Kansas, Villanova announce home-and-home series

Kansas and Villanova will meet in a two-game series starting next season, the schools announced Monday.

The Jayhawks and Wildcats will play Dec. 15, 2018, in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, and Dec. 21, 2019, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

“We have great respect for Coach Self and the Kansas program,” said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. “The games we have played against Kansas have been some of the most memorable non-conference games in our time here. Every time we have faced Kansas, it has made our team better and we know that will be the case when we meet again.”

The Kansas-Villanova series dates back to 1968 and is tied at 3-3; four of the six meetings have taken place on neutral floors. In the last meeting, Villanova defeated KU in the 2016 NCAA Tournament South Regional final, 64-59, in Louisville; the Wildcats went on to win the title. In the first meeting, KU defeated Villanova, 55-49, in the 1968 NIT in New York City. In 2008, the Jayhawks ousted the Wildcats, 72-57, in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in Detroit en route to the national championship. Villanova defeated Kansas, 63-59, in the semifinals of the 2013 Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas.

KU and Villanova played a home-and-home series in 2004 and 2005, with both teams winning their home contests.

The complete Kansas 2018-19 non-conference schedule will be released following this season, but the following games have already been announced:

Nov. 6 – Michigan State (Champions Classic), Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.
Nov. 21 & 23 – NIT (Marquette, Tennessee, Louisville), Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dec. 1 – Stanford, Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kan.
Dec. 15 – Villanova, Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kan.
Dec. 22 – at Arizona State, Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.

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