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The Jayhawks defeated the No. 1 team in the AP poll at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time in school history
Kansas delivered a shocking 82-78 upset victory over No. 1 Arizona on Monday at Phog Allen Fieldhouse as the Wildcats lost for the first time this season. Melvin Council Jr. and Flory Bidunga combined to score 32 of Kansas’ 39 second-half points after it was announced just prior to tipoff that star guard and NBA Draft prospect Darryn Peterson would not play due to flu-like symptoms.
Freshman Bryson Tiller had another strong outing in a big moment and finished with 18 points and eight rebounds for the No. 9 Jayhawks. Tiller had his best game of the season last month against BYU when he scored 21 points, while Peterson missed a majority of the second half due to cramping.
Kansas (19-5, 9-2 Big 12) has won eight consecutive games since losing to West Virginia on the road last month. The Jayhawks are just a game behind Arizona for first place in the Big 12 standings and improved to 57-0 when playing at home on Mondays under coach Bill Self.
With the loss by the Wildcats, Miami (Ohio) is the final undefeated team remaining in the sport. Arizona (23-1, 10-1) was off to the best start in Big 12 history before Kansas’ victory.
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Motiejus Krivas was a star in the loss, gauntlet is ahead for Arizona
The star of the game on the other side was Arizona big man Motiejus Krivas. He finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and six blocks. Seven of Arizona’s 18 offensive rebounds came via Krivas. That number marked Arizona’s third-most offensive rebounds in a game, and the most since pulling down 19 against San Diego State in December.
Krivas is the first Arizona player with at least 10 rebounds and five blocks against a top-10 opponent since Jordan Hill in 2008.
As cliché as it sounds, Arizona won’t have much time to dwell on this loss. That’s because the Wildcats’ upcoming schedule is brutal. Arizona faces No. 16 Texas Tech, No. 22 BYU and No. 3 Houston during its next three games. Five of Arizona’s seven remaining regular-season games are against ranked opponents.
No Peterson, no problem?
Before it was announced that Peterson would miss this game, Kansas was a 3.5-point underdog before eventually closing as 5.5-point underdogs. Even without Peterson in the lineup, it didn’t matter. Kansas won this game with a collective effort from its starting lineup. Bidunga made plays on both ends of the floor. Council didn’t shoot well (6 of 25), but kept firing. Tiller had one of his best games in a Kansas uniform. Jamari McDowell, in Peterson’s absence, entered the starting lineup and scored 10 points.
Kansas is 9-2 without Peterson in the lineup, and 10-3 with him. This is Kansas’ first win in program history vs. an AP No. 1 opponent at Allen Fieldhouse. The upset doesn’t happen without a group effort.
Bracketology implications: Michigan expected to jump Arizona for No. 1 overall seed
This result will have serious implications for the CBS Sports Bracketology projections. After No. 1 overall seed Arizona suffered its first loss of the season, Michigan is projected to move up to the No. 1 overall seed in Tuesday’s updated projections. There is plenty of time for Arizona, Michigan, or another team to claim the top honor with Selection Sunday just over a month away, but this result is notable.
As for Kansas, the Jayhawks just secured perhaps the best win any team has in the country. And they did it without star Darryn Peterson in the lineup. In the next Bracketology projections, Kansas could move up to the No. 2-seed line. Kansas entered the week as a No. 3 seed.
Bracketology: Illinois’ loss to Michigan State continues revolving door for final No. 1 seed
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Jayhawks upset Wildcats in Phog Allen thriller
FINAL: No. 9 Kansas 82, No. 1 Arizona 78
No. 9 Kansas delivered an 82-78 upset win over No. 1 Arizona on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season despite star guard Darryn Peterson being ruled out less than 30 minutes before tipoff due to flu-like symptoms.
In Peterson’s absence, others in the lineup stepped up. The key in this game was the second-half performance by Kansas stars Melvin Council Jr. and Flory Bidunga. They combined to score 32 of Kansas’ 39 second-half points.
Kansas freshman Bryson Tiller had another strong outing in a big moment and finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Tiller had his best game of the season last month against BYU when he scored 21 points, while Peterson missed a majority of the second half due to cramping.
