No. 11 Kansas vs. Utah: Preview, game notes, and more
What: Utah at No. 11 Kansas
Where: Lawrence, Kan. • Allen Fieldhouse (15,300)
When: Saturday, February 7, 2026 • 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Television: Fox
Play-by-Play: Tim Brando
Analyst: Donny Marshall
Producer: Brad Weimer
Director: Dustin Denti
Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network
Webcast: KUAthletics.com/Radio
Play-by-Play: Brian Hanni
Analyst: Greg Gurley
KU IS A DIFFERENT SQUAD SINCE TEAM MEETING
No. 11-ranked Kansas (17-5; 7-2) opened up Big 12 play with two straight losses on the road. However, since losing at West Virginia on January 10, Bill Self‘s squad has rattled off six straight wins, including three on the road.
During that stretch, Kansas, which plays host to Utah on Saturday, has victories over No. 2 (ranking at the time) Iowa State, Baylor, Colorado (road), Kansas State (road), No. 13 (ranking at the time) BYU, and at No. 13 (ranking at the time) Texas Tech.
During his weekly press conference on Thursday afternoon, Self was asked if he’s noticed a difference in his team following a team meeting after the road loss at West Virginia.
“Yeah, we’re playing better,” said Self on Thursday afternoon. “The guys are seeming to enjoy it more. I think that attitudes have been good. I don’t think they were ever bad, but we were just kind of blah, and I think we certainly showed more energy.
“So, and winning is more fun than not winning, so probably a combination of all those things,” he added.
TIPOFF
— No. 11 Kansas (16-5, 6-2) returns home to host Utah (9-13, 1-8) on Saturday, Feb. 7. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 1:30 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised on FOX.
— Kansas won its sixth-straight game with a 64-61 win at No. 13 Texas Tech on Feb. 2, on ESPN Big Monday. KU’s six-game winning streak ties for the 17th longest nationally. Utah is looking to end a four-game losing streak after its 71-63 loss to Arizona State on Feb. 4.
— Kansas leads the all-time series with Utah, 2-1, but the Utes won the last meeting, 74-67, in Salt Lake City on Feb. 15, 2025.
— Kansas is No. 12 in the NET, which is fourth in the Big 12. KU’s strength of schedule is No. 3, which is first in the Big 12, and only trails (1) Alabama and (2) Auburn.
— Kansas leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 37.9%, which is fifth nationally, three-point field goal percentage defense at 29.4%, which is 16th nationally, and blocked shots at 6.0, which is fourth nationally.
— Sophomore Flory Bidunga leads the Big 12 and is sixth nationally, with 58 blocked shots, and his 2.6 blocked shots per game are also first in the Big 12 and sixth nationally. Bidunga also leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 67.7%, which is sixth nationally. At 14.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, and 2.6 bpg, Bidunga is the only player in NCAA Division I to average more than 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.
— Kansas head coach Bill Self is 626-162 in his 23rd season at KU. Last season, Self became Kansas’ all-time winningest coach, surpassing Phog Allen, who was 590-129 in 36 seasons on the KU sidelines. Self is in his 33rd season overall with an 833-267 record. He is one of only four active coaches in NCAA D1 with 800 or more career wins, joining Rick Barnes, John Calipari, and Kelvin Sampson.
ABOUT KANSAS
No. 11 Kansas (17-5, 7-2) won its sixth-straight game at No. 13 Texas Tech, 64-61, on ESPN Big Monday, Feb. 2. KU’s six-game winning streak ties for the 17th longest in NCAA D1 and is KU’s longest winning streak of the season. KU is averaging 78.1 points per game and has a plus-10.5 scoring margin. KU pulls down 39.0 rebounds per contest with a plus-3.4 rebound margin.
KU averages 15.1 assists, 5.4 steals, and 6.0 blocked shots per contest. KU leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 37.9%, which is fifth nationally, and three-point field goal percentage defense at 29.4%, which is 16th nationally. KU also leads the Big 12 in blocked shots (6.0), which is fourth nationally behind Georgia (7.1), UC Irvine (6.2), and Syracuse (6.1).
