No. 17 Kansas vs Davidson: Preview, game notes, and more

What: No. 17 Kansas vs. Davidson

Where: Lawrence, Kan. • Allen Fieldhouse (15,300)

When: Monday, December 22, 2025 • 7 p.m. (CT)

Television: ESPN+

Play-by-Play: Steven Davis

Analyst: Wayne Simien

Producer/Director: Curtis Lorenz

Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network

Webcast: KUAthletics.com/Radio

Play-by-Play: Brian Hanni

Analyst: Greg Gurley

Producer/Engineer: Steve Kincaid

TIPOFF

— No. 17 Kansas (9-3) closes out non-conference play by hosting Davidson (8-3) on Monday, Dec. 22. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 7 p.m. (Central) and the game will be televised on ESPN+.

— Kansas is coming off a 73-49 win against Towson on Dec. 16. With the win, KU is the only team in NCAA DI to be 9-3 or better for the past 20 seasons. Davidson is looking to rebound from a 68-63 loss to Temple on Dec. 18.

— Kansas leads the all-time series with Davidson, 2-1, and the Jayhawks won the last meeting, 89-71, on Dec. 17, 2010, in Kansas City, Missouri.

— Kansas leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense at 24.1 percent. KU also leads the Big 12, seventh nationally, in blocked shots per game at 6.3 and in field goal percentage defense (36.6%), which is eighth nationally.

— Sophomore Flory Bidunga leads the Big 12 with 29 blocked shots, and his 2.4 blocks per game are second in the Big 12 and 19th nationally.

— With its win against Towson, Kansas is 273-9 (96.8%) against unranked opponents in Allen Fieldhouse under Bill Self (since 2003-04).

— Since the 2019-20 season, Kansas is 121-19 (86.4%) in the month of December under coach Bill Self (since 2003-04). KU has won 29 of its last 33 games in the month of December.

— Kansas head coach Bill Self is 618-159 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 825-264 record. He is one of only four active coaches with 800 or more career wins, joining Rick Barnes, John Calipari, and Kelvin Sampson.

ABOUT KANSAS

No. 17 Kansas (9-3) is coming off a 73-49 win against Towson on Dec. 16. Through 12 games, KU is averaging 74.7 points per game and has a plus-11.2 scoring margin. Kansas pulls down 40.0 rebounds per contest with a plus4.7 rebound margin.

KU averages 14.8 assists, 4.8 steals, and 6.3 blocked shots per contest. KU leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense at 24.1%. KU also leads the Big 12 in blocked shots (6.3), which is seventh nationally, and in field goal percentage defense (36.6%), which is eighth nationally.

Freshman guard Darryn Peterson leads Kansas with a 19.3 ppg. He has made 11 threes in four games played this season.

Sophomore center Flory Bidunga has four double-doubles in his last six games after his 19 points and rebounds versus Towson (12/16). He scores 14.4 points per game and leads KU with 9.3 rebounds per outing. Bidunga leads the Big 12 with 29 blocked shots and his 2.4 blocks per game are second in the league and 19th nationally.

Senior guard Tre White is averaging 14.3 points per game, and his 6.9 rebounds per game are second on the team. White has 74 rebounds in his last nine games, which is 8.2 per contest.

Senior Melvin Council Jr. was named the Big 12 and national player of the week after his career-high 36 points at NC State (12/3), which included nine threes made which are the second most in KU history. Council averages 13.2 points per game leads KU with 58 assists. His 3.4 assistto-turnover ratio is fourth in the Big 12 and 34th nationally.

Redshirt-freshman forward Bryson Tiller (8.8 ppg) pulls down 5.8 rebounds per game and he has 45 boards in his last seven outings. Tiller has started the last nine games for Kansas.

Freshman Kohl Rasario (4.8 ppg, 10 threes) has started six games this season. Redshirt-sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson (4.0 ppg, one start) has made six threes this season.

Redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell (3.8 ppg) has started four games and has made 12 threes.

ABOUT DAVIDSON

Located in Davidson, North Carolina, Davidson is 8-3 this season after its 68-63 loss to Temple on Dec. 18. The Wildcats are coached by Matt McKillop, who is 56-52 in his fourth season at Davidson, his alma mater.

Davidson averages 75.2 points per game and has a plus-8.0 scoring margin. The Wildcats pull down 33.4 rebounds per contest with a plus-1.8 rebound margin. Davidson averages 8.6 threes made per game in addition to 13.9 assists, 6.8 steals and 3.4 block shots per outing.

