LAWRENCE, Kan. –Postseason play begins for the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday, March 8, as No. 7-seeded KU takes on No. 10-seeded BYU in the second round of the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
Tipoff from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, is set for 5:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ with Brenda VanLengen (play-by-play) and Sheryl Swoopes (analyst). Fans can also listen to the game on the Jayhawk Radio Network from Learfield, with Steven Davis and David Lawrence calling the action.
Kansas closed out the regular season with eight wins its last nine games, including Top 25 victories over No. 10 Kansas State on Feb. 25 and No. 20 Oklahoma on March 2. The Jayhawks are closing in on a second NCAA Tournament berth in the past three seasons, currently listed as a No. 9 seed by ESPN’s Bracketology and a No. 10 seed by The Athletic’s Bracket Watch. KU is ranked No. 40 in the NET rankings, which takes into account games through March 5.
Kansas enters the postseason with an 18-11 record after finishing seventh in the Big 12 during the regular season with an 11-7 league record. The Jayhawks earned the No. 7 seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship for the third time in tournament history and the second-straight season.
KU is making its 27th all-time appearance in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships, which will be played at the T-Mobile Center for the first time. The Jayhawks are 14-26 all-time in the event, including a 10-10 mark in first round games. With the league’s expansion to 14 teams, an extra round will be played this year, with KU earning a bye to the second round, where they it face BYU.
KU will face BYU for a spot in the quarterfinals, where the Jayhawks have advanced 16 times. This will be the first-ever postseason meeting between Kansas and BYU, and it comes following the Cougars first season competing in the Big 12. KU swept the season series vs. BYU, winning 67-53 in Lawrence on Jan. 31 and 70-62 on Feb. 17 in Provo.
Four Jayhawks received 2023-24 All-Big 12 recognition, led by All-Big 12 First Team selections Taiyanna Jackson and S’Mya Nichols. Jackson was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team for the third-consecutive season, while Nichols was a unanimous selection to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Now a three-time selection, Jackson remains the only Kansas player to be named to the All-Defensive Team, which was first awarded in 2006. Nichols is the fifth Jayhawk named to the All-Freshman Team and first since 2021.
Additionally, Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter both received All-Big 12 honorable mention. Franklin picked up the fourth All-Big 12 honor of her career after earning All-Big 12 First Team in 2023, Honorable Mention in 2022 and the All-Freshman Team in 2020. Kersgieter is an All-Big 12 selection for the fourth-straight season after previously earning Honorable Mention in 2021 and 2023, and an All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2022.
Kansas faced nine nationally-ranked opponents during the 2023-24 regular season, going 3-6 in those games. The Jayhawks defeated No. 4 Baylor, 87-66, on Jan. 10, No. 10 Kansas State, 58-55, on Feb. 25, and No. 20 Oklahoma, 83-74, on March 2. It’s the first time since 1999-2000 that KU has had multiple wins over Top-10 opponents and three Top-25 wins in one season.
Three Jayhawks have risen to the top of the all-time charts this season. Kersgieter is KU’s career leader with 263 three-pointers made, Jackson set the all-time blocks list with 296, and Franklin has the program record for both games played (150) and minutes played (4,955). All three players have also scored more than 1,000 points while at Kansas.
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With a win, Kansas would advance to face No. 2 seed Texas in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Saturday, March 9. That game will be played at 5:30 p.m. CT and be broadcast by Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
