LAWRENCE, Kan. – Men’s basketball bluebloods Kansas and Duke will play each other Tuesday, Nov. 26, in the Vegas Showdown in Las Vegas, ESPN announced today. The KU-Duke game will be part of a doubleheader that also features Furman playing Seattle. Both contests will be played at T-Mobile Arena.
As part of the Vegas Showdown, on the weekend following the doubleheader in Las Vegas, Furman will play Kansas in Lawrence on Saturday, Nov. 30 and Seattle will play at Duke on Nov. 29. Start times and television network details for the Vegas Showdown will be announced this summer by ESPN.
Kansas is ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, while Duke is ranked No. 8 for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Both teams made the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24, with the Blue Devils reaching the Elite Eight and the Jayhawks advancing to the second round. Furman finished 17-16 last season and reached the Southern Conference semifinals. Seattle went 23-14 and won the College Basketball Invitational.
Kansas ranks second in all-time victories with 2,393 wins, while Duke is fourth at 2,300. The two teams have combined for nine NCAA Tournament titles with Duke having five and Kansas four. Additionally, Duke ranks tied for third in most Final Four appearances with 17, while Kansas’ 15 are fifth.
Although it only started in 1985, Kansas and Duke have shared a high-stakes series. Duke leads, 8-5, but Kansas has won three of the last four meetings. The most recent battle was a 69-64 Kansas win on Nov. 15, 2022, in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.
The first meeting was the 1985 Preseason NIT championship game in Madison Square Garden, which Duke won 92-86. The same two teams met in Dallas in the Final Four semifinal later that season, a game which was the first-ever game between two 30-win teams. Duke won that contest, 71-67. In 1988, Duke traveled to Lawrence for a February non-conference game and came away with a 74-70 overtime win. Later that season the teams met again, this time in the Final Four semifinal, with Kansas defeating Duke, 66-59, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The national title was on the line in the 1991 meeting, a Duke 72-65 win in Indianapolis. The Blue Devils ended the Jayhawks’ season in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament in Winston Salem, North Carolina, while KU returned the favor in the 2003 Sweet 16 in Anaheim, California, en route to its Final Four run. Duke won the 2011 Maui Invitational title meeting defeating KU, 68-61, in the championship game.
Since 2013, Kansas and Duke have met four times in the Champions Classic with KU holding a 3-1 record in those meetings.
Kansas and Furman will be meeting for the second time in men’s basketball. KU defeated Furman, 101-60, on Dec. 20, 1993, in Allen Fieldhouse.
KANSAS-DUKE SERIES (DUKE LEADS, 8-5)
Date – Site (KU outcome)
12/01/1985 – New York* (L, 86-92)
03/29/1986 – Dallas, Texas^ (L, 67-71)
02/20/1988 – Lawrence (L, 70-74 OT)
04/02/1988 – Kansas City, Mo.^ (W, 66-59)
02/18/1989 – Durham, N.C. (L, 77-102)
04/01/1991 – Indianapolis, Ind.$ (L, 65-72)
03/19/2000 – Winston Salem, N.C.& (L, 64-69)
03/27/2003 – Anaheim, Calif.@ (W, 69-65)
11/23/2011 – Maui, Hawaii% (L, 61-68)
11/12/2013 – Chicago, Ill.! (W, 94-83)
11/15/2016 – New York, N.Y.! (W, 77-75)
03/25/2018 – Omaha, Neb.+ (W, 85-81 OT, win later vacated due to IARP)
11/05/2019 – New York, N.Y.! (L, 66-68)
11/15/2022 – Indianapolis, Ind.! (W, 69-64)
!Champions Classic; *NIT; ^NCAA Semifinals; $NCAA Finals; &NCAA East Regional; @NCAA West Regional; %Maui Invitational; +NCAA Midwest Regional
KANSAS-FURMAN SERIES (KANSAS LEADS, 1-0)
Date – Site (KU outcome)
12/20/1993 – Lawrence (W, 101-60
As part of the Vegas Showdown, on the weekend following the doubleheader in Las Vegas, Furman will play Kansas in Lawrence on Saturday, Nov. 30 and Seattle will play at Duke on Nov. 29. Start times and television network details for the Vegas Showdown will be announced this summer by ESPN.
Kansas is ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, while Duke is ranked No. 8 for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Both teams made the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24, with the Blue Devils reaching the Elite Eight and the Jayhawks advancing to the second round. Furman finished 17-16 last season and reached the Southern Conference semifinals. Seattle went 23-14 and won the College Basketball Invitational.
Kansas ranks second in all-time victories with 2,393 wins, while Duke is fourth at 2,300. The two teams have combined for nine NCAA Tournament titles with Duke having five and Kansas four. Additionally, Duke ranks tied for third in most Final Four appearances with 17, while Kansas’ 15 are fifth.
Although it only started in 1985, Kansas and Duke have shared a high-stakes series. Duke leads, 8-5, but Kansas has won three of the last four meetings. The most recent battle was a 69-64 Kansas win on Nov. 15, 2022, in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.
The first meeting was the 1985 Preseason NIT championship game in Madison Square Garden, which Duke won 92-86. The same two teams met in Dallas in the Final Four semifinal later that season, a game which was the first-ever game between two 30-win teams. Duke won that contest, 71-67. In 1988, Duke traveled to Lawrence for a February non-conference game and came away with a 74-70 overtime win. Later that season the teams met again, this time in the Final Four semifinal, with Kansas defeating Duke, 66-59, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The national title was on the line in the 1991 meeting, a Duke 72-65 win in Indianapolis. The Blue Devils ended the Jayhawks’ season in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament in Winston Salem, North Carolina, while KU returned the favor in the 2003 Sweet 16 in Anaheim, California, en route to its Final Four run. Duke won the 2011 Maui Invitational title meeting defeating KU, 68-61, in the championship game.
Since 2013, Kansas and Duke have met four times in the Champions Classic with KU holding a 3-1 record in those meetings.
Kansas and Furman will be meeting for the second time in men’s basketball. KU defeated Furman, 101-60, on Dec. 20, 1993, in Allen Fieldhouse.
KANSAS-DUKE SERIES (DUKE LEADS, 8-5)
Date – Site (KU outcome)
12/01/1985 – New York* (L, 86-92)
03/29/1986 – Dallas, Texas^ (L, 67-71)
02/20/1988 – Lawrence (L, 70-74 OT)
04/02/1988 – Kansas City, Mo.^ (W, 66-59)
02/18/1989 – Durham, N.C. (L, 77-102)
04/01/1991 – Indianapolis, Ind.$ (L, 65-72)
03/19/2000 – Winston Salem, N.C.& (L, 64-69)
03/27/2003 – Anaheim, Calif.@ (W, 69-65)
11/23/2011 – Maui, Hawaii% (L, 61-68)
11/12/2013 – Chicago, Ill.! (W, 94-83)
11/15/2016 – New York, N.Y.! (W, 77-75)
03/25/2018 – Omaha, Neb.+ (W, 85-81 OT, win later vacated due to IARP)
11/05/2019 – New York, N.Y.! (L, 66-68)
11/15/2022 – Indianapolis, Ind.! (W, 69-64)
!Champions Classic; *NIT; ^NCAA Semifinals; $NCAA Finals; &NCAA East Regional; @NCAA West Regional; %Maui Invitational; +NCAA Midwest Regional
KANSAS-FURMAN SERIES (KANSAS LEADS, 1-0)
Date – Site (KU outcome)
12/20/1993 – Lawrence (W, 101-60
