No. 9 Kansas Knocks Off No. 1 Arizona in Thrilling 82-78 Finish To End Wildcats’ Undefeated Season

In the biggest game of the season for Kansas, the 9th-ranked Jayhawks used a second-half offensive surge to beat the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats behind the dynamic play of Melvin Council Jr. and Flory Bidunga.

Jayhawks Defense Tightens and Offense Explodes In Win

There haven’t been any answers as to how to beat the Wildcats this season, but the Jayhawks may have finally cracked the code on Arizona. Much of that code cracking came via the duo of Council Jr. and Bidunga, who both led the way for the Jayhawks on both ends of the floor. Council Jr. finished with 23 points despite shooting a rough 6-of-25 from the floor. Bidunga dropped a huge double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds, while also swatting 3 shots to strengthen his Defensive Player of the Year case.

Kansas would also receive some much-needed support from backup Guard Jamari McDowell, who would start in place of star freshman Darryn Peterson, who would miss last night’s game due to sickness. McDowell had 10 points and 6 rebounds in a great outing.

The biggest difference in the game came in the latter part of the second half, as the Jayhawks’ defense effectively closed off the paint, which forced Arizona to take tough contested shots down the stretch.

Despite getting outrebounded and outscored by Arizona in both paint points and rebounds, the Jayhawks made up the difference in the turnover department. Kansas forced 13 turnovers off the Wildcats while also scoring 15 points off of those turnovers. That fast pace played to Council Jr’s strength, as he punished Arizona in the open court for 8 fastbreak points.

Brayden Burries Stars for Arizona as Jayden Bradley and Koa Peat Get Shut Down

While Arizona prides itself on being a fantastic second-half team, the typical late burst from the Wildcats never materialized in this one. That lack of burst was due to the poor performances from Arizona’s star players, Jayden Bradley and Koa Peat, who had their worst outings of the season. Bradley and Peat combined for 12 points on a dreadful 4-of-19 shooting.

With Bradley and Peat going cold from the floor, the Wildcats looked to star freshman Brayden Burries to serve as the heartbeat of the offense. Burries delivered on that despite the loss, as he finished with a game-high 25 points to try to pull out the win.

The Wildcats’ offense operated on fairly good efficiency, shooting 44% from the field in the loss. The main issue for Arizona came in the form of an 11-2 Kansas run around the 12-minute mark of the second half, which gave the Jayhawks their first lead of the game and turned the Allen Fieldhouse crowd up to a deafening pitch.

Arizona’s Loss Opens the Door For a Much Tighter Big 12 Title Race

Following the game, the Big 12 regular-season title is a four-team race. Of course, that was to be expected to be the case, given how loaded the conference has been this season. This win puts Kansas right on the Wildcats’ heels for the top spot in the Big 12, as they move to 9-2 in Big 12 play with one more game to play against Arizona this season. For the Wildcats, this loss puts them in a tie with No. 3 Houston for 1st-place in the Big 12.

In case you were wondering how close this year’s battle for the Big 12 title will be, the top four teams, which are Arizona, Houston, Kansas, and Iowa State, will all play each other over the course of this month. In other words, if you haven’t watched a Big 12 game this season, you might want to tune in over the next few weeks.