Kansas (19-5, 9-2 Big 12) entered the week as one of the hottest teams in the country. The Jayhawks have won eight consecutive games since losing to West Virginia on the road. Kansas is just a game out of first place in the Big 12 standings. The Jayhawks, with the win, improved to 57-0 when playing at home on Mondays under coach Bill Self.
With the loss, Miami (Ohio) is the final undefeated team remaining in the sport. Arizona (23-1, 10-1) opened the season with 23 consecutive victories and was off to the best start in Big 12 history.
Kansas and Arizona will play one more time later this month on Feb. 28 at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Arizona on upset alert
LATE 2H: No. 9 Kansas 73, No. 1 Arizona 67
With 3:54 remaining in regulation, No. 1 Arizona is on serious upset alert. The No. 9-ranked Jayhawks lead 73-67. Arizona is one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the sport. That number will be cut in half if this result holds.
Arizona is in a scoring drought
MID 2H: No. 9 Kansas 67, No. 1 Arizona 64
With 7:18 remaining, No. 9 Kansas leads No. 1 Arizona 67-64. The Jayhawks took their first lead of the game just minutes ago. Kansas has missed its last seven shots from the floor and hasn’t scored in nearly four minutes. That drought has allowed Kansas to come back in this game after trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half.
Kansas ahead for the first time tonight
MID 2H: No. 9 Kansas 65, No. 1 Arizona 64
For the first time in this game, Kansas has the lead. Kansas big man Flory Bidunga scored with 9:32 remaining in regulation and has a game-high 19 points.
Can Kansas get Council going?
MID 2H: No. 1 Arizona 62, No. 9 Kansas 58
There have been multiple instances this season in which Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. bailed out his team. Tonight, he has had a rough shooting performance. Council is 4 of 18 from the floor (1 of 3 from 3). He just scored right before the U12 Media Timeout to cut the deficit back to four points. If Kansas is going to pull off an upset, he will have to get hot down the stretch.
Tiller heads to the bench
Kansas freshman Bryson Tiller picked up his third foul and will head to the bench. He has a team-high 16 points in 25 minutes. Something to keep an eye on when he checks back in.
Hot start for the Wildcats
EARLY 2H: No. 1 Arizona 55, No. 9 Kansas 47
Arizona is off to a strong start in the second half against Kansas. The Wildcats stretched their lead to as many as 11 in the opening minutes thanks to five quick points from star freshman Brayden Burries. Arizona has made four of its first five field goals in the second half.
No. 1 Arizona leads No. 9 Kansas at halftime
HALF: No. 1 Arizona 45, No. 9 Kansas 42
No. 1 Arizona leads No. 9 Kansas 45-42 at halftime of what has been a thrilling first 20 minutes of action between Big 12 foes. The Wildcats led by as many as seven in the first half before Kansas chipped away at the deficit. Arizona has led wire-to-wire thus far.
“We didn’t play great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said on the ESPN broadcast. “We played wild.”
One of the biggest storylines leading up to this game was Kansas star Darryn Peterson — the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — facing off against the top-ranked team in the country. However, that never came to fruition, as Peterson was ruled out less than 30 minutes before tip-off due to flu-like symptoms.
In his absence, fellow freshman Bryson Tiller has stepped up. He scored a team-high 14 points in the first half after having just 11 points total in the last two games. Tiller scored 21 points last month against BYU when Peterson missed a majority of the second half due to cramping. Kansas guard Jamari McDowell, who is starting in Peterson’s absence, has 10 points.
Arizona is one of two remaining undefeated teams in Division I basketball. Miami (Ohio) is the only other team that has yet to suffer a loss. The Wildcats have been led by star big man Motiejus Krivas, who has eight points and nine rebounds at halftime. Arizona is winning the rebounding battle (26/17) and points in the paint (24/18).
Self is 26-5 in Allen Fieldhouse against teams ranked higher than his team. Kansas is also 56-0 at home on Mondays under him.
Allen Fieldhouse is rocking
LATE 1H: No. 1 Arizona 31, No. 9 Kansas 29
The Kansas crowd is coming alive. The Jayhawks have cut into the deficit to make this a 2-point game with six minutes remaining in the first half. Kansas has never led in this game.
