Texas basketball closing its Big 12 chapter with Kansas, but rivals might continue playing

Texas will officially depart for the SEC on July 1, but that doesn’t mean men's basketball coach Rodney Terry wants to leave the Big 12 behind.

At least when it comes to facing Kansas, the Big 12’s basketball standard-bearer.

The Longhorns will make their last trip to Lawrence, Kan., for a conference game Saturday, but Terry said Thursday that he hopes to keep the series against Kansas alive as a nonconference meeting, most likely at a neutral site. Terry said he and Kansas coach Bill Self broached the topic in the summer, but both coaches have to juggle expanded schedules in the SEC and the Big 12 before turning any speculation into an actual schedule.

“We've had some discussions about it, for sure,” Terry said. “We talked about playing at a neutral site. We’ve played all the time over in Kansas City, (and) we'd love to bring them back around here, somewhere in Central Texas. It could be an obviously high-level game in this area and a high-level game back in their area as well.”

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How will Big 12, SEC schedules affect possible series?

Both teams will get some clarity on nonconference options once the Big 12 and SEC settle on conference scheduling and opponents. The SEC will expand to 16 teams next season when Texas and Oklahoma arrive but will retain 18 conference games. Currently, the 14-team SEC plays 18 conference games with each team facing three permanent opponents twice, 10 other teams at least once, and two teams on a rotating basis. Next season, each team will play two permanent opponents home and away, one rotating opponent home and away, and the 12 remaining teams in single contests either home or away.

The Big 12 will follow a similar pattern since it will expand to 16 teams with the arrival of Arizona, Utah, Arizona State and Colorado.

That means both Texas and Kansas will have a scheduling structure comparable to this season's since conference play probably won’t begin until the first week of January. But does that mean a nonconference game between Kansas and Texas will work, especially at a neutral site?

This season, Texas played LSU in a neutral-site game in Houston. Terry hinted that his program would like something similar with Kansas, with that game possibly being played in an NBA arena in Houston, Dallas or perhaps San Antonio. In return, Terry suggested a possible game at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., which annually hosts the Big 12 Tournament and serves as a home-away-from-home for the Jayhawks, whose Lawrence campus is less than an hour's drive from Kansas City.

Kansas would probably welcome a neutral site game in Texas to solidify a strong recruiting base in the state, especially after realignment. Multiple Texans have starred for the Jayhawks over the years, and this season’s team includes starters from Austin (KJ Adams) and San Antonio (Kevin McCullar Jr.).

But Kansas also usually plays a nonconference schedule loaded with fellow blue-blood programs, and that might not leave room for Texas. For example, this year’s nonconference schedule included a contest with Kentucky in Chicago, a meeting with Marquette in Hawaii and a cross-state showdown with Wichita State in Kansas City, Mo. In addition, Kansas regularly competes in the Big 12/Big East Battle, which meant a game against defending champion Connecticut this season.

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Rodney Terry: Kansas ‘one of the best places to play’ in college game

Regardless of the series’ future, Terry said he’ll enjoy a final Big 12 trip to Allen Fieldhouse. Saturday will be only Terry’s second visit to Kansas as the Texas head coach, but he spent more than a decade as an assistant to Rick Barnes and Chris Beard. That means lots of memories from the legendary court, including a taut loss by Texas’ 2003 Final Four team, which was led by point guard TJ Ford, and a 32-point performance by Kevin Durant in another narrow loss in 2007.

“It’s one of the one of the best places to play college basketball,” Terry said. “Going up to Lawrence and playing in Allen Fieldhouse, it doesn't get any better than that in college basketball. They've got great basketball fans. Their fan base is very knowledgeable about basketball, and they respect basketball at a high level. You know, we'd go in there with some really good teams and really good players. In that building, they (the Jayhawks) always play at an incredible level.”

Texas has played at a high level in its recent games with Kansas. The Longhorns have won five of the past seven meetings, including a 20-point win in last year’s Big 12 Tournament title game. But the two losses in the span both came at Allen Fieldhouse.

Saturday's game

Texas (17-9, 6-7) at No. 9 Kansas (20-6, 8-5), 5 p.m., ESPN, 1300

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry ponders future series with Kansas