Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET, Louisiana-Monroe and No. 5 Kansas tip off their seasons live from the Allen Field House in Kansas. The game can be live streamed for free here. UL Monroe fans can hear all the action on 540 KMLB-AM while Kansas fans can do the same on KJHK, 90.7 FM
Expectations at Kansas, as usual, are very high entering this season. The Jayhawks embark on their journey for an unprecedented 10th consecutive Big 12 championship tonight on the wings of a freshman class that boasts No.1 overall recruit Andrew Wiggins along with Wayne Selden and Joel Emblid.
"There's as much hype around this year as any," coach Bill Self said per ESPN, "and it's a large part because of the unknown. We've had other good players and other good teams returning. This team hasn't proven itself at all. But the unknown of having a good recruiting class has everyone pretty excited."
After winning the National Title game two years ago, Kansas took a step back after a fantastic 31-6 season that saw the team get ousted by Michigan in the second round fo the NCAA tournament, ending their strong season in frustrating fashion. Despite entering without Ben McLemore (departed) and Jeff Withey (senior last year), the team enters with a lot of hopes for greatness surrounding it.
All the excitement starts with 6-foot-8 swingman Wiggins.
"I've got a lot of expectations for the team," said Wiggins, who is widely projected to be the No. 1 pick in next year's draft, according to ESPN. "We're a young team, but I know we can do a lot of damage. Hopefully, we'll win the Big 12 and then win the whole thing."
Wiggins, who admitted to being nervous during his first exhibition game, scored 26 points in two preseason games leading up to this contest.
Naadir Tharpe, who was expected to start at point guard, is suspended for the season opener after playing in an unauthorized summer league game in Chicago.
"He knew he shouldn't have been playing," Self said. "He just didn't use good judgment."
Kansas has a lot of expectations entering this season, and it all starts tonight when the campaign tips off against Lousiana-Monroe.
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