The 17th-ranked Kansas men's basketball team, still in the process of putting together its lineup and the new pieces it has added in recent weeks, dropped an intense exhibition game to No. 11 Louisville, 89-83 on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
The game will not count on either team's record, but the lessons will be carried throughout the season and the outcome was felt in the immediate aftermath, with KU senior Tre White saying simply, "This one hurts."
The reason? White said it felt like a big-time game out there tonight and, as competitors, they always want to win those big-time games, no matter what they count for, who they're against and at what stage of the season they come.
KU coach Bill Self's squad gets another one of them on Sunday, when No. 2 Duke comes to town, and veteran guard Melvin Council Jr. summed it up best after Wednesday's loss when he said, "Win or lose, we've just gotta be better than we were tonight."
Said Louisville coach Pat Kelsey after the game: "I mean, I can't believe it's the preseason. I can't believe that was an exhibition."
The Jayhawks raced out to an early lead and started the game with a bang. But Louisville stayed close, inched back into it during the final 10 minutes of the first half and trailed by just a point at halftime.
The Cardinals took control early in the second half and never trailed after that, despite KU cutting what was once a 12-point Louisville lead to a single possession on a couple of occasions late in the game.
The Jayhawks will be back at Allen Fieldhouse this Sunday, when they'll take on No. 2 Duke in the final exhibition game of the 2026-27 season.
That contest, which will mark Duke's first trip to Allen Fieldhouse since the 1980s, has been dubbed the Blue Blood Classic and will drastically benefit both teams financially.
The regular season will open on Nov. 2, when KU plays host to Fordham.
Here's a look back and some of Wednesday's action.
LIKES
• Melvin cares – We knew this, right? Like, we saw it all of last season and he was as beloved in a short period of time as just about any player in those circumstances who has ever played here. And we knew he wanted to come back if it was possible. But the thought for most of the offseason was that it would not happen. And then it did. And then he was back out there fighting and battling and willing KU to points, extra possessions and anything he could to keep them in this game, which Louisville took a stranglehold on early in the 2nd half. Because of this team's depth and talent and plethora of guards, the thought was that Council, and Tre White for that matter, would not have to play the 30+ minutes they played last season. And maybe that'll still happen. But this game — both because of the way it played out and because of how Council played — has me wondering.
• Bidunga booed, over & over & over – You knew it was going to happen. And it really didn't stop happening. From the time he hit the floor for pregame shoot-around to the time he ran into the locker room and then back out and to the bench after foul trouble and then back onto the floor again, former Jayhawk Flory Bidunga was booed by thousands of KU fans who wanted to make sure they were not happy that he bailed on their school. For his part, Bidunga egged it in during the pregame stuff — because of course he did. But he mostly stayed locked in during the game, even if his numbers were not a ton to write home about — 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 1 block in 28 minutes.
• Crowd intensity – While the top-20 rankings, the return of Bidunga and the recent excitement surrounding this roster certainly made it make sense. it was still wild to see just how electric this game was and how much the fans and the building brought it.... for an exhibition game. Unreal. Maybe they were still starved and scarred by last year's shortcomings with Darryn Peterson and the promise of what suddenly could be a really good team and season got their juices flowing. Hard to blame 'em. This team has a chance to be pretty darn good. It's not there yet, but the crowd was in peak-February form. That included an announcement from the PA guy in the first half, who said KU AD Travis Goff asked him to remind the fans that derogatory chants would not be tolerated. This, after a brief but boisterous "F*** You, Flory!" chant rang out for a minute or so during the first half. 'Tis basketball season, friends. Get after it. Self said the extra wordage was "uncalled for," but both he and Louisville coach Pat Kelsey agreed that the passion is part of what makes college basketball great.
• Mbiya not bad – I'll be honest, I didn't expect a ton from Paul Mbiya in this one after what I saw from him against Pitt State. But much like he did last year in the NCAA Tournament, the second-year Jayhawk rose to the challenge and played pretty well. I was more than a little surprised when Self elected to start him, but then saw him battle for boards, finish lobs, fight for extra possessions and play to his size. That's all he needs to do — consistently — to maintain an important role on this team, whether that's for 5 minutes a game or 15. The fact that this effort came against a good Louisville team should only help his confidence and KU's confidence in him.
• Ted Owens honored – During a TV timeout late in the first half, the Jayhawks honored former Kansas coach Ted Owens with a video and on-court ceremony celebrating his upcoming induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Owens, 96, coached at KU from 1964-1983 and led the program to 348 wins and the Final Four in 1971 and 1974. After waving to the crowd to thank them for the love and standing ovation, Owens joined the KU huddle for the remainder of the timeout, standing with his arms around KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend and new KU big man Trey Kaufman-Renn. Naturally, and as he so often does, he had a smile plastered across his face.
DISLIKES
• 3-point makers – It sure is a good thing that KU brought back Melvin Council and Tre White because those were the only two players who made a 3-point shot for the Jayhawks on Wednesday night. The two veteran Jayhawks combined to make 7 of 14 triples while the rest of the KU lineup was 0-for-10. KU didn't shoot it great from distance in the exhibition opener against Pitt State either, so they're going to have to figure this part out sooner rather than later because they can't live with just two players as the only 3-point threats. That likely won't be the way it goes, but it is at least a bit of a yellow flag early in the season.
• Stokes vs. size – For the better part of his basketball playing life, including last Friday night's game against Pitt State, things have been pretty easy on the court for KU freshman Tyran Stokes. They weren't on Wednesday night, and it clearly was an eye-opener for him. While much of the struggle came from him trying and not succeeding to body and bully Louisville players with the size that has served him so well for most of his career, some of it came from positioning, a lack of poise and mental frustration. It happens. Especially to freshmen. And this will be a great game for Stokes to learn from. There's zero doubt in my mind — and I'm sure Self's too — that he will learn and adjust and get better as a result. The whole welcome to college basketball thing is a little bit of a cliche, but that's sure what it felt like for Stokes in this one against a good Louisville team.
• Too. Many. Points. – Nobody expects a team to have it all figured it by the second exhibition game of the season. So, the loss and even some of the mistakes were no real surprise here. But the fact that Louisville scored with ease in the second half and throughout a good chunk of the first half certainly won't sit well with KU's head coach. Kansas gave up 53 points in the second half, falling behind by as many as 12 at one point before battling to make it tight down the stretch. The Cardinals out-shot KU 48.3% to 40.8% from the floor, including a clip of 46.7% from 3-point range to just 29.2% by the KU shooters.
• TK injured? – Freshman point guard Taylen Kinney missed half of Wednesday's game because of cramping issues on a warm night and in a heated-up Allen Fieldhouse environment. Self said they gave Kinney an IV and it sounds like he's expecting him to be ready to roll for Sunday vs. Duke.
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