Kansas
Quick recap: Kansas escapes UCF in overtime in Big 12 tournament
Kansas got up by as many as 13 in the second half, but UCF stormed back and took the Jayhawks to the wire in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night. The Knights went on a 14-0 run in the middle stretches of to get back in the game, Jordan Ivy-Curry tied the game at 83-83 with 14 seconds left in regulation to send the game to an extra period.
Hunter Dickinson powered the Jayhawks through overtime, and AJ Storr– who put together a season-high 19 points– put Kansas up 92-87 with 1:18 to play with a transition layup. UCF battled over the last minute-plus, but couldn’t execute a tap-in at the buzzer to let the Jayhawks escape with a 98-94 win. Kansas will move on to play Arizona in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
After a slow first half, Dickinson scored 14 in the second half to finish with 23. Zeke Mayo was efficient throughout the night, finishing with 24 points on 6/11 shooting. Storr and KJ Adams also tallied double-figure scoring and were the bulk of Kansas’ offense.
First half
Zeke Mayo got out to a red-hot start, scoring the first eight points for Kansas, including hitting two threes. A Mayo floated gave the Jayhawks an 8-0 lead just under three minutes into the game, forcing Johnny Dawkins to call a timeout. Darius Johnson responded with four straight out of the timeout, cutting Kansas’ lead in half heading to the under-16.
UCF’s offense got rolling, getting a couple of buckets in transition and threes from Nils Machowski and Keyshawn Hall. AJ Storr provided an impact off the bench to keep the Jayhawks ahead, getting downhill for two buckets and dropping off an assist to Hunter Dickinson. A putback basket from Flory Bidunga gave Kansas a 20-16 lead at the under-12 timeout.
Hall hunted his shot when he had a matchup advantage, essentially when KJ Adams wasn’t defending him. He got to the rim for a layup and free throws against Bidunga and Storr, tying the game at 22-22. Mayo found open space after relocating on a Dajuan Harris drive and knocked down his third three of the half.
Kansas got active on the offensive glass to hold a lead despite hitting a cold stretch from the floor. The Jayhawks went 1/8 but got a second-chance bucket from Bidunga. Hall continued to go after mismatches, scoring a basket with Harris as the primary defender to cut Kansas’ lead to 32-28 at the under-four timeout.
Adams subbed out, and Hall went right at Bidunga. He got to the line, making one free throw, then hit a three to make it a 34-32 game. Adams quickly subbed back in and instantly scored, and Hall did not score for the final 2:41
Storr hit a three to continue his strong first half, while Moustapha Thiam scored five for UCF. Kansas took a 40-37 lead into halftime in a pretty even half without major contributions from Dickinson.
Second half
Hall immediately tied the game with a three over Adams, but UCF then endured a cold spell as it started to turn it over. Dickinson picked up two steals which led to his offense getting going– knocking down a three as he scored seven straight.
The Jayhawks caught fire from three to open up their lead. Dickinson knocked down another three, followed by Mayo and Diggy Coit to make the score 58-48. Dickinson fired a cross-court pass to the corner to give Coit the opportunity at an open three.
Storr followed with two more threes, but UCF caught fire to keep the game close. The Knights went on an 11-3 run capped off by threes from Thiam and Deebo Coleman. Bill Self called a timeout with the Jayhawks leading 64-59 with 10:30 to play.
The Knights extended their run to 17-3 and 12 unanswered after Coleman and Tyler Hendricks hit threes. Self called another timeout after UCF took its first lead of the game, 65-64.
UCF took a 68-66 lead into the under-eight timeout after a dunk from Adams stopped the Knights’ run.
Kansas caught a four-point swing following a Darius Johnson three, taking the lead after Mayo knocked down two flagrant free throws and Dickinson hit a hook shot. The T-Mobile Center started to energize after Adams got loose for a transition dunk to put the Jayhawks up 74-71 with 5:40 to play.
