When Leila Menguc chose to play basketball at Kansas University, about 4,500 miles away from home, she never imagined she would see familiar faces in Allen Fieldhouse.

Tonight the Jayhawks will meet a touring Swedish team, the Solna Vikings, in the first of their two exhibition games. Tipoff is 8:05 p.m.

Solna is a suburb of Stockholm, Mengà ¼à §âÂÂs hometown, and the KU junior guard knows many of the Swedish players.

âÂÂSheâÂÂs pretty excited,â KU coach Marian Washington said. âÂÂSheâÂÂs busy trying to give us a heads-up on the type of players they are.âÂÂ

Mengà ¼à §âÂÂs familiarity provides Washington a hint of what to expect giving the inexperienced Jayhawks could use all the knowledge they can get.

âÂÂI actually called home to get some fresh info,â Mengà ¼à § said. âÂÂI know theyâÂÂre a running team and theyâÂÂre shooters. The three-point line is farther back in Sweden, so weâÂÂre going to have to step up on that. TheyâÂÂre going to be shooting quite far away from the line.âÂÂ

Washington certainly welcomes a new season. After last seasonâÂÂs 5-25 disaster, KU has a fairly new roster with nine new faces.

Tonight will be the first game – exhibition or not – since a 63-61 loss to No. 13 Texas in last seasonâÂÂs Big 12 Conference tournament. The heartbreaking defeat ended the Jayhawksâ dismal season on a 17-game losing skid.

Now Washington and the Jayhawks are ready to start fresh.

âÂÂWe want to see progress,â she said. âÂÂThatâÂÂll be our major focus, but itâÂÂs going to cap everything off if we pull off a win.âÂÂ

Five of the Vikingsâ 11 players are at least 26 years old, and all were key contributors on a Solna squad that captured the 2001-02 Swedish national championship.

âÂÂThey have so much experience,â Mengà ¼à § said. âÂÂIt doesnâÂÂt matter if they donâÂÂt have the athleticism they used to have when they were younger. TheyâÂÂre really smart, and they know how to play the game.âÂÂ

Solna is winless so far on its U.S. tour, bowing by 50 points to Kansas State, by 40 points to Missouri and by 28 to Southwest Missouri State on Monday night.

With freshman Erica Hallman still nursing a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament, Mengà ¼à § will assume point guard duties tonight. Also starting will be sophomore Blair Waltz, junior college transfer Aquanita Burras and freshmen Tamara Ransburg and Crystal Kemp.

KUâÂÂs second exhibition game will be at 2 p.m. Sunday against Fort Hays State. The regular-season opener is Nov. 24 against Texas-El Paso in Allen Fieldhouse.

Probable Starters

SOLNA VIKINGS

F – Anna Hofstrom (5-11)

F – Johanna Axelsson (5-11)

C – Michaela Livijn (6-1)

G – Anna Hoglund (5-10)

G – Cecilia Ferm (5-10)

KANSAS

F – Blair Waltz (6-0)

F – Crystal Kemp (6-2)

C – Tamara Ransburg (6-4)

G – Aquanita Burras (5-9)

G -Leila Mengà ¼à § (5-10)

Tipoff: 8:05 p.m., tonight, Allen Fieldhouse.

Radio/TV: None.