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The Kansas Jayhawks basketball team will host the Fort Hays State Tigers for an exhibition tilt on Thursday.
The game (8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT start time) won’t be on regular TV anywhere, but you can watch it live on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of several Kansas and Big 12 basketball games this season, plus tons of other college basketball and live sports every week, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and additional original content (both video and written) all for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch Kansas vs Fort Hays State live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Kansas vs Fort Hays State Preview
The Jayhawks, ranked No. 3 in the AP poll, enter the season having been accused by the NCAA of recruiting violations and a lack of institutional control.
They return three starters from last year’s squad — which snapped a 14-year streak of Big 12 titles — including center Udoka Azuibuke, whom Big 12 coaches named the conference’s preseason player of the year.
“For me, I’ve always tried to play hard every time I get on the court. That’s not going to change,” Azubuike said, according to 247Sports. “I’m just going to be focused on my team and all that. I know a lot of people, right now, like … everybody, they’re going to want to prove themselves against me. I’ve just got to be me and go out there and just do what I do.”
He added: “It’s really an honor for the coaches to think highly of me. I’m just humbled and honored at the same time, but, like I said, my head is just going to be focused and I’m going to go out there and play for my team and play for myself, too.”
An ankle injury and hand surgery limited the seven-footer to nine games in 2018-19. The year prior, he shot an NCAA-best 77% from the field, averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
“He’s going to get opportunities,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said, per 247Sports. “Of course his opportunities will be in large part determined by how well we shoot the ball from the perimeter, because if we don’t, everybody will put two guys on him. But I expect him to be the best big man in the country.”
The Tigers play in the NCAA’s Division II. The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association’s coaches picked them to finish fourth in the 14-team conference.
Only four Tigers who saw the floor last year are back for the 2019-20 campaign.
“Even style of play is going to be so much different,” FHSU head coach Mark Johnson said, according to The Hays Daily News. “Last year everything was through Brady (Werth) — pound it inside and play off that. This year, I don’t know if we’ve identified anybody yet that’s a complete low-post scorer. I think our bigs are going to be more 3-point shooters, space the floor. It’ll be a different look in a lot of ways, not only new players, but the way we’re going to be successful playing is going to look a lot different than it did a year ago.”