Kansas basketball upset by Cincinnati in 84-68 loss

Shreyas Laddha, The Kansas City Star on Feb 21, 2026

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — No matter what the Kansas men’s basketball team tried Saturday, Cincinnati had the answer.

Every time the Jayhawks scored what felt like a big 2-point shot, the Bearcats answered with a 3-pointer.

In a matchup that didn’t have much separation for most of the game, the back-and-forth contest ended in a rout. And it started when the floodgates opened with about six minutes left.

The Jayhawks entered as 11.5-point favorites. And they lost by even more than that margin.

Final score: Cincinnati 84, Kansas 68.

The No. 8 Jayhawks dropped to 20-7 (10-4 Big 12) with the loss at Allen Fieldhouse.

Big man Flory Bidunga led KU with 18 points and 12 rebounds. KU freshman Darryn Peterson struggled through a rough shooting night but finished with 17 points and four rebounds.

Peterson, who’s dealt with cramping issues (and other ailments) all season, played 32 minutes.

While the final score was lopsided, Cincinnati (15-12, 7-7 Big 12) led by only two at half. The margin was three with just 7:17 to play, and Kansas led as late as the 17-minute mark in the second half.

But Cincinnati took a 10-point lead just past the five-minute mark of the second half and didn’t look back.

Up next for KU: The Jayhawks host No. 2 Houston at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:

KU’s Big 12 title dreams likely finished

Heading into Saturday, the Jayhawks were tied with Iowa State for third place in the Big 12. But they still controlled their own destiny.

The Jayhawks were set to play both teams ahead of them next week in Arizona and Houston. Those teams sat only one game ahead of the Jayhawks. And Houston and Arizona still had to play each other, too.

Instead, KU’s Big 12 hopes took a major hit.

The Jayhawks will end Saturday two games back of first in the league, and they could be tied for fourth by the end of the day.

Now, they’ll need some serious help to get back into the race.

KU’s offense comes from Peterson and Bidunga

In a game where points were hard to come by, the duo Peterson and Bidunga carried the Jayhawks’ offense.

When Kansas needed points, it was up to Peterson or Bidunga to hit a timely bucket. Bidunga did all of his work in the post as Bearcats big man Baba Miller struggled to defend him.

Peterson scored nearly all of his points inside the arc, too, but for a different reason. He was able to get his shot in the mid-range but was ice cold from 3. He went 1 for 7 from distance.

The star freshman finished with 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Bidunga, meanwhile, had 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting.

But that wasn’t nearly enough.

The Jayhawks needed other players to score, and only Tre White (11 points) from the supporting cast finished in double-figures. KU players outside of Peterson and Bidunga shot 12-for-34 from the field 35.3%.

KU can't defend the 3-point line

Heading into Saturday, the Bearcats ranked No. 267 nationally in 3-point percentage (32.2%). But that trend did not hold.

Even with strong contests from a number of KU players, the Bearcats made several difficult 3-point shots. And many of them were from deep 3-point range.

Cincinnati made five 3s in the first half, while the Jayhawks made just one (on nine attempts) in that time. Kansas shot 4 for 18 from 3 for the game.

The Bearcats? They finished 12 for 31 (38.7%) from 3.

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