photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas fans cheer for the women’s basketball team as the Jayhawks set out to beat Cincinnati on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Lawrence.

The Kansas women’s basketball team will look to take a step forward in Big 12 Conference play this season after its 8-10 record yielded an 11th-place finish last year.

The Jayhawks lost a number of games by narrow margins against top teams that could have altered the trajectory of their season; if a couple tilted their way, they might well have qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a look at a few pivotal matchups that KU will face this year as part of its 18-game league schedule.

photo by: AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh

Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Hoyt gestures against Princeton during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles.

Dec. 20: vs. Oklahoma State

The conference opener for any team is inevitably going to garner a lot of attention, but this game will do so to an even greater extent because of OSU’s dramatic offseason rebuild that included what is by some metrics the nation’s best transfer portal class.

The result of that offseason haul is that KU has to game plan for Audi Crooks to open Big 12 play for the second straight year.

Last season, when she was still at Iowa State, the Jayhawks’ approach to the imposing 6-foot-3 center, now a three-time unanimous All-Big 12 selection, was largely to let her do whatever she wanted as long as she was incapable of getting her teammates involved. That yielded a fair bit of criticism from the online basketball commentariat, but it actually kind of worked. Crooks scored 41 points on 19-for-28 shooting, but ISU was just 1-for-7 on 3s until Kenzie Hare made a buzzer-beater to deprive the Jaliya Davis-less Jayhawks of a potential top-10 upset at Hilton Coliseum.

In that game, Lilly Meister drew the unenviable task of taking on Crooks one-on-one. Time will tell what OSU schemes up for Crooks this year and how KU approaches working against her. Certainly the center position is going to be a concern for the Jayhawks in the early part of the year; top recruit Cydnee Bryant is expected to join the team after the conclusion of volleyball season, but if it lasts as long as it did last year, she will transition to basketball just a week before this game. Regan Williams figures to start with Davis, though she may be more of a power forward by trade.

In any case, this game could provide an opportunity for KU to make a powerful statement as it looks to return to March Madness and contend in the Big 12. Head coach Brandon Schneider had a lot of success against OSU earlier in his tenure, at one point beating the Cowgirls six straight times, but the Jayhawks have lost three in a row since, including an extremely important game at Gallagher-Iba Arena in last year’s regular-season finale.

Along with Crooks, OSU brought in the likes of guard Liv McGill, who averaged 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists at Florida, and Talexa Weeter, a Goodland native who was the Division II player of the year at Fort Hays State. Former KU guard Zoe Canfield is also on the roster after spending a season at Missouri State.

photo by: AP Photo/John Amis

Colorado guard Zyanna Walker (1) plays Louisville during an NCAA basketball game on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Louisville, Ky.

Jan. 24: at Colorado

KU has not yet beaten CU since the Buffaloes joined the Big 12, and that includes a pair of frustrating losses during the 2025-26 season that dealt significant damage to the Jayhawks’ postseason chances.

First was a 69-66 defeat at Allen Fieldhouse in which KU did not make a field goal for the final three minutes of regulation but was improbably able to force overtime due to a host of missed free throws — even as Davis fouled out in the final 30 seconds. The Jayhawks fell behind midway through overtime and Laia Conesa missed a potential tying attempt at the buzzer.

Then there was the second-round Big 12 tournament matchup, with the Jayhawks held to 19-for-53 shooting (35.8%) and 2-for-13 (15.4%) from deep as they were outrebounded 39-25. Most importantly, CU contained Davis, who was limited to fewer than 10 points for the first time in her career and committed six turnovers. That game was not as close as the 55-48 final score indicated.

It remains to be seen how the preseason poll will shake out, but JR Payne’s squad is likely going to be the sort of upper-mid-level team against which KU will need to score its share of wins this year — even if the Jayhawks have to do it amid the high altitude of the CU Events Center.

The Buffaloes lost their top two scorers but retain a number of key contributors from the 2025-26 season, including former Kansas State transfer guard Zyanna Walker (11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds), guard Kennedy Sanders (9.3 points prior to a season-ending injury) and all-freshman forward Logyn Greer (9.2 points, 5.0 rebounds). They added another potent option to the backcourt in the American Conference’s freshman of the year, Mecailin Marshall (from Tulane) and a pair of impressive forwards from the mid-major level, Anete Adler (Boston University) and Kira Reynolds (UT Arlington).

KU has a Colorado transfer, sophomore guard Anna Gooden, as one of its own new additions this year.

photo by: AP Photo/Tyler Tate

BYU guard Delaney Gibb looks to pass during an NCAA college basketball game against Texas Tech, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Provo, Utah.

Feb. 6: at BYU

The Jayhawks and Cougars have engaged in some highly entertaining battles since they became conference rivals, although it’s unlikely any future matchup will include anything quite as strange as the “bat delay” from their first Big 12 meeting back in 2024.

Last year, KU handled BYU with relative ease at Allen Fieldhouse during the regular season, aided by a second-half explosion from Davis (who finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds), but then lost to the Cougars in Wichita in the semifinals of the WBIT. The Jayhawks had led that one 56-54 midway through the fourth quarter, conceded a 15-4 run and then somehow — if it isn’t clear, this was a frequent occurrence in the 2025-26 season — almost made up their nine-point deficit in the final 30 seconds, only for a botched final possession to deprive them of a chance at tying the game in what turned out to be a 70-67 loss. It was actually the first-ever loss for KU against BYU.

This time around the Jayhawks will have to return to the Marriott Center, which is always a tough place to play. Elle Evans and Williams combined for 44 points there in a narrow victory back in 2025. That was before Lee Cummard took over as head coach. In his first season, the Cougars went 26-12, including 9-9 in league play, but lost to Columbia in the WBIT title game.

KU is going to have to figure out a way to limit first-team all-league guard Delaney Gibb without its former defensive stopper in Sania Copeland, who graduated. Last year the Jayhawks held Gibb to 10 points on 1-for-13 shooting and then 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting in a season during which she generally averaged 18.3 points per game on 38.7% shooting. In the WBIT matchup, though, then-freshman guard Olivia Hamlin went off to match her season high with 23 points, including four 3s.

Gibb and Hamlin are both back this year, along with fellow guards Sydney Benally and Brinley Cannon. Kailey Woolston was an excellent 3-point shooter during the 2023-24 season at 46.6% on high volume and is back from a religious mission. The frontcourt will rely on steps forward from Bolanle Yussuf and Mariam Traore.