Probable starters & how to watch KU Jayhawks vs. Syracuse in Players Era event
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas meets Syracuse at Players Era; KU seeks neutral-site momentum with win.
- KU dominated Notre Dame with 44 rebounds, only nine turnovers and balanced scoring.
- Syracuse enters 4-1; Donnie Freeman sidelined and Starling listed on preseason all-ACC.
Kansas basketball, which defeated Notre Dame in the first round of the Players Era tourney, will meet Syracuse at 2:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know before tipoff.
Kansas vs. Syracuse: Game details
When: 2:30 p.m. Central, Tuesday
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas)
TV/streaming: TNT
Betting line: Kansas is a 4.5-point favorite.
Probable starters
Kansas (4-2)
F (No. 40) — Flory Bidunga, 6-10, Soph., 16.7 ppg
F (15) — Bryson Tiller, 6-11, Fr., 8.4
G (3) — Tre White, 6-7, Sr., 14.3
G (14) — Melvin Council Jr., 6-4, Sr., 9.2
G (7) — Kohl Rosario, 6-6, Fr., 6.5
Syracuse (4-1)
F (No. 42) — William Kyle, 6-9, Sr., 10.2 ppg
F (5) — Tyler Betsey, 6-8, Soph., 9.5
G (2) — J.J. Starling, 6-4, Sr., 7.3
G (4) — Nate Kingz, 6-5, Sr., 8.6
G (11) — Naithan George, 6-3, Jr., 11.4
About Kansas (4-2)
KU is 4-2 or better for the 20th consecutive season and 22nd time in Bill Self’s 23 years at KU. … KU is 1-1 in neutral site games. .. Self is 613-158 while at Kansas, 820-263 all-time. … KU had 44 rebounds and just nine turnovers in a first-round Players Era tourney win over Notre Dame. KU is 43-0 in the Self era when it has 40+ rebounds and less than 10 turnovers. …
Kansas on Monday had four players score in double figures for the second game this season — the other was against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. … Kansas (eight blocked shots vs. ND) has recorded at least eight blocks in three of six games. Kansas is one of seven schools that has three games with at least eight blocked shots this season (Florida Atlantic, Georgia, Seton Hall, UC Irvine, Utah Valley, Virginia). …
Kansas outrebounded Notre Dame, 44-34. It’s the fourth time this season that Kansas has out rebounded its opponent by 10 or more. … Bryson Tiller, Flory Bidunga and Tre White each finished with nine rebounds. That marks the first time since March 5, 2022 versus Texas (Jalen Wilson, David McCormack and Christian Braun) that Kansas had three players with at least nine rebounds apiece. … KU has a 3-3 record against Syracuse in a series that started in the 1968-69 season. …
Flory Bidunga has scored in double figures in five of six games this season and 10 times in his career. … Bidunga is the first Big 12 player since Baylor’s Ekpe Udoh (March 28, 2010 vs. Duke) to have at least 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a game. Bidunga is the second player nationally to do it this season, joining Michigan’s Aday Mara. … Tre White has grabbed eight or more rebounds in three consecutive games. … Melvin Council played a season high 38 minutes vs. the Irish, the third game this season where he has played over 30 minutes. He’s played 30 or more minutes 10 times in his career.
About Syracuse (4-1)
Syracuse, which went 14-19 a year ago, is off to a 4-1 start. The unranked Orange fell to Houston, 78-74, in overtime on Monday in the first round of the Players Era tourney. Syracuse has defeated Binghamton (85-47), Delaware State (83-43), Drexel (80-50), Monmouth (78-73). … Five Syracuse players scored in double digits versus Houston. Tyler Betsey led the way with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting (4-of-8 from 3). …
Syracuse sophomore forward Donnie Freeman will not play in the tourney because of an unspecified lower body injury, the team announced Monday. According to syracuse.com, he is in Las Vegas and will be reevaluated when the team returns to Syracuse later this week. …
Syracuse was picked to place ninth in the 18-team ACC in the league’s preseason poll. … Senior guard J.J. Starling earned second-team preseason all-ACC mention. He was voted 2025-26 Preseason All-ACC Second Team by a panel of conference media. Starling averaged 17.8 points and 34.6 minutes per game a year ago after starting in all 26 contests he played in. Starling missed seven games with an injury. …
William Kyle had a career-high six blocks, tied his collegiate best with 13 rebounds and added eight points in the win over Drexel. … The Orange posted 10 dunks against Binghamton on Nov. 3. It represented the most Syracuse slams in a game since totaling 13 on Dec. 8, 2012 versus Monmouth. Kyle had six dunks in the game, most by a Syracuse player since Jesse Edwards had seven versus Miami on January 5, 2022. … Coach Adrian Autry is 38-32 in three seasons coaching his alma mater. He was selected to replace his mentor, Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, who held the post for 47 years.
