The Fieldhouse is bathed in crimson and blue light during the player introductions prior to tipoff against Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

With a new-look 16-team league and 20-game conference schedule in place, Kansas basketball learned on Thursday morning whom it will have to play and where.

The exact details on when each Big 12 Conference game will take place will likely not be available until late September, although CBS Sports has reported that the conference schedule as a whole will begin on Dec. 30 and 31.

But the KU men’s basketball team now knows it will at some point host Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, UCF and West Virginia. The Jayhawks will travel to Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU and Utah.

That means four new road destinations for KU in all, after it did not have to travel to BYU or Cincinnati last season during the Cougars and Bearcats’ first year in the conference. (It lost to BYU and beat Cincinnati at Allen Fieldhouse.) KU has not played the Cougars in Provo, Utah, since 1960 or the Bearcats in Cincinnati since 1964.

The Jayhawks will travel to new conference foes Colorado and Utah. KU most recently played at Colorado in 2013, a 75-72 victory for the Buffaloes, and a game there in 2021 was canceled due to COVID-19. Former Jayhawks Tad Boyle and Danny Manning are on the CU coaching staff.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks and Utes have played in 1995 and 2014, both matchups victories for the Jayhawks, both of which took place in Kansas City, Missouri. It’ll be KU’s first trip to the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

As for new foes visiting Allen Fieldhouse, UCF has never played there. The Jayhawks suffered an upset loss in January at Addition Financial Arena in the Knights’ first-ever Big 12 home game.

Arizona (2007) and Arizona State (2017) have played somewhat more recently in Lawrence. In fact, ASU beat KU twice in a row in 2017 and 2018 and holds an all-time series lead over the Jayhawks, 6-5.

KU’s nonconference schedule, which has not been officially released yet, includes North Carolina at home on Nov. 8, Michigan State in Atlanta on Nov. 12, Duke in Las Vegas on Nov. 26, Furman at home on Nov. 30, Creighton on the road on Dec. 4 and Missouri on the road at some point in December. Other reported matchups include Oakland at home on Nov. 16, NC State at home on Dec. 14 and Brown at home on Dec. 22.

Full list of opponents

Home: Arizona, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, West Virginia

Away: Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, TCU, Utah

Home and away: Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, UCF

Women’s basketball

Even though the influx of new teams into the Big 12 also affects women’s basketball, the women’s league schedule will remain at 18 conference games for the 2024-25 season.

KU will host Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas Tech and UCF and travel to BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Utah and West Virginia.

The Jayhawks will play at Cincinnati for the first time after beating the Bearcats 75-60 at Allen Fieldhouse on Valentine’s Day in their matchup last season, and will also make their inaugural trip to Utah. They will face Houston on the road for the first time since 2009, having never lost to the Cougars, and play at Colorado for the first time since 2013.

The Jayhawks have much more recently played Arizona, beating the Wildcats on the road in 2022 and at home further back in 2016; Arizona State last came to Lawrence in 2000. UCF will also make the trip to Allen Fieldhouse for the first time after KU beat the Knights on the road last season.

The nonconference slate already includes a confirmed neutral-site game against Iowa in South Dakota on Nov. 20; Pitt, Northern Iowa and Auburn at the Paradise Jam from Nov. 28-30; Penn State at home in December; Wichita State at home at some point and five additional home games, as head coach Brandon Schneider said on “Hawk Talk” in April.

Full list of opponents

Home: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF

Away: BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Utah, West Virginia

Home and away: Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State