Kansas Jayhawks vs. Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball: Probable starters, tipoff, TV
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas seeks sweep of Arizona at McKale Center in 3 p.m. matchup
- Arizona ranks No. 2, 11-2 in Quad 1 and on a three-game win streak
- Kansas leans on Bidunga’s rim protection and Peterson’s scoring (19.5 ppg)
Kansas, which defeated Arizona, 82-78, on Feb. 9 in Lawrence, will try to sweep the season series versus the Wildcats at 3 p.m., Central time on Saturday at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Here’s what you need to know before tipoff:
Arizona vs. Kansas: How to watch
When: 3 p.m., Central time, Saturday
Where: McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona
TV: ESPN
Radio: WHB (810) in Kansas City; ESPN Wichita (92.3 FM).
Probable Starters
KANSAS (21-7, 11-4)
F (No. 40) — Flory Bidunga, 6-10, Soph., 14.3 ppg
F (15) — Bryson Tiller, 6-11, Fr., 8.9
G (3) — Tre White, 6-7, Sr., 14.0
G (14) — Melvin Council Jr., 6-4, Sr., 13.5
G (22) — Darryn Peterson, 6-6, Fr., 19.5
ARIZONA (26-2, 13-2)
C (No. 13) — Motiejus Krivas, 7-2, Jr., 10.6 ppg
F (10) —Koa Peat, 6-8, Fr., 13.8
F (8) — Ivan Kharchenkov, 6-7, Fr., 10.2
G (0) — Jaden Bradley., 6-3, Sr., 13.5
G (5) — Brayden Burries, 6-4, Fr., 15.2
About No. 2 Arizona (26-2, 13-2): Former KU guard Evan Manning is in his first season as assistant coach on Tommy Lloyd’s staff at Arizona. Manning spent two seasons as the program’s director of operations. Manning has also worked at Army-West Point, Gonzaga and Wake Forest. …
Brayden Burries has made a team-leading 44 3-pointers in 118 attempts (37.3%). Anthony Dell’Orso has cashed 33 of 104 3s for 31.7%. As a team, the Wildcats have hit 157 of 444 3s for 35.4%. Opponents have hit 196 of 625 3s for 31.4%. …
Arizona has won three consecutive games, including Tuesday’s 87-80 decision at Baylor. The Bears, who led 41-34 at halftime, were outscored by the Wildcats 53-39 the final half. Prior to the Baylor game, Arizona defeated Houston 73-66 on Feb. 21 in Houston and defeated BYU 75-68 on Feb. 18 in Tucson. … Arizona is 8-2 against ranked teams. … Arizona is 11-2 in Quad 1 games, the second-most wins in the country (Duke, 12). KU has eight Quad 1 wins, second in the league…
The Wildcats have been outrebounded once this season (39-37 by Houston). … Koa Peat (lower leg) and Dwayne Aristode (illness) have missed the last three games. … Tommy Lloyd is 138-35 in five seasons at Arizona. … Arizona is 74-7 at home under Lloyd, tied for fifth-most home wins in the country over that span. The .914 home winning mark ranks eighth in the country. … Arizona is the second team since 2000 to win three regular-season games (Florida, UConn, Houston) against AP top-3 teams.
About No. 14 KU (21-7, 11-4): KU leads the all-time series 10-5, including a 2-1 mark in Tucson. KU has won three of the last four meetings including, a 82-78 decision on Feb. 9 at Allen Fieldhouse. Freshman guard Darryn Peterson missed the game in Lawrence because of flu-like symptoms. Flory Bidunga (23) and Bryson Tiller (18) combined for 41 points. Melvin Council Jr. had 23 points on 6-of-25 shooting. He was 10 of 11 on free throws. Burries had 25 points and Krivas 14 points and 15 boards. Jaden Bradley and Peat combined for 12 points on 4-of-19 shooting. …
KU won five of the first six meetings spanning from 1979 through 2001 After that, the teams went 4-4 from 2003 through 2025. … Arizona, which went on to win the NCAA title, ended KU’s season in the Sweet 16 on March 21,1997 in Birmingham, Alabama. The fourth-seeded Wildcats beat KU 85-82. That KU team finished 34-2. … KU beat Arizona 78-75 on March 29, 2003 in an Elite Eight game in Anaheim, California. … KU beat Arizona 83-80 in a Sweet 16 game on March 22, 1996 in Denver. …
Kansas is first in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage defense at 38.5%, which is fifth nationally; 3-point field goal percentage defense at 29.8%, which is 17th nationally and blocked shots at 6.0, which is fifth nationally. … Bidunga leads the Big 12 and is third nationally with 77 blocked shots. His 2.75 blocked shots per game rank first in the Big 12, third nationally. Bidunga leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage at 65.6%, which is fifth nationally. …
Kansas is 5-4 against ranked AP opponents, including 2-3 against opponents ranked in the top 10. Kansas is 137-85 against top-25 opponents under Bill Self and 56-37 against top-10 opponents. … KU is 18-3 when leading at halftime this season.
