No. 9 Kansas will face No. 5 Iowa State on Saturday, February 14, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The game is scheduled for a noon Central tip-off and will be broadcast on ABC.
Kansas comes into the matchup with a record of 19-5 overall and 9-2 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks are riding an eight-game winning streak after defeating No. 1 Arizona, 82-78, on February 9. This current streak is tied for the seventh longest in the country. With the win over Arizona, Kansas improved its record against ranked teams this season to 5-3 and is now 2-2 against top-10 opponents.
Iowa State holds a home record of 13-0 this season but is coming off a loss at TCU on February 10 by a score of 62-55.
In their all-time series, Kansas leads Iowa State with a record of 191-69. In games played at Hilton Coliseum, Kansas has a narrow edge at 28-25. Earlier this season, Kansas defeated then-No. 2 Iowa State, handing them their first loss with an 84-63 result in Lawrence.
Kansas currently ranks No. 13 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), which places them fourth among Big 12 teams. The team has seven Quad 1 wins—tied with Houston for second most in the conference and fourth nationally behind Arizona’s nine Quad 1 victories. Kansas also has one of the toughest schedules in college basketball, ranking third nationally and first among Big 12 schools.
The Jayhawks average 78 points per game and have outscored opponents by an average margin of just over ten points per contest. They collect an average of 39 rebounds per game with a positive rebound margin of plus three.
Kansas leads the Big 12 Conference in field goal percentage defense (38.3%), ranking sixth nationally, as well as three-point field goal percentage defense (29.6%), which stands nineteenth nationwide. The team also tops the conference—and is second nationally behind Georgia—in blocked shots per game (6.2).
Freshman guard Darryn Peterson leads Kansas in scoring at an average of 20.5 points per game and has made six appearances with at least twenty points scored this season. He is recognized on both the Wooden Award Late Midseason Watch List and Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Midseason Top Ten list.
Sophomore center Flory Bidunga recently earned spots on both the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year top ten list. Bidunga averages nearly fifteen points per game along with nine rebounds and leads the Big 12 in blocked shots (69), ranking second nationally in that category as well as field goal percentage (68.6%). He is currently unique among NCAA Division I players for averaging more than fourteen points, eight-and-a-half rebounds, and two-and-a-half blocks per game.
Senior guard Tre White follows Peterson and Bidunga with an average of fourteen points per contest while leading Kansas in three-pointers made (37), free throws made (97), and free throw percentage (85.8%).
Senior Melvin Council Jr., who scored twenty-three points against Arizona, averages fifteen-and-a-half points per league contest and has tallied fourteen-point-one points overall this season while leading his team with assists (123) and steals (20). His assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in the Big Twelve Conference.
Redshirt-freshman forward Bryson Tiller adds nine points per game for Kansas; he contributed eighteen points against Arizona after previously scoring a career-high twenty-one versus BYU earlier this year.
Other notable contributors include redshirt-sophomore guards Elmarko Jackson—who recorded nineteen steals—and Jamari McDowell as well as freshman Kohl Rosario and senior Jayden Dawson.
After playing Iowa State, Kansas will travel to Oklahoma State for its next matchup on Wednesday, February 18 at Gallagher-Iba Arena; that contest will air on Peacock at eight p.m Central time.
Historically dating back to1926,Kansas holds a significant advantage over Oklahoma State in their series matchups.
