No. 9 Kansas at No. 5 Iowa State: Preview, game notes, and more

What: No. 9 Kansas at No. 5 Iowa State

Where: Ames, Iowa • Hilton Coliseum (14,267)

When: Saturday, February 14, 2026 • 12 p.m. (CT)

Television: ABC

Play-by-Play: Jon Sciambi

Analyst: Fran Fraschilla

Producer: Joe McCoy

Director: Bradley Sheldon

A LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST MEETING

On January 13, Kansas handed No. 2 Iowa State its first loss of the season, 84-63. Unranked at the time, Bill Self’s squad was led by Tre White (19), Darryn Peterson (16), Melvin Council (15), and Flory Bidunga (10).

White led the way with 10 rebounds, while Jamari McDowell dished out six assists, and Bidunga was credited with four blocks.

Self, shortly after Kansas handed Iowa State its first loss of the season, had this to say about KU’s performance against the Cyclones.

“Well, I thought the intensity was great,” said Self. “I hope we showed some toughness, but we didn’t come out and start the second half like we should have. But other than the seven minutes to start the second half, I thought we played pretty well the whole time.

“We shared it for the most part and were aggressive,” he added. “Our defense was well above what it has been, even though we still didn’t rebound it great. But I thought our intensity level was at a different level than it’s been any time this year.”

Including the Iowa State win, Kansas has won eightstraigt games, while the Cyclones have dropped two games since losing in Lawrence.

On January 17, Iowa State lost at Cincinnati and, earlier in the week, suffered a setback at TCU.

Coming off a loss, Self knows that Kansas will get the best version of Iowa State on Saturday.

“Well, there was a period of time where they were playing as well as anybody in the country, and then they had a bad week,” said Self. “And after the bad week, they played as well as anybody in the country. Then they had a bad game. I mean, but yeah, they’re terrific. I think their bench has gotten better. Their freshmen are good. And obviously, they got three potential All-American-type guys starting. So they’re good, and we’ll get their best shot.

“We played so well against them the first time, and they didn’t,” he added. “I’d like to think that we had something to do with that, but they didn’t. So we know we’ll see a different team Saturday than what we saw the first time.”

TIPOFF

— No. 9 Kansas (19-5, 9-2) begins a two-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 14, at No. 5 Iowa State (21-3, 8-3). Tip from Hilton Coliseum will be at 12 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised on ABC.

— Kansas won its eighth-straight game with an 82-78 victory against No. 1 Arizona on Feb. 9. KU’s eight-game winning streak ties for the seventh longest nationally. The win against Arizona makes KU 5-3 against ranked teams this season, 2-2 versus top-10 opponents. Iowa State is looking to rebound from a 62-55 loss at TCU on Feb. 10. The Cyclones are 13-0 at home this season.

— Kansas leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 191-69, including a 28- 25 edge in meetings in Hilton Coliseum. Kansas won the earlier meeting this season, handing then-No. 2 Iowa State its first loss, 84-63, on Jan. 13 in Allen Fieldhouse.

— Kansas is No. 13 in the NET, which is fourth in the Big 12. Its seven Quad 1 (Q1) wins are tied with Houston for the second most in the league and fourth most nationally. Arizona is first with nine Q1 wins. KU’s strength of schedule is No. 3, which is first in Big 12, and only trails (1) Alabama and (2) Auburn.

— Kansas leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 38.3%, which is sixth nationally, three-point field goal percentage defense at 29.6%, which is 19th nationally, and blocked shots at 6.2, which is third nationally.

— Sophomore Flory Bidunga leads the Big 12 and is second nationally, with 69 blocked shots, and his 2.8 blocked shots per game are also first in the Big 12 and second nationally. Bidunga also leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 68.6%, which is third nationally. At 14.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 2.8 bpg, Bidunga is the only player in NCAA Division I to average more than 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.

ABOUT KANSAS

No. 9 Kansas (19-5, 9-2) won its eighth-straight game with an 82-78 win against No. 1 Arizona Feb. 9. KU’s eight-game winning streak ties for the seventh longest in NCAA D1 and is KU’s longest winning streak of the season. KU is averaging 78.0 points per game and has a plus-10.3 scoring margin. KU pulls down 39.0 rebounds per contest with a plus-3.1 rebound
margin.

KU averages 15.0 assists, 5.5 steals, and 6.2 blocked shots per contest. KU leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at 38.3%, which is sixth nationally, and three-point field goal percentage defense at 29.6%, which is 19th nationally. KU also leads the Big 12 in blocked shots (6.2), which is second
nationally behind Georgia (6.9).

Freshman guard Darryn Peterson, who is on the Wooden Award Late Midseason Watch List (1 of 20) and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 list, leads Kansas with a 20.5 scoring average. He has six games of 20 or more points and has made 36 threes in 13 games played this season. His 36 threes are second most on the Kansas team.

Sophomore center Flory Bidunga is 85-for-109 (78.0%) from the field in his last 13 games. Recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year top 10, Bidunga scores 14.9 points per contest and leads KU with 9.0 rebounds per outing. Bidunga has nine double-doubles this season, including 23 points and 10 rebounds, with three blocked shots, against Arizona (2/9). He leads the Big 12 with 69 blocked shots, which is second nationally, with 2.8 blocks per game, which is second nationally, and with a 68.6 field goal percentage, which is third nationally. At 14.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, and 2.8 bpg, Bidunga is the only player in NCAA Division I to average more than 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.

