photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) turns to the bucket against Furman forward Garrett Hien (13) during the second half on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Wednesday’s big-man battle between 7-footers Hunter Dickinson of Kansas and Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton has loomed on the schedule for months, to the point that Bluejays coach Greg McDermott even referenced the matchup as part of Kalkbrenner’s announcement in May that he was returning for a fifth collegiate season.

“It’ll be like two dinosaurs, he and Hunter going against each other, because they’re probably two of the oldest guys in college basketball,” KU coach Bill Self said on Monday, “and two projected to be All-Americans.”

Already a reigning All-American, Dickinson has continued his form this year as one of the best centers in the nation, albeit with a run of lesser games lately following his 28-point, 12-rebound showing at the Champions Classic. Kalkbrenner, meanwhile, is the three-time reigning Big East defensive player of the year and is averaging 18.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and three blocks per game, including a career-high 49-point outburst on 20-for-22 shooting in the season opener against UTRGV.

“Obviously, me and him are probably some of the best bigs in the country, consensus, and so that’d be a fun matchup,” Dickinson said. “That’s kind of why you play the game.”

The matchup just needs to come to fruition first.

Ahead of KU’s date with Creighton at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Kalkbrenner’s status is in some doubt after he missed Creighton’s 80-76 victory over Notre Dame in Las Vegas due to a lower-body injury. That game was the conclusion of a 1-2 run at the Players Era Festival tournament. McDermott did not provide an injury update to reporters on Monday.

“Playing so many games in a row can definitely be wear and tear, especially on a 7-foot body,” Dickinson said. “I can speak for that for sure.”

photo by: AP Photo/Ian Maule

Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) shoots against San Diego State forward Miles Heide (40) during the second half of an NCAA basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas.

The Bluejays dropped out of the AP Top 25 following those losses, their second and third of the season, to San Diego State and Texas A&M. But the victory over the Irish certainly demonstrates that they can score beyond Kalkbrenner.

In senior guard Steven Ashworth, they have “as good a shooter as we have in the country,” Self said, and they partner him with dangerous transfer guards Jamiya Neal and Pop Isaacs in a three-guard lineup the likes of which KU has rarely seen this season. All three of them are scoring in double digits, and that’s with Creighton only shooting 31.4% from deep.

“It’s well below what they’re capable of shooting, and they’re shooting a ton of them,” Self said.

Even if the early-season performance has taken a bit of the shine off Creighton, and indeed added some shine to KU, Self said that how KU does on Wednesday and Sunday — at Creighton and at Missouri in its first back-to-back nonconference road games since 2019 — will be the true litmus test for the Jayhawks’ early-season slate.

“Because how you do away from home is really the true indication on how well you’re actually playing,” he said.

Creighton Bluejays (5-3) vs. No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (6-0)

• CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska, 7:30 p.m.

• Broadcast: FS1

• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KMXN FM 92.9)

Keep an eye out

Defensive progress: There was some reason to be wary of the Jayhawks’ defensive outlook entering this season, as KU imported a slew of transfers, some of whom had not rated particularly well defensively at their prior schools. But holding previously unbeaten Furman to 51 points on sub-30% shooting was the latest in a string of competent defensive performances for the Jayhawks. Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams are playing to their full potential on that end, while players like Northern Illinois transfer David Coit have exceeded expectations. Dickinson said defense was always going to be a focal point, both because of Self’s philosophy and because the team already knew it had plenty of scorers at its disposal. Self said, “I think that you can sense that there is a better understanding and us doing a better job on that end and not allowing people to really do what they want to do from a rhythm standpoint.”

Familiar face: If Isaacs’ name rings a bell, it’s because the 6-foot-2 guard has done damage to KU before. The former All-Big 12 third-team selection scored in double digits for Texas Tech against the Jayhawks in a pair of matchups during his freshman season in 2022-23. He was then one of the few Red Raiders not to excel for Tech against KU when they blew out the Jayhawks at United Supermarkets Arena last season.

Statistics lie: KU is currently second in the nation with its assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.12, just behind Gonzaga, a concrete illustration of how smooth and efficient its passing has been thus far this year. But Self said he’d actually like somewhat more moderate assist numbers, counterbalanced by trips to the free-throw line. “Because when you get a lot of assists that means you probably got good ball and body movement,” he said, “but you’re scoring off the catch, and in order to get to the free-throw line you got to be able to drive it.”

Off-kilter observation

Kalkbrenner missed the game due to a knee injury the last time KU played Creighton, which was in Fort Worth, Texas, in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He was available the time before that, a one-point victory for the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 8, 2020.