UCF wouldn’t go away. Hall answered a Mayo three with one of his own to leave Kansas’ lead at 77-76 heading into the under-four timeout.
Adams induced a turnover on Hall on a lockdown defensive effort, and Mayo pushed Kansas’ lead to three after knocking down two free throws with just over two minutes left.
Johnson and Adams traded free throws, with Johnson fouling out with Kansas leading 83-80. Jordan Ivy-Curry hit a huge three to tie the game at 83-83 with 14 seconds to play.
Adams stepped on the baseline, and Ivy-Curry came up short at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Overtime
Dickinson hit his third three of the game to open the overtime scoring for Kansas. Both teams were racking up the fouls as Harris fouled out.
Dickinson got on the glass for a putback dunk to put Kansas up 90-87. UCF missed a pair of threes, and Storr put the Jayhawks up five with 1:18 on a transition layup.
The Knights still would not go away, with Machowski hitting a three to cut the lead to two. Kansas turned it over to give UCF a chance to tie, but the Knights also couldn’t hold onto the ball, giving it back to the Jayhawks with 27.5 to play.
Storr nailed two clutch free throws, but then fouled out after surrendering an and-one to leave Kansas’ lead at 94-93 with 18.2 to play.
Mayo missed a free throw for a chance to put Kansas up three, but Thiam missed a short jumper and Dickinson iced the game at the line.
Kansas
Child killed after being struck by Amazon delivery vehicle in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A child is dead after being struck by an Amazon delivery vehicle Monday night in Kansas City.
The Kansas City Police Department responded to the incident just before 6:30 p.m. in the area of East Missouri Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast neighborhood.
Preliminary investigation indicates that a marked Amazon delivery vehicle had just completed a package delivery in the area. Police said after the delivery, the driver of the vehicle began traveling westbound on East 3rd Terrace toward Woodland Avenue.
Police said at the same time, a child, under the age of 5, was playing in a grassy area of a nearby public park. The child entered the roadway and was struck by the Amazon delivery vehicle.
The Amazon driver initially stopped at the scene but left before officers arrived, according to police.
Police said a family member attempted to follow the Amazon vehicle and inform the driver of what had happened. The driver denied involvement and left the area.
The child was pronounced dead as a result of the injuries, according to police.
Kansas City police said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Kansas
Defiance also draw in Kansas City
The Tacoma Defiance continued a weekend of Seattle vs Kansas soccer with a draw against Sporting Kansas City II. The Sporting second team has not been immune to the struggles in Kansas City, as they have started the season with six points through 9 games and a -15 goal difference. With a Defiance starting lineup featuring six players on first-team contracts, taking home three points should have been the expectation.
The first half was eerily similar to Saturday with Defiance dominating the run of play but entering the locker room with a 1-1 draw. They conceded the opening goal in the 40th minute where Charlie Gaffney and Cody Baker did not organize themselves well to cover the cross from the left side. That cross found an unmarked Shane Donovan who was able to score off a header to the near post, past academy goalkeeper Noah Newman in his first start of 2026.
Five minutes later, Baker equalized with a golazo from 25 yards out that was ripped into the upper right corner. This shot came off a clearance but the sequence right before was representative of how dangerous the left side of the team was. Peter Kingston found a cross-field ball to Sebastian Gomez, his combination play with Codey Phoenix and ability to create space on the dribble led to the cross.
The second half was more evenly played throughout but ended the same as the first with a goal apiece. The Defiance first-teamers came through in the 57th minute when Gomez received the ball on the left touchline, dribbled and centered for Osaze De Rosario. He made a nice move around the defender and slotted the ball in the corner from the top of the box.
SKC II scored in the 63rd minute on a corner after the initial ball wasn’t cleared. It bounced around before landing to previous goal scorer Donovan whose shot was on target but got a slight touch from Tega Ikoba.
With regulation ending in a draw, the teams went to a PK shootout where Defiance won 4–2 after Newman made two saves. Edson Carli converted the winning spot kick.
