The Utah Utes defeated Kansas a year ago. Rematch is Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU hosts Utah seeking redemption after a 74-67 loss in Salt Lake City.
- Utah relies on scorers Terrence Brown and Don McHenry to attack KU.
- Bill Self may expand bench minutes before marquee game against Arizona.
The Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team traveled to the state of Utah in mid-February of the 2024-25 season hoping to claim much-needed victories against Utah and BYU in a four-day span.
It was speculated that a pair of wins — first in Salt Lake City against the Utes, then in Provo against the Cougars — just might energize a KU unit off to a 17-7 start (8-5 in Big 12 play) at the time.
Oops.
A mediocre Utah team (13-11, 5-8 entering the game) tripped the the Jayhawks 74-67 on Feb. 15, 2025 at Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. BYU (17-8, 8-6 entering the game) completed the sweep by annihilating the Jayhawks 91-57 on Feb. 18 at Marriott Center in Provo.
This year’s KU team, which last Saturday avenged last year’s loss to BYU, now has a chance at redemption against the Utes on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Tipoff for the game between No. 11-ranked KU (17-5, 7-2) and unranked Utah (9-13, 1-8) is 1:30 p.m. inside KU’s tradition-rich building. It will be shown live on FOX.
“Considering we have one guy playing that game that’s (still) on our team ... I’ll show them maybe video of how they attacked us and what we tried to do last year, but this team is so different. Their team is so different Everybody’s so different year to year now that we won’t talk about revenge,” KU coach Bill Self said Thursday. “But we will talk about how they handled us last year and certainly we can’t let that happen again.”
KU sophomore forward Flory Bidunga is the only current member of KU’s team who played in the Utah game last year. He scored eight points on 2-of-4 shooting (4-of-7 from line) with four rebounds in 20 minutes. Junior forward Keanu Dawes, who had two points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes, is the only current Utah player to have participated in that game.
This year’s Utah team is led by guards Terrence Brown and Don McHenry. Brown, a 6-3 junior transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson, averages 21.4 points a game on 45.5% shooting. He’s made 29 of 81 3’s for 35.8% with 87 assists to 52 turnovers. McHenry, a 6-2 senior transfer from Western Kentucky, averages 18.1 points on 45.4% shooting. He’s 56-of-138 from 3 for 40.6%.
“We get a chance to obviously play against two guys this weekend that have combined for 40 (actually 39.5 points a game) from the perimeter,” Self said, noting KU’s two leading scorers (Darryn Peterson, 21.1 ppg; Tre White and Bidunga each 14.5 ppg) do not combine for 40.
“Brown is a natural scorer. He can score off the catch and he’s got range, but he still drives the ball and he’s got a good in between game,” Self said. “And you’re going to have to guard him. You’re going to have to guard ball screens in certain ways with he and McHenry, for sure, because they can definitely score behind it.”
With a game against No. 1 Arizona on tap for Monday night at Allen, it might tempt Self to play his bench more than usual against Utah, a team whose only Big 12 win was at home to TCU on Jan. 17. The Utes have dropped four in a row and nine of 10. KU has won six in a row since a loss at West Virginia dropped KU to 1-2 in the league.
KU freshman guard Kohl Rosario played eight minutes in KU’s win Monday at Texas Tech after playing one minute total in five of the previous six games. The freshman guard had one rebound and one assist. He was 0-for-2 from 3 and didn’t score.
“It’s really important for anybody that’s not had the opportunities that he probably wished he was having ... because we went for a period of time where we played Jayden (Dawson) and didn’t play Kohl,” Self said. “But I think Kohl’s attitude and the way he plays in games from an effort standpoint, is the exact same way he plays in practice.
“I still believe it’s going to happen. He’s going to make some shots. He’s a good shooter. He shot it really well the last week or 10 days in practice. It’s just a matter of time he’s going to make them. The thing about it is, with some players before they get to college, you can take five or seven shots to find a rhythm, because it’s OK to be a volume guy in high school. In college you don’t have that opportunity to be a volume guy if you’ve got other guys on your team that can actually do it.
“So it’s a different situation for a lot of guys coming in that were scorers or shooters, that maybe instead of getting 12 looks a game, you’re getting two, and you got to make one or two. It’s a little bit different pressure, but he’s handling everything well. And to the question about the bench, Kohl, is very important to us getting production off the bench.”
Monday’s KU’s Arizona game will tip at 8 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. Arizona, 22-0 overall and 9-0 in the league, will play host to Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. Central Time on Saturday.
