There isn’t much the UConn men’s basketball team hasn’t touched under Dan Hurley. Back-to-back national titles, Big East regular-season titles, Big East Tournament championships, you name it, they’ve checked it off! But there’s still one thing they haven’t done yet, one record Dan Hurley keeps pushing his team to go out and break.

“This year’s team has a chance to do something that none of those great teams [of the past have done],” Hurley said on the UConn Daily YouTube channel. “Like, if you’re tired of hearing about Donovan Klingan and Stephon Castle and Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton, and you’re tired of hearing stories from your coach about what types of players they were and what types of teams those groups were, then go do something those teams didn’t do.”

What is Dan Hurley asking them to do?

Hard to believe, but UConn is 0–4 all-time against the Jayhawks. They’ve fallen in Kansas City, Hartford, Des Moines, and Lawrence, and it’s happened under three different coaches: Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie, and now Dan Hurley. Yes, a record even a Hall of Famer like Jim Calhoun couldn’t touch.

And now Dan Hurley is using that bit of history to fire up his 2025 team, pushing them to be the group that finally breaks the streak and writes its own chapter in the UConn record books.

UConn and Kansas last faced off on Dec. 1, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse, a showdown between the previous two national champions. Kansas had won the title in 2022, UConn in 2023, and the match lived up to its hype. The Huskies battled back from a 12-point deficit late in the first half and even grabbed a five-point lead midway through the second. But Kansas answered with an 11-0 run and closed it out, winning 69–65.

So when Hurley’s men walk into Allen Fieldhouse, they’ll have one clear mission in mind: to break the streak and beat the Jayhawks. And with Kansas potentially missing star guard Darryn Peterson, this might be UConn’s best chance yet to rewrite a piece of their history.

Can Dan Hurley’s men beat the Jayhawks?

Both teams enter the matchup having won four of their last five games. UConn is coming off a big win over 13th-ranked Illinois, while Bill Self’s squad arrives with momentum of its own after a trio of victories at the Players Era Festival, a run that has significantly raised expectations in Lawrence.

But there’s a reason UConn comes into this matchup as the No. 5 team in the country while Kansas sits at No. 21. The Huskies have simply been stronger in ranked matchups this season. UConn has wins over top teams like BYU and Illinois, while the Jayhawks have fallen short against heavyweights such as North Carolina and Duke.

But it’s also important to remember that the Jayhawks were without Darryn Peterson. The standout guard is dealing with a hamstring injury, yet there’s a real chance his comeback could happen against UConn, which could swing the game in Kansas’ favor

“He has practiced. He’s gone up and down,” Self said regarding the injury status of the freshman star. “The hesitancy I have is that before we announce anything, he has to test out medically from a strength and flexibility standpoint. And we’ll know that in the morning. So still no answer, but we’ll be able to say something definitively in the morning.”

If Peterson suits up, the Huskies won’t just have to handle his scoring threat; they’ll also be walking into one of the loudest, most unforgiving arenas in college basketball. Allen Fieldhouse can rattle even the most experienced teams, and playing your best becomes a lot tougher when the crowd feels like it’s shaking the floor beneath you.

Naturally, ESPN gives the Jayhawks a 52.7% chance to win. Do you feel the same? Let us know in the comments below!