LAWRENCE, Kan. β Arizonaβs record-breaking start to the 2025-26 season is over, and Kansas star Darryn Peterson didnβt even need to help.
UA guard Brayden Burries scored 25 points, while center Motiejus Krivas had 15 rebounds and six blocks, but ninth-ranked Kansas pulled out an 82-78 win over the top-ranked Wildcats while Peterson sat out with what Jayhawks coach Bill Self said were flu-like symptoms.
The loss ended Arizonaβs school- and Big 12-record start and left the Wildcats tied with Baylorβs 2019-20 team with the longest overall winning streak in conference history at 23. The Wildcats (23-1, 10-1) will host Texas Tech (17-6, 7-3) at McKale Center on Saturday.
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas, left, blocks a shot by Kansas guard Tre White (3) as Arizona guard Brayden Burries (5) also defends during the first half, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Lawrence, Kan.Β
Kansas improved to 19-5 and 9-2, having beaten the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks beat Oklahoma in triple overtime in January 2016 when the Sooners were No. 1 in the coachesβ poll but Kansas was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll at the time.
"Kansas has a lot of good players and a great coach, and playing them here, we knew it was going to be a dogfight no matter what," UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. "I'm sure they're better with Peterson, but we felt like they were pretty good without him tonight as well."
Melvin Council and Flory Bidunga each had 23 points to lead Kansas -- while Bidunga also blocked a potential layup from Burries that might have cut the Jayhawks' lead to one point with 17 seconds -- despite the Jayhawks playing without Peterson.
Peterson warmed up and was not listed on the final official pregame player availability report that the Big 12 requires even though Self said "we knew it was 50-50" on Sunday whether Peterson would be able to play.
Under Big 12 rules, players who are considered 50-50 are required to be listed as "questionable" at 7 p.m. Arizona time the night before a game and if they are still uncertain in the hours leading up to the game, they are required to be listed as a "game-time decision."
The potential No. 1 pick in the June NBA Draft, Peterson has had a history of limited availability all season but played an average of 34.0 minutes in the Jayhawks' two previous games.
Asked directly why Peterson wasn't on the report before Monday's game, Self said it was "because we thought he'd go.... I thought adrenaline would kick in and he would go," Self said. "He was at shootaround today. You could just tell he didn't feel great, but we were all hopeful that he'd kick in and and be ready to go."
The Big 12 implemented the player availability rule this season largely to increase transparency because of gambling on games, and said teams are required to "act in good faith" with their player availability reports.
"Actions designed to conceal a student-athleteβs actual participation status for strategic or competitive purposes are not allowed," the league's availability reporting policy reads.
Self addressed the questioner who asked why Peterson wasn't on the report by saying "you sound like you bet on the game, but no, there was no ploy with that at all."
Whatever the case, Lloyd didn't make much of it. He said he doesn't even read the Big 12 player availability reports and that he found out Peterson wasn't playing only about 10 minutes before the game.
And, when asked again about Peterson's absence and how it might have affected the Wildcats, Lloyd appeared annoyed.
"Guys, Kansas is a hell of a team. Let's not make this about Darryn Peterson," Lloyd said. "He didn't play because he was sick. They beat the No. 1 team in the country at home tonight. They did a hell of a job, and their coach did a hell of a job. That should be the story."
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas, right, grabs a rebound as Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr., left, defends during the first half, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Lawrence, Kan.Β
As it turned out, Kansas had enough with Council collecting 23 points and six assists while playing all but two seconds of the game, by Bidunga getting 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks over 33 minutes -- and maybe by the ear-splitting noise inside Allen Fieldhouse that kept their energy up.
"Maybe it was because Darryn didn't play -- they would have been excited regardless, but they took ownership of making sure we didn't get tired," Self said. "It's hard to get tired when that crowd's like that.
"There's a lot of great crowds out there. Everybody would think I'm biased by saying that we're the best. I shouldn't say that, because I don't know exactly what everybody else has, but I can guarantee you, there's no place better in this place. Nobody can say they got a better joint than this one."
Lloyd said the crowd like that "does impact the game," while also acknowledging the difficult physical game the Wildcats had inside, in an area where they have dominated all season.
Arizona outrebounded Kansas 45-41 overall but gave up 18 offensive rebounds that led to 19 Jayhawk second-chance points. The Wildcats also outscored Kansas just 42-40 in the paint.
And in another area the Wildcats typically dominate, Kansas went to the free throw line 11 more times. Kansas hit 21 of 25 free throws, while UA was just 8 of 14, a 13-point difference that was more than three times the final score's margin.
"Sometimes you come play in these hard environments in the Big 12 later in the season. -- and it's fine, it's no complaint -- but there's going to be a lot that gets to go in the paint," Lloyd said. "The refs aren't going to guess, probably on both ends of the floor.
"So if you want to win these games, you've got to deliver. You got to deliver when you get the ball inside, you got to be able to play through physical contact, you've got to be able to be able to play through what you think are fouls, and you just got to keep it moving."
Still, Arizona actually led for most of the first half and by up to 11 early in the second half, and kept it close when Kansas threatened to pull away with a six-point lead with 4:40 left.
The Wildcats trailed 73-71 entering the final two minutes after Ivan Kharchenkov drove inside for a layup.
But Bidunga drew a foul from Burries with 1:35 left and hit both ends of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line to make it 75-71. After a missed driving jumper from Jaden Bradley, Bidunga pulled down the rebound, leading to a layup from Melvin Coincil that made it 77-71.
But Bradley hit a 15-footer with 35 seconds left and, after a steal from Kharchenkov, Burries hit a 3-pointer to pull UA within one with 34 seconds left.
But Council hit two free throws to give Kansas a three point lead with 30 seconds left before Burries drove in for the layup that Bidunga blocked.
"I felt like I got fouled but I could have played off it, too," Burries said. "He did a great job blocking the shot, and then they got the rebound."
From there, Council hit 1 of 2 free throws, and Kansas' Tre White hit both he shot with five seconds to go, to give the Jayhawks the four-point win and the 40th win on ESPN "Big Monday" telecasts under Self -- against no losses.
"If a guy is 38-0 (sic) on his home court on Big Mondays, it's probably pretty hard to win here, no matter what our record is coming in," Lloyd said. "So we knew it was going to be a tough game, and we're OK with it. Like, guys, I'm not mad we lost. I can't wait to get on that plane, get back home. I feel like our season just started."