Krivas extends Arizona’s lead
MID 1H: No. 1 Arizona 29, No. 9 Kansas 22
Krivas is up to eight points after scoring right before the U8 Media Timeout. The Arizona big man has eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks. As a team, Arizona has nine offensive rebounds, and five of them have come from Krivas. Kansas hasn’t scored in over two minutes after tying the game at 19-all.
Tiller providing a spark for Kansas
MID 1H: No. 1 Arizona 19, No. 9 Kansas 15
Kansas freshman Bryson Tiller has stepped up in the absence of Darryn Peterson. Tiller has a team-high eight points with three rebounds and a block. Tiller had a big-time outing against BYU last month when Peterson missed a majority of the second half due to cramping. Tiller was our Freshman of the Week last week.
Ranking college basketball’s best freshmen: Kansas’ Bryson Tiller earns Freshman of the Week honors
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Slow start by Kansas
EARLY 1H: No. 1 Arizona 10, No. 9 Kansas 4
Kansas has missed seven of its first nine shots during the first five minutes of action. No. 1 Arizona holds an early 10-4 lead behind six early points by Motiejus Krivas. Arizona already has four offensive rebounds, while Kansas has four rebounds total. The Wildcats are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country.
Here we go
Kansas wins the tip and we are underway.
Starting lineups for Kansas, Arizona
(9) Kansas
- Tre White (G)
- Jamari McDowell (G)
- Melvin Council Jr. (G)
- Bryson Tiller (F)
- Flory Bidunga (F)
(1) Arizona
- Jaden Bradley (G)
- Brayden Burries (G)
- Ivan Kharchenkov (F)
- Koa Peat (F)
- Motiejus Krivas (C)
Kansas star Darryn Peterson OUT vs. No. 1 Arizona
Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson will miss Monday’s marquee showdown against No. 1 Arizona with flu-like symptoms. Notably, Peterson wasn’t on Kansas’ injury report. Peterson has already missed 10 of Kansas’ 23 games this season due to hamstring/cramping issues. This will be Peterson’s 11th missed game of the season.
Peterson started to warm up with the team, but left the court and did not return.
Prediction for Kansas vs Arizona
This game has the potential to be one of the best of the entire season. It’s also an opportunity for Peterson to play against the consensus No.1 team. If Peterson plays 35+ minutes, the Jayhawks will pull off the upset and hand Arizona its first loss of the season. PICK: Kansas ML
Darryn Peterson’s historic season at Kansas
Peterson is on track to finish with the most points per game by a freshman in the history of Kansas basketball. Before this season, the previous record holder was Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Most PPG by a Freshman
- 2025-26 Darryn Peterson 20.5
- 2013-14 Andrew Wiggins 17.1
- 2016-17 Josh Jackson 16.3
- 2012-13 Ben McLemore 15.9
- 1984-85 Danny Manning 14.6
How Kansas has fared vs. the AP No. 1 team
Kansas at Home vs AP No. 1 All-Time
- Result
- 2026 Arizona ?
- 2003 Arizona L, 91-74
- 1989 Oklahoma L, 94-89 (OT)
- 1977 Kentucky L, 73-66
- 1974 Notre Dame L, 76-74
- 1962 Cincinnati L, 64-49
- 1953 Kansas St W, 80-66
Arizona’s historic start
Arizona enters this game 23-0. They’re off to one of the best starts in college basketball history. Here is some more context behind Arizona’s hot start, per CBS Sports Research:
Best Starts by Major Conference Schools
Last 30 Seasons
W-L Result
- 2014-15 Kentucky 38-0 L, Final Four
- 2004-05 Illinois 29-0 L, Nat’l Champ Game
- 2003-04 Stanford 26-0 L, Second Round
- 2013-14 Syracuse 25-0 L, Second Round
- 2010-11 Ohio St 24-0 L, Sweet 16
- 2025-26 Arizona 23-0 ?
Kansas is unstoppable on Mondays
Some stats from our CBS Sports Research Team about how Kansas has been dominant playing on Mondays at home under coach Bill Self.
- 60-game home win streak on Monday’s. Last loss vs. Iowa State in 2001.
- 56-0 at home on Mondays under Self
- Kansas is 10-1 this season at home
