As snow blanketed the state of Kansas, the Jayhawks brought the heat in Manhattan.
Just four days removed from a gritty road win at altitude without head coach Bill Self, Kansas men’s basketball raised the bar again-this time without star freshman Darryn Peterson. The Jayhawks stormed into Bramlage Coliseum and left with a dominant 86-62 win over in-state rival Kansas State, snapping a three-game road losing streak in the Little Apple and earning their first win in the building since 2022.
“It’s hard for in-state rivalries to mean as much to the players in today’s world than it did in the past,” Self said after the game. “So we tried to make sure our guys understood what an important game it was to people around here.”
Message received.
This win marks Kansas’ first four-game winning streak in Big 12 play since February 2023, and they’re starting to look like a team rounding into form at just the right time.
Kansas State came out swinging, leaning on a hot start from role players and the steady hand of Big 12 scoring leader P.J. Haggerty.
But the Wildcats, already short-handed with four rotation players sidelined due to injury, simply didn’t have the depth to keep pace. Kansas closed the game on a 27-7 run over the final 7:52, turning a tight contest into a rout.
All five Jayhawks who scored hit double figures, but it was freshman big man Flory Bidunga who set the tone. He poured in 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and swatted three shots in a performance that felt every bit as dominant as the box score suggests. His presence in the paint was a problem all night for K-State.
Melvin Council Jr., meanwhile, nearly messed around and got a triple-double. He finished with 17 points, 12 assists, and seven boards in 38 minutes of action-an all-around gem that had Self singing his praises.
“I thought he was great,” Self said. “You could make the case that he was the best player on the floor: 12 dimes and one turnover and plays 38 minutes.”
And then there was Elmarko Jackson. The freshman guard came off the bench and delivered a career-high 19 points on just seven shots, including a perfect night at the free-throw line and a pair of clutch threes in the second half.
“He had 19 points on seven shots, made all his free throws,” Self said. “He was great. And then he made those two big threes in the second half and we shot the ball miserably from beyond the arc…the five guys that were our main players, production-wise, I thought they did great.”
Kansas didn’t have its best night from deep, but they didn’t need to. They shot 56% from the field in the first half, using their size and athleticism to pound the ball inside while K-State tried to keep pace from the perimeter.
To their credit, the Wildcats hung tough early thanks to a surprise spark from Serbian freshman Andrej Kostic. Entering the game with a season high of nine points, Kostic matched that in about 60 seconds with three straight threes midway through the first half. He finished with 12 points-all from beyond the arc-in a breakout performance.
“We knew he could shoot,” Self said. “We didn’t know he could make four in a row to start the game.”
K-State shot 8-of-19 from deep in the first half and trailed by just two at the break despite Kansas’ efficient shooting. But the second half was a different story.
A chaotic scramble led to a Bidunga layup and a technical foul on Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang, giving Kansas a sudden burst of momentum. From there, the Jayhawks started to pull away. The lead hovered in the single digits until the under-8 media timeout, when Kansas slammed the door shut.
Bidunga and Jackson hit free throws, Council added a transition and-one, and the Jayhawks’ defense clamped down. Kansas State managed just seven points the rest of the way, while Kansas turned defense into offense and punctuated the win with a series of emphatic dunks.
Next up, Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 31 to host BYU. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
If the Jayhawks keep playing like this-balanced, unselfish, and locked in on both ends-they’re going to be a tough out for anyone in the Big 12.