LAWRENCE, Kan. (KUAthletics.com) – Kansas (19-10, 10-8 Big 12) hits the road for ESPN Big Monday at No. 4/4 Houston (25-4, 17-1 Big 12) on March 3. Tip from the Fertitta Center is set for 8 p.m. Central.
Kansas is coming off a 78-73 loss to No. 10 Texas Tech on March 1. Houston won its eighth-straight game with a 73-64 win against Cincinnati on March 1. The Cougars are 15-1 at home this season.
Houston will be the sixth Associated Press top 10 opponent for Kansas this season. KU is 2-3 versus top 10 foes in 2024-25. KU is 3-3 against AP Top 25 opponents.
KU is 81-23 all-time on Big Monday (49-1 at home and 32-23 on the road), including 62-18 under coach Bill Self (38-0 at home and 24-18 on the road). KU is 2-0 on ESPN Big Monday this season with wins against Iowa State (69-52, Feb. 3) and at Colorado (71-64, Feb. 24).
KU leads the all-time series with Houston, 6-4, but the Cougars have won the last two meetings, including a 92-86 double-overtime win in Lawrence on Jan. 25, 2025.
Kansas is No. 19 in the NET report by the NCAA through games of March 1. To show the strength of the Big 12, the No. 19 rank is fifth in the Big 12 behind No. 3 Houston, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 9 Iowa State and No. 10 Arizona. KU’s strength of schedule is No. 18 nationally, which is fifth in the league.
Kansas leads the Big 12 in blocked shots per game (4.8, 25th nationally). KU is second in the league in assists per game (17.7, eighth nationally), FG Pct. Defense (39.2%, 12th nationally), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.55, 22nd nationally) and 3FG Pct. Defense (29.9%, 15th nationally).
Graduate C Hunter Dickinson has three double-doubles in his last four games. Dickinson leads Kansas in scoring at 16.9 ppg which ranks fourth in the Big 12. Dickinson also leads KU in rebounding at 9.8 rpg, which is second in the Big 12 and is 13th nationally. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week, Dickinson is second in the Big 12 in double-doubles (12), which is 20th nationally. Dickinson is second on the team 39 blocked shots and is also second on the team with 29 steals.
Senior G Zeke Mayo is next in scoring at 14.0 points per contest and he leads Kansas with 69 threes made. He is making a team best 39.0 percent from beyond the arc. A two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, Mayo is second on the team with 86 assists and pulls down 4.8 rebounds per contest.
Graduate G Dajuan Harris Jr. has 62 assists in his last 10 games. Harris is averaging 9.3 points per game. At Baylor (2/1), Harris moved into second on the Big 12 career assists list, currently at 837, which second on the KU career list. Harris is second in the conference in assists per game at 5.8, which is 30th nationally and is second in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.29, which is ninth nationally.
Senior F KJ Adams posted his third career double-double, first of the season, with 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds versus Texas Tech (3/1). Adams is a starter who is scoring 8.8 points per game and is averaging 18.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg in his last two contests. Adams pulls down 4.8 rebounds per game and has 61 assists, 19 blocked shots and 22 steals.
Junior G Rylan Griffen is second on the team with 39 threes made. He has started 15 games this season and is averaging 7.0 points per contest after his 11 points against Texas Tech (3/1).
Freshman F Flory Bidunga pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds against Oklahoma State (2/22). He leads KU with 47 blocked shots, which ranks fourth on the Kansas Freshman Blocked Shots list. Bidunga is second on the team with a 5.6 rebound average and he scores 6.3 points per game. He is shooting 73.8 percent (79-for-107) from the field and has a team-high 43 dunks this season.
Junior G AJ Storr has started four games and he is scoring 5.9 points per contest. Senior G David Coit has made 14 threes in his last six games, including a season-high five threes against Oklahoma State (2/22). He has three starts and is third on the team with 38 threes made. Coit averages 5.0 points per game. Graduate G Shakeel Moore has started nine games and is averaging 3.8 points per contest.
UP NEXT
Kansas will conclude the 2024-25 season hosting No. 22 Arizona on Saturday, March 8, for Senior Day. The game will tip at 3:30 p.m. Central and will be televised on ESPN.
Kansas leads the overall series with Arizona, 6-4, and KU won the last meeting, 87-79, on Nov. 27, 2011, in the Las Vegas Invitational.
Since, the 1983-84 season, Kansas has not lost a regular-season home finale.
