No. 1 Arizona men’s basketball suffer a devastating loss against No. 9 University of Kansas

No. 1 Arizona men’s basketball team (23-1, 10-1 in Big 12) suffered a devastating loss 82-78 against No. 9 University of Kansas (19-5, 9-2 in Big 12) on Monday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas broke the Wildcats 23 game winning streak as they head into the final games of the conference season. The Jayhawks are now 39-0 on Big Monday on their home court.   

Despite the loss, the Wildcats put up a good fight and remained close until the end. 

“Well, if a guy’s 38-0 on his home court on Big Mondays, it’s probably pretty hard to win here, no matter what our record coming in is. So we knew it’s going to be a tough game and we’re okay with it.” said head coach Tommy Lloyd post game.     

Key players

Brayden Burries was the leading scorer for Arizona recording the most points for either team with 25. Burries also attempted and made the most 3-pointers shooting 4-of-7. The team altogether only made 6-of-15 3-pointers. Koa Pete was the teams second leading scorer with 14. 

Motiejus Krivas was essential on the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds and generated 16 second chance points. 

For Kansas, Melvin Council Jr. and Flory Bidunga tied for the 23 points. Council Jr. managed to get six rebounds and shoot 10-of-11 free throws, which helped the Jayhawks extend their lead in the final minutes of the game. Bidunga also recorded 10 rebounds and six assists for Kansas. 

First half 

Arizona got on the board first after a layup from Ivan Kharchenkov which began a 6 point run. The Wildcats were able to gain a 7 point lead after Jaden Bradley went 1-for-2 from the free throw line. 

The Wildcats controlled the first half but the Jayhawks eventually shortened the deficit. With about six minutes remaining in the half, a dunk on the fast break by Kansas’s Tre White brought the Wildcats lead to just 3 points. 

Burries and Peat were able to create more space for Arizona with a free throw and 3-pointer. Arizona was in the lead 38-31 after Anthony Dell’Orso made a 3-pointer, but immediately after this Kansas went on a scoring run. 

Elmarko Jackson and Bidunga made jumpers followed by a 3-pointer from Jamari McDowell to tie up the game 38-38 with just three minutes remaining in the first half. Both teams were going point for point, keeping the game tied as the clock ticked towards halftime. 

With just one minute remaining, Burries made a 3-point jumper that brought the Wildcats into the lead 43-40. Kharchenkov made a jumper to extend Arizona’s lead, but unfortunately Bradley was called for a person foul, sending Council Jr. to the line where he shot 2-for-2. 

Arizona held the lead going into halftime, but Kansas was not far behind with 45-42.      

Second half 

The Wildcats started the second half off similar to the first with a jumper from Kharchenkov getting them the first points of the half. 

With just nine and a half minutes left in the game, Bidunga made a layup that brought the Jayhawks into the lead for the first time in the game. Kansas continued to go on a scoring run bringing their lead up to 69-64 after Council Jr. shot 2-for-2 from the free throw line. 

Immediately following these shots, Burries came back and put in a 3-pointer for Arizona keeping them right behind the Jayhawks. 

As the clock winded down, Kansas started to extend their lead but had a personal foul called on McDowell sending Burries to the line where he shot 2-for-2. 

With 30 seconds left, Burries made a 3-pointer to cut the Jayhawk lead to just one. Following Burries shot, a foul was called on Peat which allowed Kansas to shoot from the stripe. Council Jr. made both free throws bringing their lead up to 79-76. 

Arizona continued to get called for fouls that sent Kansas to the free throw line where they did not miss a single shot. They put up a good fight until the last moments as with just nine seconds remaining Krivas shortened the deficit to only 2 points with a jumper on the fast break. 

This unfortunately was not enough as White was sent to the free throw line with five seconds remaining where he made 2-for-2 extending their lead. The win slipped out of Arizona’s reach after that. Kansas took the win and claimed the first victory against Arizona 82-78.    

Looking forward 

Arizona will be looking to bounce back from this loss at home on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 4:30 p.m. against No. 14 Texas Tech University. There are only four home games remaining in the 2025-26 season before the Big 12 Tournament, so the Wildcats will need all the support they can get from fans. 

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