Few teams in college hoops are hotter than Kansas right now, but the No. 9 Jayhawks may have to ramp up their game even more Saturday when they play No. 5 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa.
Kansas coach Bill Self’s club has spent all season trying to find its identity and somehow keep Darryn Peterson, a likely lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, healthy and on the court as well.
In their last outing on Monday in the finale of a two-game homestand, the Jayhawks (19-5, 9-2 Big 12) discovered they could still win a massive game with Peterson on the bench, as he was ruled out with flu-like symptoms for their big tilt with top-ranked Arizona.
Short-handed, Self’s group went out and did the seemingly impossible — knocking off the Wildcats, winners of their first 23 contests — in an 82-78 thriller to record its eighth consecutive victory.
Big man Flory Bidunga was a key contributor, notching a double-double in a 23-point, 10-rebound performance. He shot 8-for-11 from the floor.
The Wildcats were ahead by as many as 11 points and led 71% of the game between the Big 12 powers, but Kansas sank all but four of its 25 free throws while the visitors made just 8 of 14 — a 13-point margin.
Bidunga, who produces 14.9 points per game on 68.6% field-goal shooting and team highs in average rebounds (nine) and blocked shots (2.8), made up for the absence of Peterson (20.5 points, 41.9% from deep).
“They have size, they’re strong,” Bidunga said after preserving the win with a swat of Arizona freshman star Brayden Burries’ try in the final seconds. “They got us beat (in) you know, the first half, I would say so. But we came out in the second half and then fought even harder.”
The Cyclones (21-3, 8-3) will be licking their wounds a bit after dropping Tuesday night’s 62-55 decision at TCU, snapping their five-game winning streak and allowing Kansas to stand alone in third place by one game. Arizona and No. 3 Houston are both 10-1 in conference play.
Perhaps worse than the loss to the Horned Frogs was the way it unfolded.
Iowa State led 55-50 following Nate Heise’s layup with 2:38 left, but the visitors would not score again. A 7 1/2-point underdog, TCU finished the upset on a 12-0 run.
The Cyclones did not shoot well, draining just 5 of 23 (21.7%) from distance in their second-worst showing thus far.
Another glaring problem was ball security: They committed 17 turnovers, their second-highest total.
“For us, we take so much pride taking care of the basketball, but it’s got to be something that really matters to us,” said coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team is 13-0 at home. “We can’t have turnovers at a key part in the game. You know with the veteran guys we have out there and again, our guys really care, they’re about the right things, they do the hard work.”
Milan Momcilovic leads Iowa State with 18.4 points, while Joshua Jefferson scores 17 and grabs 7.7 boards.
Jefferson, a senior forward, was productive all around in the loss, notching 12 points, nine assists, eight boards, three steals and two blocks in 38 minutes.
