LAWRENCE, Kan. — Tre White and Flory Bidunga each had 18 points and eight rebounds as No. 17 Kansas used balanced scoring to beat Davidson 90-61 on Monday night.

Six players finished in double figures for the Jayhawks (10-3), including all five starters. Bryson Tiller added 11 points and Jamari McDowell scored 10. Melvin Council Jr. had 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Kohl Rosario provided 13 points off the bench as Kansas shot 58% from the field, including 11 for 21 (52%) on 3-pointers. The Jayhawks had 27 assists on 37 baskets and outrebounded Davidson 42-31. White nabbed four of the team’s 13 steals.

Roberts Blums was the only player in double figures for the Wildcats (8-4) with 13 points off the bench. Davidson was limited to 36% shooting from the floor and went 2 for 6 at the free-throw line.

Kansas played its second consecutive game without Darryn Peterson. The freshman star, who missed seven straight games earlier this season due to injury, is averaging 25 points in four games.

But the Jayhawks barely missed him.

Kansas led by 19 before Davidson went on a 10-2 run to trim it to 36-25. The Wildcats hit six straight shots during one stretch, though they never cut the deficit to single digits. When White hit his fourth 3 of the first half, the lead was back up to 46-26.

Kansas went to the locker room with a 51-30 cushion. The Jayhawks were led by White’s 16 points. Bidunga and Council each had 10.

The second half didn’t start much better for Davidson, as the Wildcats were outscored 7-2 in the first 2:51, leading coach Matt McKillup to exhaust his timeouts with 17:09 left.

Kansas wasted no time distancing itself from the overmatched Wildcats. When Bidunga threw down an alley-oop dunk with 13:03 left in the opening half, the Jayhawks already had stretched the lead to 17-6. Davidson didn’t reach double figures until 10:36 remained in the first half.

Up next

Davidson hosts Duquesne on Dec. 30.

Kansas is off until starting Big 12 play Jan. 3 at UCF.

• The Wisconsin Badgers defeated Central Michigan 88-61, fueled by a dominant 25-3 run in the second half.
• Wisconsin’s bench players contributed a season-high 44 points.
• The Badgers showcased strong ball movement, recording 25 assists on 29 field goals.

MADISON – Wisconsin frequently displayed a warm, inviting fireplace graphic on the Kohl Center video board, complete with brick around the fireplace, stacks of firewood on each side and “staying warm with Wisconsin basketball” text.

The play on the court was even more picturesque for much of the second half as the Badgers used a big run in the second half to blow past Central Michigan, 88-61, on Dec. 22 at the Kohl Center.

Wisconsin outscored Central Michigan in the second half, 48-33, and many of CMU’s second-half points came when the game was already well out of reach. The Badgers had a 25-3 scoring run, which quickly turned a 13-point lead into a 35-point lead.

Box score: Wisconsin 88, Central Michigan 61

The Badgers won with their bench players taking on bigger roles.

Austin Rapp had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting along with seven rebounds. Braeden Carrington, three days after missing the Villanova game with an injury, had nine points off the bench.

The only two bench players who did not score were Isaac Gard and Riccardo Greppi, and they only played one minute and 23 seconds. UW’s 44 bench points were its most in a game since at least the 2006-07 season, according to UW sports information.

“This group needs to continue to do it by committee, and it was good to see a lot of guys step up,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said.

Here are three other takeaways from the Badgers’ 27-point win over the Chippewas:

Ball movement was strength again for Wisconsin offensively

Wisconsin’s ball movement has been quite the harbinger for success in 2025-26.

Almost 100 Minnesota mayors, including over half a dozen in the Northland, have signed a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and members of the legislature, raising concerns about the rising costs and financial pressures cities are facing due to state mandates.

The group of 98 mayors published the letter publicly on Monday, December 22nd, highlighting rising property taxes, declining state budget projections and the recent fraud investigations as reasons for “deep concern—and growing frustration” about the state’s fiscal direction.

“As mayors, we see firsthand how these decisions ripple outward. Fraud, unchecked spending, and inconsistent fiscal management in St. Paul have trickled down to our cities—reducing our capacity to plan responsibly, maintain infrastructure, hire and retain employees, and sustain core services without overburdening local taxpayers,” the letter says, in part.

Rising property taxes are preliminarily set to increase by nearly $950 million across the state next year — a 6.9% increase from 2025. The local leaders say those increases are necessary because of state policies and unfunded mandates, which include requirements for schools, health and human services systems, and public safety policies.

“Every unfunded mandate or cost shift forces us into difficult choices: raise taxes, cut services, delay infrastructure, or stretch thin city staff even further,” the letter states.

The mayors also cited a recent report from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which showed the state slipping in national rankings over the past six years, something the chamber said should be a “wake-up call” to state leaders.

According to those statistics, Minnesota’s GDP has grown by just 1% per year since 2019, compared to the national average of 1.8%; the labor force has increased just 0.2% annually, ranking 40th nationally; and nearly 48,000 more Minnesotans left the state than moved here between 2020 and 2024.

In their letter, the mayors called on state lawmakers to “course-correct” and focus on policies that encourage growth and local stability.

The League of Minnesota Cities lists 856 cities in the state, so the 98 mayors would account for roughly 11.5% of cities. The map below shows the locations of each city in the Northland whose mayor signed the letter.

A spokesperson for Governor Walz sent our Hubbard sister station KSTP the following statement:

“The Governor’s focus on lowering property taxes is exactly why he has provided more funding than any administration in history directly to local governments. 

“The surplus went directly back into the bottom line of local governments: $300 million for their police and fire departments, the largest infrastructure budgets in state history, funding to remove lead lines, the largest-ever increase in flexible local government aid, and property tax relief directly to taxpayers. 

“The governor will continue to focus on ways to lower costs, but local governments also have a responsibility to manage their budgets and state aid responsibly.”