Kansas flips the script on Houston in 69-56 victory

Shreyas Laddha, The Kansas City Star on Feb 23, 2026

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — Tre White is a creature of habit.

Before each home game, White is the first one on the Allen Fieldhouse court. His focus? Shooting all sorts of 3-pointers all around the arc, in multiple different scenarios.

This time, the shooting exhibition continued well past the opening tip.

With the Kansas offense struggling for much of Monday night’s game, White made many of those same 3-pointers that he attempts in warmups — only with a roaring crowd of 15,300 fans celebrating each make.

No. 14 Kansas upset No. 5 Houston 69-56. The Jayhawks (21-7, 11-4 Big 12) improved to 41-0 in Big Monday home games under Bill Self.

White was the star of this one.

The senior wing led the Jayhawks with 23 points. He went 6 for 9 from the field, 3 for 4 from 3 and 8 for 8 at the line. He was joined by Darryn Peterson (14 points), Bryson Tiller (11 points) and Melvin Council (11 points) in double figures. Peterson, KU’s freshman star, struggled through a 5-for-14 shooting night but hit a late 3.

Jamari McDowell also made two important 3-pointers.

This game flipped going into halftime.

After trailing most of the first half, KU closed the period on an 11-0 run to take a 31-27 lead. Then the Jayhawks pushed their advantage to double figures and rode out the win. They led by as many as 20 and never let Houston get closer than 13 points in the final 10:29.

Houston led by as many as eight points in the first half.

Up next for KU: Kansas travels to Tucson, Ariz., to play No. 2 Arizona on Saturday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Monday’s game:

KU basketball’s defense excels

On a night when KU’s offense struggled early, the Jayhawks’ defense, led by a national defensive player of the year candidate, was phenomenal.

In fact, it was the only reason why Kansas was within single digits for the entirety of the first half.

KU’s defense suffocated the Houston offense. Every possession was a battle for the Cougars, with the Jayhawks even forcing a shot clock violation.

Houston shot just 33% from the field, including 10% from 3-point range, in the first half. The Cougars made only one 3-point shot in the period. They finished the game 31.8% from the field and 20.8% from 3.

Self, in his postgame TV interview on the Allen Fieldhouse floor, said big man Flory Bidunga dominated the game, largely defensively, despite only scoring four points.

The Jayhawks also scored 14 points off Houston turnovers.

Council gets back on track

Council came into Monday on a cold streak. Council had shot 6 for 19 (31.6%) from the field in his last two games and didn’t score more than seven points in either game.

But when KU made its run in the second half, Council was at the center of it. He played excellent defense and stuffed the stat sheet on offense. He raced down the floor to lead the fast break and hit a number of timely baskets.

Council finished with 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting, but he scored seven of those in the second half. He added six rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Free throws are crucial

While the Jayhawks’ offense took time to find a rhythm, there is one thing Kansas did at an impressively high level:

KU got to the free-throw line — and almost never missed.

In fact, those early free throws proved instrumental in keeping the Jayhawks in the game. KU finished 18 for 20 (90%) on free throws, including a perfect 11 for 11 in the first half.

On the other end, Houston didn’t miss at the line (9 for 9), but the Jayhawks managed to avoid fouling to keep the Cougars from getting easy points.

Almost every bucket was hard to come by Monday, and the Jayhawks’ advantage in free-throw makes and attempts proved vital. White led KU by going 8 for 8. Tiller went 5 for 7, Council 3 for 3 and Peterson 2 for 2.

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