No. 14 Kansas to Host Kansas State in Dillons Sunflower Showdown Saturday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 14 Kansas (21-9, 11-6) concludes its regular season by playing host to Kansas State (12-18. 3-14) in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 7. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse is set for 1 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on CBS.

Kansas will honor six senior players and one senior manager for Senior Day, March 7 versus Kansas State. The players include (0) Nginyu "Gee" Ngala, (1) Jayden Dawson, (3) Tre White, (12) Wilder Evers, (14) Melvin Council Jr., and (25) Justin Cross. Abby Patterson is the senior manager.

Kansas is coming off a 70-60 loss at Arizona State on March 3. Kansas State ended a three-game losing streak with a 65-63 win against West Virginia on March 3.

Kansas enters the regular-season finale tied with Iowa State for fourth in the Big 12 standings. Kansas will enter the Big 12 Tournament, March 10-14, as either the third, fourth or fifth seed.

The Kansas leads the series with Kansas State, 204-97, including a 54-18 record in Allen Fieldhouse. Beginning in 2006, KU has won the last 19 meetings with Kansas State in Allen Fieldhouse. Earlier this season, Kansas defeated Kansas State, 86-62, on Jan. 24, in Manhattan.

Beginning in 1983-84 under head coach Larry Brown, Kansas has not lost a home finale which is a span of 42 seasons.

Kansas is 139-25 (84.8%) following a loss in the Bill Self era (2003-04 to present), including 7-1 this season.

Through games of March 4, Kansas' strength of schedule is first in the NCAA D1. In the Bill Self era, Kansas has ranked first at season's end six times - 2005, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, and 2023 - and in the top five 10 times.

Kansas is No. 19 in the NET, which is fifth in the Big 12. KU's eight Quad 1 wins are tied for second most in the league, Arizona is first with 14, and tied for sixth nationally.

KU is averaging 75.6 points per game and has a plus-6.8 scoring margin. KU pulls down 38.6 rebounds per contest.

KU averages 14.4 assists, 5.5 steals, and 5.9 blocked shots per contest. KU leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 38.5%, which is fifth nationally, and three-point field goal percentage defense at 29.8%, which is 17th nationally. KU also leads the Big 12 in blocked shots (5.9), which is sixth nationally.

Freshman guard Darryn Peterson, who is on the Wooden Award Late Midseason Watch List (1 of 20), the Naismith Trophy Late-Season list (1 of 30) and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 list, leads Kansas with a 19.5 scoring average. After his 24 points at Arizona (2/28), he has eight games of 20 or more points and has made a team-high 52 threes in 19 games played this season.

Senior guard Tre White posted a season-high 23 points against No. 5 Houston (2/23) and is averaging 17.3 ppg in his last three games. White has six double-doubles on the season, including 16 points and 14 rebounds at Arizona State (3/3), and is scoring at 14.0 points per contest. White is second on the team with 49 threes made and leads KU with 116 free throws made. White's 86.6 free throw percentage ranks second in the Big 12.

Sophomore center Flory Bidunga is also on the Naismith Trophy Late-Season List and was recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year top 10. He scores 13.8 points per contest and leads KU with 9.2 rebounds per outing. Bidunga has a team-best 12 double-doubles for the season, including 14 points and 13 rebounds at Arizona State (3/3), which is second in the Big 12. Bidunga leads the Big 12 with 80 blocked shots, which is third nationally. His 2.67 blocks per game are also third nationally and leads the league and his 63.7 field goal percentage leads the Big 12 and is 12th nationally. At 13.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, and 2.7 bpg, Bidunga is the only player in NCAA Division I to average more than 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.

Senior guard Melvin Council Jr. is averaging 13.5 points per game in league games and 13.3 points per contest overall. He leads Kansas with 150 assists and with 33 steals. Council is fifth in the Big 12, 40th nationally, with a 2.78 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Redshirt-freshman forward Bryson Tiller averages 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest. Tiller is second on the team with 42 blocked shots and has started 27 games this season for KU.

Redshirt-sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson (4.7 ppg, 22 steals), redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell (3.7 ppg, 28 threes), freshman Kohl Rosario (3.1), and senior guard Jayden Dawson (2.2 ppg) round out the KU regulars.

UP NEXT
Kansas will next play at the 2026 Big 12 Tournament, March 10-14, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Heading into the regular-season finale, Kansas can finish either the No. 3, No. 4, or No. 5 seed for the event.

Kansas is 79-30 in postseason conference tournaments, including 49-14 in the Big 12 Championship. The Jayhawks have won 15 league postseason tournament titles, including 11 in the Big 12. KU's last conference tourney title came in 2022.

University of Kansas Athletics

No. 14 Kansas to Host Kansas State in Dillons Sunflower Showdown Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Flory Bidunga

Melvin Council Jr.

Justin Cross

Jayden Dawson

Wilder Evers

Elmarko Jackson

Jamari McDowell

Darryn Peterson

Kohl Rosario

Bryson Tiller

Tre White

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