Junior guard Josh Scovens leads Davidson in socring at 10.5 points per game. He pulls down 4.2 rebounds per contest and is tied for the team lead with 14 steals. Sophomore guard Roberts Blums is next in scoring at 9.6 points per game. He has made 14 threes.

Blums, redshirt-freshman guard Nick Coval (9.4 ppg, 9 3FGs), and redshirt-junior guard Hunter Adam (9.1 ppg) come off the bench. Adam leads Davidson with 21 threes made this season. Junior guard Sam Brown (8.7 ppg, 14 threes), junior guard Parker Friedrichsen (8.0 ppg, team-high 14 steals, 13 threes), and freshman guard Devin Brown (6.3 ppg, nine threes) are starters.

Other Davidson regulars include freshman forward/center Ian Platteeuw (5.6 ppg, team-leading 4.8 rpg), senior forward Sean Logan (4.0 ppg), junior forward JaQualon “JQ” Roberts (3.6 ppg), freshman guard RJ Greer (3.2 ppg), and sophomore forward Manie Joses (1.8 ppg, six starts).

THE KANSAS-DAVIDSON SERIES

Kansas leads the three-game series with Davidson, 2-1, with the first meeting in the 2008 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional final, March 30, 2008, with KU winning 59-57, advancing to the Final Four, and eventually winning its third NCAA title. KU won the last meeting, 89-71, on Dec. 17, 2016, in Kansas City, Missouri.

KANSAS LEADS, 2-1

03/30/2008 Detroit, Mich.*……………….W ………. 59-57

12/19/2011…..Kansas City, Mo. ……………. L…………74-80

12/17/2016…..Kansas City, Mo.%…………W ……….. 89-71
*NCAA Midwest Regional; %Jayhawk Shootout

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

Make Kansas 10-3 or better for the 12th-consecutive season and the 21st time in Bill Self’s 23 seasons at KU … Make the Kansas-Davidson series 3-1 in favor of Kansas … Make Kansas 6-1 in Allen Fieldhosue this season, 874-122 all-time in the venue, including 336-22 under Bill Self …
Make Kansas 274-9 (96.8%) against unranked opponents in Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self era … Make Bill Self 619- 159 while at Kansas, 826-264 all-time and 3-1 all-time against Davidson, all while at Kansas … Make Kansas 4-1 in the month of December and 122-19 in December under Bill Self … Make Kansas 2,424-912 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

Make Kansas 9-4 for the first time since the 2013-14 season when the Jayhawks were 9-4 … Tie the Kansas-Davidson series at 2-2 … Make Kansas 5-2 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 873-123 all-time in the venue, including 335-23 under Bill Self … Make Kansas 273-10 (96.5%) against unranked opponents in Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self era… Make Bill Self 618-160 while at KU, 825-265 all-time and 2-2 all-time versus Davidson, all while at KU … Make KU 2,423-913 all-time.

TOWSON LEFTOVERS

— Kansas is 9-3 or better for the 20th-consecutive season and the 22nd time in Bill Self’s 23 seasons at KU.

— With the win, Kansas is the only NCAA DI program to post a 9-3 or better record in each of the last 20 seasons, beginning in 2006-07.

9-3 or Better Seasons Since 2006-07 (as of 12/16/25)

Team 9-3 (or better) Seasons

KANSAS 20

Duke 19

Gonzaga 18

Baylor 17

Ohio State 17

Kansas won its second wire-to-wire victory against Towson this season. The other was against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on November 11, 2025.

— Kansas had 12 offensive rebounds. The Jayhawks have double-digit offensive rebounds in six of its last seven games after failing to have 10+ offensive rebounds in each of the first five games of the season.

— Kansas had four players in double figures with Bidunga (18), White (16), Council (15), and Tiller (11) for the sixth time this season.

— Kansas held Towson to an opponent season-low 27.5 percent from the field (19-of-69).

— Kansas is now 46-0 under Coach Self when it records 40+ rebounds and has nine or less turnovers.

— Sophomore Flory Bidunga scored 18 points on 7-8 from the field, marking his 10th game this season of 10 or more points, and 15th time in his career.

— Bidunga’s 10 rebounds mark his fourth-consecutive game with double-figure boards.

— Bidunga posted his fifth double-double of the season and seventh of his career.

