbreak points three times this
season.

Senior Tre White scored a season high 22 points on 7-13 shooting giving him his first 20-plus point game of the season, and 12th of his career. White has now recorded four consecutive games of 10 or more points. White grabbed a season-high nine rebounds.

Sophomore Flory Bidunga finished the game with 14 points on 7-10 shooting, scoring in double figures for the fourth time this season in five games.

Senior Melvin Council Jr. scored a season-high 15 points on 6-15 shooting, giving him his 58th career game of 10 or more points. Council also recorded six assists, giving him his fourth consecutive game with five or more assists, and his 28th game of his career.

Redshirt Freshman Bryson Tiller grabbed six rebounds and has now grabbed over five rebounds for the third consecutive game. Tiller finished the contest with six points and one assist in his second career start.

Freshman Paul Mbiya grabbed three rebounds in four minutes. He has now recorded three or more rebounds in three consecutive games.

ABOUT THE PLAYERS ERA

After launching the Players Era in 2024 with eight men’s teams, the college basketball event has expanded to 18 men’s teams and four women’s teams. Last year, Oregon took home the championship, downing Alabama 83-81 in the title game.

All 18 men’s teams will play on Monday, Nov. 24, and Tuesday, Nov. 25 in pre-set matchups, which will determine the championship matchups on Wednesday, Nov. 26.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY PAIRINGS/CRITERIA

After Day 2, All 18 teams will be ranked 1-18 based on the following criteria:
1 – Record
2 – Head to Head
3 – Plus/Minus Tiebreaker (maximum of 20 points)
4 – Total Points Scored
5 – Total Points Allowed
6 – AP ranking as of 11/24

FOUR KINGS

Top 4 places will be decided exclusively by the above criteria. Teams that play during the season or are in the same conference will NOT be reseeded, as these games are for additional guaranteed NIL opportunities.

ADDITIONAL GAMES – WEDNESDAY

Teams ranked 5-14 will play one game each on Wednesday. Matchups will take more into account than JUST the criteria above. We will decide matchups based on the following ADDITIONAL considerations:

1 – Guaranteed that conference matchups will be avoided

2 – With a high likelihood, we will avoid teams that tip after 5 pm local time, needing to play the following day before 1 pm local time.

3 – Wherever possible we will avoid matchups between non-conference teams that play during the 2025-26 season. MATCHUPS THAT ARE SCHEDULED COULD STILL PLAY AGAIN.

4 – We will minimize the number of teams that have to change locker rooms, but this will not be able to be avoided (NOT JUST Top 4 anymore)

BOTTON FOUR — THURSDAY STAYOVERS

4 Teams will stay until Thursday and play a game as part of a two-game session at Mandalay Bay. The Selection process for this game is as follows:

— If UNLV does not qualify for the 4 Kings, they will fill one of the two matchups regardless of rank, as a local Las Vegas team.

–The remaining spots will be filled with the bottom ranked three teams (or four teams if UNLV is in the 4 Kings game)

— If a matchup is from the same conference or the teams play in 2025-26, the matchups will be switched

— If matchups cannot be switched, then the higher rankedteam will be moved to Wednesday and the lowest ranked team scheduled for Wednesday will move to Thursday