Senior guard Tre White has five double-doubles on the season and is next in scoring at 14.2 points per contest. White leads Kansas with 37 threes made, 97 free throws made, and an 85.8 free throw percentage, which ranks second in the Big 12. After his 23 points against Arizona (2/9), senior Melvin Council Jr. is averaging 15.5 points per game in league games and 14.1 points per contest overall. He leads KU with 123 assists and 20 steals. Council is third in the Big 12, 20th nationally, with a 3.32 assist to-turnover ratio.

Redshirt-freshman forward Bryson Tiller (9.0 ppg) had 18 points and eight rebounds against Arizona (2/9). He scored a career-high 21 points with seven rebounds and made three threes against BYU (1/31). Tiller is second on the team with 33 blocked shots and pulls down 6.0 rebounds per game. He has started the last 21 games for KU.

Redshirt-sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson (4.7 ppg) has 19 steals. Jackson scored a career-high 19 points at Kansas State (1/24). Redshirt-sophomore guard Jamari McDowell (4.1 ppg, 24 threes) has started seven games. He tied his career high with 10 points against Arizona (2/9). Freshman Kohl Rosario
(3.6) has made 13 threes this season, while senior guard Jayden Dawson (2.2 ppg) has made nine.

ABOUT IOWA STATE

Located in Ames, Iowa, No. 2 Iowa State (21-3, 8-3) is looking to rebound from a 62-55 loss at TCU on Feb. 10. The Cyclones are coached by T.J. Otzelberger, who is 116-48 in his fifth season at ISU and 215-111 in his 10th season overall. Iowa State is 13-0 in Hilton Coliseum this season and its 13-game home court winning streak is tied for 13th nationally.

Iowa State averages 84.6 points per game, and its plus-19.8 scoring margin is second in the Big 12 and is sixth nationally. The Cyclones pull down 36.7 rebounds per contest and have a plus-6.8 rebound margin. ISU leads the league in assists per game (18.5), steals per game (9.1), three-point field goal percentage (39.9%), and turnovers forced per game (15.5). ISU also averages 18.5 assists and 3.0 blocked shots per contest.

Junior forward Milan Momcilovic leads Iowa State in scoring at 18.4 points per game and he has made a team-high 93 threes, and his 51.7 three-point field goal percentage leads the nation. Senior forward Joshua Jefferson is next in scoring at 17.0 points per game and he leads the team in rebounds at 7.7 per game, and assists with 126. Senior guard Tamin Lipsey (13.3 ppg) leads ISU with 47 steals and he is second on the team with 113 assists. Freshman guard Killyan Toure (9.6 ppg) is second on the team with 43 steals.

Junior forward Blake Buchanan (8.2 ppg) leads ISU with 25 blocked shots, and he is second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per contest. Other Iowa State regulars include freshman guard Jamaroin Bateman (5.9 ppg, 32 3FGs), redshirt-senior guard Nate Heise (5.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg), freshman forward Dominykas Pleta (4.5 ppg), and senior guard Dominick Nelson (4.3 ppg).

THE KANSAS-IOWA STATE SERIES

Dating back 1909, Kansas leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 191-69, including a 72-43 mark in games played in Ames, Iowa (28-25 in Hilton Coliseum). Since the Big 12 began
in 1996-97, KU is 45-18 against Iowa State (42-15 in regularseason play and 4-3 in the Big 12 Championship). KU head coach Bill Self is 36-13 against Iowa State, all while coaching at Kansas.

Earlier this season, Kansas handed then-No. 2 Iowa State its first loss of the season, 84-63, on Jan. 13 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU was led by Tre White who had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Darryn Peterson had 16 points and five rebounds, while Melvin Council Jr. had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Flory Bidunga posted 10 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals in the win. KU led 44-23 at halftime and both teams scored 40 points in the second half.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

Make Kansas 20-5 overall, extending its longest winning streak of the season to nine games … Give Kansas 20 wins for the 37th time in the last 38 seasons (excluding 2018 due to IARP) … Make 10-2 or better in Big 12 play and give Kansas 10 league wins for the 32nd time in the last 33 seasons (excludes
2018 due to IARP) … Makes Kansas 6-3 against ranked teams this season, including 3-2 versus top 10 opponents … Make the KU-Iowa State series 192-69, giving Kansas three straight wins against the Cyclones … End an Iowa State three-game winning streak against Kansas in Hilton Coliseum … Make Kansas 5-3 in true road games this season and 9-4 in games not played in Allen Fieldhouse … Make Bill Self 629-161 while at Kansas, 836-266 all-time, and 37-13 all-time versus Iowa State, all while at Kansas … Make Kansas 2,434-914 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

Make Kansas 19-6 and ending a KU eight-game winning streak … Make Kansas 9-3 in Big 12 play … Make the Kansas-Iowa State 191-70 in favor of Kansas … Make Kansas 5-4 against ranked teams this season, 2-3 versus top 10 opponents … Make Kansas 4-4 in true road games this season and 8-5 in games not played in Allen Fieldhouse … Make Bill Self 628-162 while at KU, 835-267 all-time and 36-14 all-time versus Iowa State, all while at Kansas … Make KU 2,433-915 all time.