LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Kansas climb picked up more steam Monday night as the No. 9 Jayhawks knocked off top-ranked Arizona 82-78.
Less than a month after falling out of The Associated Press Top 25, Kansas (19-5, 9-2) has won eight in a row and clawed its way back into Big 12 title contention, trailing previously unbeaten Arizona (23-1, 10-1) by one game.
Houston is currently in second, a half-game ahead of Kansas. The third-ranked Cougars face Utah on Tuesday night.
“We couldn’t lose this game,” senior guard Melvin Council Jr. said after knocking off Arizona. “We were just ready and prepared and we knew it was going to be a long game with a bunch of runs.”
Kansas trailed by as many as 11 points and did not lead until 9:32 remained in the second half. Four Jayhawks finished in double figures, led by Flory Bidunga and Council, who scored 23 points apiece. Bidunga also grabbed 10 rebounds, Bryson Tiller scored 18 and Jamari McDowell added 10 points.
The Jayhawks played without freshman standout Darryn Peterson, who was experiencing flu-like symptoms. Coach Bill Self revealed after the game that Peterson had missed practice Sunday and that Self didn’t know until about a half-hour before the game that he would be unavailable.
Despite missing 11 games, Peterson leads the Jayhawks in scoring, averaging 20.5 points.
“A lot of teams, this time of year, when you get to early February, they know where their ceiling is, and the great teams are operating pretty close to their ceiling,” Self said. “I don’t know where our ceiling is, and I know that we’re not close to it yet.”
The victory ended a 23-game winning streak for Arizona. It was the second-longest streak in Division I men’s basketball behind Miami (Ohio), which has won 24 straight.
With the win, Kansas improved to 2-2 against top-10 opponents this season. It was also the Jayhawks’ first win against the AP’s top-ranked team at Allen Fieldhouse.
“Kansas is a hell of a team,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “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.”
Brayden Burries led all scorers with 25 points for Arizona. Motiejus Krivas had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Ivan Kharchenkov scored 13.
