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

What: No. 17 Kansas vs. Towson

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

When: Tuesday, December 16, 2025 • 8 p.m. (CT)

Television: ESPN2

Play-by-Play: Roxy Bernstein

Analyst: Jon Crispin

Producer: Ben Ward

Director: Daniel Brindle

Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network

Webcast: KUAthletics.com/Radio

Play-by-Play: Brian Hanni

Analyst: Greg Gurley

Producer/Engineer: Steve Kincaid

TIPOFF

— No. 17 Kansas (8-3) will host Towson (6-4) on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse will be at 8 p.m. (Central), and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

— For the Towson contest, Kansas Athletics will recognize its TEAM Impact teammates, including JP Bemberger, who was a member of the KU men’s basketball team from 2020 until he passed in 2025 and was featured on ESPN multiple times. TEAM Impact, a national non-profit, pairs children facing serious illnesses/disabilities with college teams for life-changing, multi-year experiences.

— Kansas is coming off a 77-76 overtime win at NC State on Dec. 13. Towson lost at Big 12 foe UCF, 86-61, on Dec. 7 in its last outing.

— Kansas leads the all-time series with Towson, 3-0, and the Jayhawks won the last meeting, 88-58, on Nov. 22, 2013, in Lawrence.

— Kansas is 8-3 or better for the 20th-consecutive season and the 22nd time in Bill Self’s 23 seasons at KU.

— Kansas leads the Big 12 and is 10th nationally in blocked shots per game at 6.1 and in 3FG percentage defense (25.1%), which is fifth nationally. KU is second in the league in field goal percentage defense (37.6%), which is 13th nationally.

— Sophomore Flory Bidunga leads the Big 12 with 26 blocked shots this season and his 2.4 blocks per game are first in the Big 12 and 23rd
nationally.

— Kansas is 272-9 (96.8%) against unranked opponents in Allen Fieldhouse under Bill Self (since 2003-04).

— Since the 2019-20 season, Kansas is 120-19 (86.3%) in the month of December under coach Bill Self (since 2003-04). KU has won 28 of its last 32 games in the month of December.

ABOUT KANSAS

No. 17 Kansas (8-3) is coming off a 77-76 overtime win at NC State on Dec. 13. Through 11 games, KU is averaging 74.8 points per game and has a plus-10.0 scoring margin. Kansas pulls down 39.7 rebounds per contest with a plus5.3 rebound margin.

KU averages 14.8 assists, 4.6 steals, and 6.1 blocked shots per contest. KU leads the Big 12 blocked shots (6.1), which is 10th nationally, in 3FG Percentage Defense (25.1%), which is fifth nationally. KU is second in the Big 12 and 13th nationally in Field Goal Percentage Defense (37.6%),

Freshman guard Darryn Peterson leads Kansas with a 19.3 ppg. After missing seven contests from Nov. 11 to Dec. 2, Peterson scored 17 points in each of his two games back against Missouri (12/7) and at NC State (12/13). Peterson has made 11 threes this season.

Sophomore center Flory Bidunga has three double-doubles in his last five games. He scores 14.1 points per game and leads KU with 9.2 rebounds per outing. Bidunga leads the Big 12 in blocked shots per game at 2.4, which is 23rd nationally.

Senior guard Tre White is also averaging 14.1 points per game and his 7.0 rebounds per game are second on the team. White has 68 rebounds in his last eight games which is 8.5 per contest.

Senior Melvin Council Jr. is coming off a career-high 3 points at NC State (12/3) where his nine threes made are second most in KU history. Council averages 13.0 points per game leads KU with 57 assists. His 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth in the Big 12 and 30th nationally.

Redshirt-freshman forward Bryson Tiller (8.6 ppg) pulls down 5.8 rebounds per game and he has 39 boards in his last six outings. Tiller has started the last eight games for Kansas.

Freshman Kohl Rasario (5.0 ppg, nine threes) has started six games this season. Redshirt-sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson (4.2 ppg, one start) has made six threes this season.

Redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell (3.8 ppg) has started three games and has made 11 threes.

ABOUT TOWSON

Located in Towson, Maryland, Towson (6-4) is coming offan 86-61 loss at Big 12 foe UCF on Dec. 7. The Tigers are coached by Pat Skerry who is 241-214 in his 15th season at Towson and 265-239 in his 17th season overall. Towson is 0-3 in true road games this season.

The Tigers average 70.3 points per game with a plus-2.1 scoring margin. Towson pulls down 39.0 rebounds per outing with a plus-8.5 rebound margin. The Tigers also average 10.5 assists, 6.8 steals, and 3.0 blocked shots this season.

Junior guard/forward Tyler Tejada leads Towson in scoring at 18.8 points per game and in rebounding with a 5.7 per game average. Tejada’s 14 threes made are second on the squad as are his 29 free throws made and 17 assists.

Redshirt-junior guard Dylan Williamson (15.6 ppg) has made a team-high 25 threes and leads the team with 33 assists. Graduate guard Jack Doumbia Jr. (12.1 ppg) is second on the team with a 5.4 rebound average and he leads Towson with 14 steals. Freshman guard/forward Jaquan Womack (4.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and Jaiden Cole (4.7 ppg, 6 threes) come off the bench, while graduate guard Tyler Schmidt (4.3 ppg, 7 threes) and redshirt-guard/ forward Chike Ndefo (3.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) have started eight games each.

Other Towson regulars include redshirt-senior guard Ryan Conway (3.4 ppg), redshirt-senior forward Tyler Coleman (3.4 ppg, 9 steals), senior center Mor Seck (3.2 ppg, team-high 6 blocked shots), and sophomore forward Caleb Embeya (2.2 ppg, 9 steals, 9 starts).

THE KANSAS-TOWSON SERIES

Kansas is 3-0 all-time versus Towson in a series that started in 2006. All three meetings have appeared on neutral courts. KU won the first meeting, 87-61, at the Las Vegas Invitational on Nov. 19, 2006, and the second clash, 100-54, on Nov. 11, 2003, in the Maui Invitational. KU won the last meeting, 88-58, on Nov. 22, 2013, in the Battle4Atlantis on-campus game in Lawrence.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

Make Kansas 9-3 or better for the 20th-consecutive season and the 22nd time in Bill Self’s 23 seasons at KU … Make the Kansas-Towson series 4-0 in favor of Kansas … Make Kansas 5-1 in Allen Fieldhosue this season, 873-122 all-time in the venue, including 335-22 under Bill Self … Make Kansas 273-9 (96.8%) against unranked opponents in Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self era … Make Bill Self 618- 159 while at Kansas, 825-264 all-time and 4-0 all-time against Towson, all while at Kansas … Make Kansas 3-1 in the month of December and 121-19 in December sunder Bill Self … Make Kansas 2,423-912 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

Make Kansas 8-4 for the first time since the 2005-06 season when the Jayhawks were 8-4 … End a Kansas three-game winning streak against Towson and make the series 3-1 in favor of KU … Make Kansas 4-2 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 872-123 all-time in the venue, including 334-23 under Bill Self … Make Kansas 272-10 (96.1%) against unranked opponents in Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self era Make Bill Self 617-160 while at KU, 824- 265 all-time and 3-1 all-time versus Towson, all while at KU … Make KU 2,422-913 all time.