— Bidunga recorded three blocked shots and has recorded three or more blocks in six games this season.

— Senior Tre White finished with 16 points on 5-10 shooting from the field, marking his 10th game this season in double figures, and 58th time in his career.

— White pulled down six rebounds and has now grabbed five or more rebounds in nine-consecutive games this season.

— White set a new career high with five assists.

— White went 2-4 from beyond the arc, and has recorded two or more threes five times this season, and 16 times in his career.

— White 4-5 from the free throw line and is 33-35 (94.3%) from the line in his last six games.

— Senior Melvin Council Jr. scored 15 points on 6-13 shooting from the field, marking his eighth game this season in double figures, and the 64th time in his career.

COUNCIL’S 36 POINTS AT NC STATE

— Senior guard Melvin Council scored a career-high 36 points on 13-27 shooting, including 9-15 from three-point range, in Kansas’ 77-76 overtime win at NC State. Here are some notables on his performance.

— His 36 points mark is tied for the fifth-highest points in the Bill Self era and was the 46th time a Jayhawk has scored 30 or more points in the Self era.

Council’s 27 shots were the most by a KU player since
Perry Ellis attempted 28 against Oklahoma (1/4/2016).

— His nine threes made rank second most in Kansas history, only trailing Terry Brown’s 11 versus NC State (1/5/1991).

— His nine threes are more than any other Big 12 player this season.

— Council tied his season high with seven rebounds.

— Council had four assists and no turnovers. The point guard has three games with no turnovers this season.

— Top 10 Scoring Games in the Bill Self Era(since 20023-24)

— Andrew Wiggins 41 at West Virginia (3.8.14)

— Elijah Johnson 39 at Iowa State (2.25.13)

— Jalen Wilson 38 at Kansas State (1.17.23)

— Ochai Agbaji 37 Texas Tech (1.24.22)

— Melvin Council Jr. 36 at NC State (12.13.25)

–Ben McLemore 36 West Virginia (3.2.13)

— Devonte’ Graham 35 vs. Syracuse (12.2.17)

— Devonte’ Graham 35 Toledo (11.28.17)

— Kevin McCullar Jr. 34 Yale (12.22.23)

— 33, 8x times, last by Hunter Dickinson vs. Arizona (3.8.25)

COUNCIL’S HONORS AFTER NC STATE PERFORMANCE

One day after being named Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week, senior Melvin Council Jr. picked up three national weekly honors for his performance against NC State (12/13). The senior guard was named national player of the week by NCAA March Madness and the Associated Press.

Additionally, Council was one of five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) for games of the week ending Sunday, Dec. 14. This is the second time Council has been named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week as he earned the honor on January 7, 2025, while at St. Bonaventure.

The Big 12 Player and Newcomer are Council’s first career Big 12 weekly awards, and the fourth time a Jayhawk has been named this season. KU’s Darryn Peterson (11/10) and Flory Bidunga (11/17, 12/1) were named to the Big 12 Starting Five earlier this season.

NCAA LEADING

Kansas leads NCAA DI in three-point field goal percentage defense at 24.1%. The three-pointer started in 1986-87 and the current 24.1% would rank KU’s best since in the inception of the stat.

Kansas 3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense (since 1986-87)

Season 3FG Defense% (Conference/NCAA rank)

2025-26 24.1 (1/5)

2012-13 30.3 (2/31)

2019-20 30.5 (3/51)

1998-99 30.5 (2/24)

1991-92 30.5 (1/??)

BIG 12 LEADING

KU leads the league in blocked shots per game at 6.3, which is eighth nationally and would rank fourth in the Bill Self era. Kansas also leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 36.6%, which is eighth nationally. Under Bill Self, since 2003-04, the current 36.6% ranks the second lowest.

Kansas Field Goal Percentage Defense Under Bill Self
Season FG Defense% (Big 12/NCAA rank)

2012-13 36.1 (1/1)

2025-26 36.6 (1/8)

2005-06 37.0 (1/1)

2006-07 37.6 (2/4)

2019-20 37.7 (1/3)

Kansas Blocked Shots Per Game Under Bill Self

Season Blocked Shots Per Game (Big 12/NCAA
rank)

2012-13 6.68 (2/17)

2006-07 6.47 (1/6)

2009-10 6.44 (2/7)

2025-26 6.30 (1/10)

2007-08 5.88 (1/13)