Freshman guard Darryn Peterson, the Jan. 19 Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, leads Kansas with a 21.1 scoring average. He has six games of 20 or more points and has made 35 threes in 12 games played this season. His 35 threes are second most on the Kansas team.
Senior guard Tre White has five double-doubles on the season and is next in scoring at 14.5 points per contest. White leads Kansas with 37 threes made, 93 free throws made, and an 85.3 free throw percentage, which ranks fifth in the Big 12.
Sophomore center Flory Bidunga is 70-for-90 (77.8%) from the field in his last 11 games. Recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, Bidunga scores 14.5 points per contest and leads KU with 8.9 rebounds per outing. Bidunga has seven double-doubles this season, including two in his last five games. He leads the Big 12 with 58 blocked shots, which is sixth nationally, with 2.6 blocks per game, which is sixth nationally, and with a 67.7 field goal percentage, which is sixth nationally. At 14.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, and 2.6 bpg, Bidunga is the only player in NCAA Division I to average more than 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.
Senior Melvin Council Jr. is averaging 15.1 points per game in league games and 13.8 ppg overall. He leads KU with 111 assists and 18 steals. Council is fourth in the Big 12, 20th nationally, with a 3.36 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Redshirt-freshman forward Bryson Tiller (9.0 ppg) is coming off a career-high 10 points at Texas Tech, which followed a career-high 21 points versus BYU (1/31). He made three threes and pulled down seven rebounds against BYU. Tiller is second on the team with 30 blocked shots and pulls down 6.0 rebounds per game. He has started the last 19 games for KU.
Redshirt-sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson (4.7 ppg) has 17 steals. Jackson scored a career-high 19 points at Kansas State (1/24). Redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell (3.9 ppg, 22 threes) has started six games. Freshman Kohl Rosario (3.9) has made 13 threes this season, while senior guard Jayden Dawson (2.2 ppg) has made seven threes this season.
ABOUT UTAH
Located in Salt Lake City, Utah (9-13, 1-8) is looking to end a four-game losing skid after its 71-63 loss to Arizona State on Feb. 4. Utah is coached by Alex Jensen, who is in his first season as a head coach with a 9-13 record.
Utah averages 78.8 points per game. The Utes pull down 34.7 rebounds per contest and average 8.5 three-point field goals per game while shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc, 46.0 percent overall. Utah also averages 14.0 assists, 5.8 steals and 3.5 blocked shots per game.
Junior guard Terrance Brown leads Utah with 21.4 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 12th nationally. Brown leads Utah with 87 assists, 39 steals, and 119 free throws made. Fifth-year guard Don McHenry (18.1 ppg) has made a team-high 56 threes, while junior forward Keanu Dawes (12.1 ppg) leads the team with a 9.0 rebounds per game average, which is fourth in the Big 12. Junior forward
Seydou Traore (5.4 ppg) and fifth-year forward James Okonkwo (2.8 ppg) round out the Utah starters. Traore is second on the team with 24 steals, while Okonkwo is second on the team with 13 blocked shots. Other Utah regulars include freshman forward Kendyl Sanders (5.4 ppg, 10 blocks), junior forward Josh Hayes (3.3 ppg, team-high 24 blocks), and freshman guard Obomate Abbey (2.9 ppg).
THE KANSAS-UTAH SERIES
Kansas leads the overall series with Utah, 2-1, but the Utes won the last meeting, 74-67, on Feb. 15, 2025, in Salt Lake City. This will be the first meeting between the schools in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 1-2 all-time versus Utah, 1-1 while at Kansas.
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Kansas leads the overall series with Utah, 2-1, but the Utes won the last meeting, 74-67, on Feb. 15, 2025, in Salt Lake City. This will be the first meeting between the schools in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 1-2 all-time versus Utah, 1-1 while at Kansas.
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Make Kansas 17-6 and ending a KU six-game winning streak… Make Kansas 7-3 in Big 12 play … Tie the Kansas-Utah all-time series at 2-2 … Make Kansas 9-2 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 878-123 all-time in the venue, including 341-23 under Bill Self … Make Bill Self 626-162 while at KU, 833- 267 all-time and 1-2 all-time versus Utah, 1-3 all-time versus Utah … Make KU 2,431-915 all time.
