- - Flory Bidunga's double-double, 7 blocks lift No. 11 Kansas over Utah

Field Level MediaFebruary 8, 2026 at 8:59 AM

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Feb 7, 2026; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Utah Utes guard Terrence Brown (2) steals the ball from Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) during the first half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images (Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images)

Kansas big man Flory Bidunga had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks, and the No. 11 Jayhawks recorded their seventh straight win by upending Utah 71-59 on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, Kan.

Bidunga made 7 of 8 field goals and 3 of 4 from the line, while Trey White notched 16 points and six boards for the Jayhawks (18-5, 8-2 Big 12).

Darryn Peterson scored 14 points, and Melvin Council Jr. had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds as Kansas was 28 of 56 (50%) from the field.

With the victory, the Jayhawks remained in a tie for third place in the conference with No. 7 Iowa State, a 72-69 winner over Baylor.

In losing it fifth consecutive contest, Utah (9-14, 1-9) received a strong performance from Keanu Dawes, who posted a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Terrence Brown had 16 points and four steals, and Don McHenry scored 12 with five boards as the visitors hit 40% (22 of 55) from the floor.

During the first four minutes, Dawes sank a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points as Utah led 12-8 on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor, while the home side missed 4 of 7 tries.

Kansas went back ahead for the second time on a 10-2 run highlighted by an alley-oop dunk tossed up by Council and slammed down by Bidunga at 13:05. The Utes aided the run by missing eight consecutive shots.

After being fouled on a long ball, McHenry canned all three free throws to make it 28-23 at 5:37, and Seydou Traore made three of four freebies to bring the deficit to 30-28.

Despite committing seven turnovers and seeing Utah coming up with six steals, Kansas used an 8-3 run to lead 38-31 at the break behind Council's nine points and four assists.

Utah opened the second half on a 5-0 run to put it at 38-36 and force a timeout by Kansas coach Bill Self, and an alley-oop slam by White and Council's floating jumper at 10:17 gave the home side its first double-digit lead at 54-44.

Peterson's steal and breakaway slam for a three-point play at 8:26 lifted it to 59-44, a margin Utah could never reduce to single digits.

--Field Level Media

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Source: “AOL Sports”