Welcome to our Historic Hoops series, where we offer a guide to historic places related (at least tangentially) to a televised men’s or women’s NCAA basketball matchup each week throughout the 2015-2016 season. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or simply stuck watching with your significant other, we’re here to assist your viewing experience with some historic context beyond the hardwood.

This week’s matchup: #3 Oklahoma vs. #2 Kansas

Time: Monday, Jan. 4 at 9:00 p.m. EST

Channel: ESPN

Venue: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas

Opening Tip: The New Year suddenly finds us in the thick of conference play, and it doesn’t get much better than this. Oklahoma comes to Lawrence boasting a perfect 12-0 record, while Kansas sits at 13-1 and #2 in the country. To top it off, the teams meet at one of the most raucous and historic venues in the college game. Kansas may be your idea of the middle of nowhere, but it’s the center of the college hoops universe this week.

Fast Break:

The history and legend of the Kansas basketball program is rivaled by only a few. The program began in 1898 with the arrival of James Naismith (who just happened to invent the game a few years prior) as a physical education instructor. To this day, Kansas ranks among the top programs in the country in most statistically significant categories, such as all-time wins and winning percentage.

The arena was built of more than 650,000 bricks and dedicated on March 1, 1955. The Kansas Jayhawks beat rival Kansas State 77-66 that night in front of more than 17,000.

Since then, Allen Fieldhouse has hosted major addresses and countless sporting events. Over the 25 seasons leading up to the current one, the Jayhawks have gone 353-26 in the venue.

Three Points:

• The University of Kansas was founded by a group of abolitionists who settled in the area in 1854 and were determined to see the territory enter the union as a free state. The university officially opened in 1866, less than a year after the Civil War ended.
• In August of 1863, pro-slavery fighters from Missouri raided the abolitionist community in Lawrence, burning the town and killing between 140 and 200 residents.
• The Old West Lawrence Historic District, near the center of town, offers a cross section of late-19th century Kansas architecture from Victorian and Italian Renaissance houses to utilitarian frontier structures.

Buzzer Beater: Though he invented the game and founded the program, James Naismith is the only Kansas basketball coach with a losing record.

And-1: #22 Cincinnati visits #17 Southern Methodist University at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan, 7 on ESPN. The arena has been the home of Mustangs basketball since 1956 and most recently completed a renovation in 2013.