Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2026
Tipoff: Noon CST
Location: Hilton Coliseum , Ames, Iowa
TV: ABC
Betting Line: Iowa State - 6.5, Kansas +6.5
Vitals
No. 9 Kansas men's basketball heads to Ames, Iowa, on Saturday for one of its toughest tests of the season, facing No. 5 Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum in a matchup with major Big 12 Conference race implications.
Tip is set for 12 p.m. (noon) Central on ABC as the Jayhawks (19-5, 9-2 Big 12) carry an eight-game Big 12 winning streak into one of the league’s most difficult road environments. Iowa State (21-3, 8-3) is 13-0 at home this season and looking to bounce back from a 62-55 loss at TCU earlier this week.
Kansas enters the showdown fresh off an 82-78 win over then-No. 1 Arizona on Monday night, improving to 5-3 against ranked opponents this season. The Jayhawks also handed Iowa State its first loss of the year in the teams’ earlier meeting, an 84-63 win in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 13.
Freshman guard Darryn Peterson leads Kansas with 20.5 points per game and has scored 20 or more six times despite appearing in just 13 contests. Peterson missed the game on Monday due to "flu-like" symptoms, but is good to go against the Cyclones.
Sophomore center Flory Bidunga anchors the interior. He is averaging 14.9 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting almost 70 percent from the field. Bidunga leads the Big 12 with 69 blocked shots.
Senior guards Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. provide scoring balance. White averages 14.2 points and leads the team in three-pointers and free throw percentage, while Council averages 15.5 points in league play and ranks among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio.
After Saturday’s contest, Kansas will conclude its two-game road trip on Wednesday at Oklahoma State.
Quotables:
Kansas head coach Bill Self on Iowa State:
“There was a period where they were playing as well as anybody in the country,” he said. “Then they had a bad week, then played great again. They’re terrific.”
“Their bench has gotten better. Their freshmen are good. They’ve got three potential All-American type guys starting,” he said. “We played so well against them the first time and they didn’t. I’d like to think we had something to do with that, but we’ll see a different team Saturday.”
“They’ve won the last three there. It’s three and three over the last six,” Self said. “They’re ranked five now? So it’ll be five versus nine. It’ll be turned up in there.”
Projected Starting Lineups
Kansas Jayhawks
Flory Bidunga
Tre White
Melvin Council Jr.
Bryson Tiller
Darryn Peterson
Iowa State Cyclones
Milan Momcilovic
Joshua Jefferson
Tamin Lipsey
Killyan Toure
Blake Buchanan
Injury Report:
