KU basketball loses to No. 5 UConn at Allen Fieldhouse. Here are 3 takeaways
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UConn beat No. 21 Kansas 61-56 at Allen Fieldhouse despite intense environment.
- Bench guards McDowell and Jackson delivered instant offense and lifted KU.
- KU offense stalled without Darryn Peterson; team must create half-court scoring.
The decibel reader inside Allen Fieldhouse read 119.2.
The packed crowd inside Kansas basketball’s home venue gave the Jayhawks every advantage possible — from explicit chants toward UConn coach Dan Hurley to barking whenever KU guard Melvin Council had the ball.
It wasn’t enough. In a game that felt like a March Madness contest, Kansas fell just short.
No. 5 UConn defeated No. 21 Kansas 61-56 on Tuesday.
The Jayhawks had a chance to tie the score late, trailing 59-56 with 23.2 seconds left. But Jamari McDowell elected to go for a layup and was blocked by UConn forward Alex Karaban. After a quick KU foul, the Huskies sealed the game when Braylon Mullins hit both free throws.
Coach Bill Self said postgame that the first look on the play was for a 3, but that if it wasn’t there McDowell should drive to the basket.
“We didn’t have a lot of options, and we didn’t run it great,” Self said. “... He did what I asked him to do, it was just ... a really good defensive play.”
Tuesday night’s contest was a low-scoring defensive slugfest. Lead guard Melvin Council led KU in scoring with 12 points, adding three assists. Forward Flory Bidunga posted 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Jayhawks (6-3) suffered their first ever loss to the Huskies — they’re 4-1 in the all-time series.
Kansas played Tuesday without freshman phenom Darryn Peterson (hamstring strain), while UConn didn’t have leading scorer Tarris Reed Jr.
For the second straight game, redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell joined the starting lineup, replacing usual starter Kohl Rosario.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair. Kansas led 33-29 at the half, thanks to 10 points off the bench (eight from Elmarko Jackson). UConn finally regained the lead when Karaban hit a layup to put the Huskies up 45-44 with 10:47 left.
The Jayhawks never led again, but they did briefly roar back with a 5-0 run to cut the margin to 55-54 with 4:37 to play.
Up next for KU: The Jayhawks travel to Kansas City to play rival Missouri on Sunday.
Until then, here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s game:
Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell are trending up
Since participating in the Players Era tournament last week, KU redshirt-sophomore guards Jamari McDowell and Elmarko Jackson look like entirely different players.
They’re playing with a new level of confidence.
McDowell hit two consecutive 3-pointers early, which was enormous for a Jayhawks squad that has struggled to shoot from deep all season.
Shortly after Jackson came off the bench, he provided instant offense. First, he hit a 3-pointer, then on KU’s next possession made a difficult layup through contact. Finally, he hit another 3-pointer right after.
Jackson scored all eight points in an 8-1 KU run. The pair combined for 14 points on 5-for-8 (62.5%) shooting from the floor in the first half — and for 19 points (4-for-10 from 3) for the game.
One of the small benefits of Peterson not playing is that it has forced other Kansas players to step up. Jackson and McDowell have answered the call.
If both can provide instant bench offense when Peterson returns, it raises this team’s ceiling.
KU’s offense misses Darryn Peterson
It’s clear to see that KU’s offense is built around the freshman phenom.
KU’s half-court offense without Darryn Peterson can be ugly. The Jayhawks are prone to long scoring droughts. It happened in both halves, but it was particularly evident in the second half, when Kansas went four minutes without scoring.
In fact, the Jayhawks didn’t hit their second field goal in the second half until there was a little over nine minutes left. That field goal was a floater by guard Melvin Council.
The scoring drought allowed UConn to take the lead.
Without Peterson, KU lacks players who can create their own shot, and that’s badly needed when the half-court offense breaks down. Ideally, that’s when Bidunga could get some easy points in the post, but UConn did an excellent job of moving him away from his spots and denying entry passes.
If Peterson continues to miss time, the Jayhawks need to figure out how to score without just relying on transition points.
KU shot 18-for-51 (35.3%), including 27.8% on 3-pointers, for the game. Even so, Kansas led for more than 25 minutes of game time.
“I feel like just some opportunities we had to put up shots, we just didn’t hit them,” Jackson said. “Unfortunately, just how the game is, just ebbs and flows. It’s something that we’ll definitely work on this next practice that we have and getting ready for Missouri.”
Flory Bidunga has to step up
This is the second straight game in which Bidunga has underwhelmed on offense.
Similar to the game against Tennessee, the big man never looked comfortable Tuesday. Despite matching up against freshman big man Eric Reibe, who came into the matchup playing about 17 minutes per game, Bidunga didn’t take advantage of his matchup.
Even when Reibe had three fouls, Bidunga wasn’t the aggressor. UConn didn’t let Bidunga get comfortable in the post, and every time he got the ball, it seemed like he was struggling to finish at the rim.
He finished with 11 points, but shot 4-for-9 from the floor. To his credit, he had 12 rebounds, but the Jayhawks need a more assertive and efficient post player.
As a team, the Jayhawks were outscored 30-20 in the paint and shot 5-for-13 on layups, 1-for-1 on dunks.
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 10:42 PM.