Overview
Lineup

Stats
xG

Shots

Key performers
Sebastian Gomez
Gomez is making the left winger position his own, consistently being a dangerous outlet and getting an assist in his second straight game. His dribbling and passing ability make him a creative machine out wide and he is finding dangerous passes forward illustrated by his four key passes on the evening. He also finds the pass before the pass, like in the 46th minute when he finds a little through ball from top of the box to Tsukanome on the right side of the box. This led to a dangerous cross to De Rosario but was really kickstarted by Gomez. He has grown throughout the year thus far and looks to be hitting a strong run of form.
Peter Kingston
Kingston returned to the double-pivot in this one and showed why this is probably his best position moving forward. He set the tempo for the team, keeping possession with 86% passing on 58 attempts. However, he also knew when to take the chance and had two key passes of his own. His best pass of the evening was in the 11th minute when he broke two lines on a through ball to Mark O’Neill. His versatility is a key factor in getting as many minutes as he has with the first team but performances like tonight make the case on where he should be long term.
Osaze De Rosario
De Rosario got a run out a day earlier with the first team and followed that up with a start for Defiance. He wasn’t quite as involved as is ideal with only 3 total shots but he was also in the right positions and close to finishing in the 2nd and 46th minute. He did ultimately find the back of the net in the 57th minute after receiving the ball at the top of the box, beating his defender to open up space and placing his shot in the corner. The longer run out and seeing the ball hit the back of the net will hopefully get him some rhythm for his next appearance at the first team.
Highlights
Replay
Kansas
Three Potential Bench Pieces Bill Self Can Bolster Kansas’ Roster With
The Kansas basketball program has made several notable additions since the transfer portal opened, landing three newcomers to round out the starting five. More importantly, the Jayhawks were able to secure top-ranked 2026 prospect Tyran Stokes, one of the most talented high school recruits Bill Self has ever acquired.
It has been an eventful offseason for the coaching staff, but its work in the portal is not done yet. KU still has four scholarships to fill out and will need to use one or two to add impact players off the bench.
Even if KU doesn’t land another starting-caliber transfer, it will need significantly more help on the second unit, especially in the backcourt. These are three players the Jayhawks have been in contact with and are considered strong options for the team next year.
3. James White (New Orleans)
A former Ole Miss, UAB, and New Orleans guard, James White has endured a tumultuous collegiate career, but averaged 19.2 points and 7.0 rebounds at his last stop. He is a 6-foot-5 wing who can get downhill with ease and would provide instant offense on the second unit.
White has become somewhat of a forgotten name since being involved in a sports gambling investigation two seasons ago, but he is reportedly drawing interest from top programs like Kansas and has likely been cleared by the NCAA. If KU is willing to take a chance on his controversial background, White would be an excellent rim-running guard for the staff to pursue.
2. Vyctorius Miller (Oklahoma State)
Miller took a visit to Kansas last month and hasn’t been closely linked to the program since. However, he remains one of the Jayhawks’ top targets as they look to add another bench piece.
The former Oklahoma State guard averaged 10.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 32 games (26 starts) for the Cowboys this past season. If he is willing to take on a smaller role at KU, he could help replace the departures of Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell in the backcourt.
1. Abdi Bashir Jr. (Kansas State)
Bashir Jr. completed a Zoom call with the KU coaching staff last week and has been on the radar of Jayhawk fans since. His skill set would fit perfectly as a sixth man off KU’s bench.
After playing two years at Monmouth, where he earned All-CAA honors as a sophomore, Bashir transferred to Kansas State for his junior campaign. He averaged 13.2 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 44.4% from 3-point range on 8.4 attempts per game.
It has been a while since the Jayhawks have had a 3-point shooter as prolific as Bashir. The rest of his game, including his defense, may be a question mark, but Kansas could desperately use a flamethrower who can swing a game instantly with his outside shooting.
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