Kansas seeks fifth straight win in Big 12 opener at UCF
Big 12 play begins Saturday afternoon when No. 17 Kansas plays its conference opener against UCF in Orlando, Fla.
Kansas (10-3) has earned four consecutive victories and looks to open the competitive conference schedule with another one when facing the Knights (11-1), who have a bit of history on their side against the Jayhawks and have notched 10 straight wins after dropping their second game against Vanderbilt.
Kansas coach Bill Self hopes to have freshman star Darryn Peterson on the court when his club meets coach Johnny Dawkins' UCF group.
Fresh from Christmas break on Monday, Self addressed the status of Peterson, who has suffered from cramping and missed the past nine contests.
"I'm just going to go with what everybody believes to be what's best," Self said. "I've been in agreement with everybody so far, but it's getting to the point now where you know it's -- I think he's really, really close -- and hopefully he'll feel really good the rest of this week of practice."
While the coach sounded cautious about the 6-foot-6 guard from Canton, Ohio, he appeared equally anxious to have him back on the court and bringing his 19.3 points per game and 42.3% 3-point proficiency into the matchup.
Self is optimistic regarding Peterson's return Saturday, saying, "Unless something unforeseen happens, we should have our full complement of players."
Though Peterson's point production leads the squad over his four games played, Flory Bidunga scores 14.7 and dominates the glass with 9.2 rebounds. Tre White averages 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. Melvin Council Jr. scores 12.9 and leads in assists with 5.2.
In an amazing performance in their inaugural Big 12 home game two seasons ago, the Knights beat then-No. 3 Kansas 65-60 on Jan. 10, 2024, stunning the college basketball world and showing that the former AAC program was going to be a formidable foe for its new opposition.
Last season on Jan. 5, Kansas avenged that loss by outscoring the Knights by 32 points in the second half on the way to a 99-48 romp.
Dawkins liked the version of Riley Kugel that he saw play against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 23 and feels he is ready for the intensity of Big 12 action.
After averaging 17.7 points per game over the Knights' first seven games, the former Florida and Mississippi State player cooled off drastically over a four-game stretch in which he netted just 22 points -- with 16 of those coming in an 81-63 win over Mercer on Dec. 17.
Kugel responded in the 85-80 victory over Florida Atlantic, tallying 18 points, six rebounds and four steals.
He is second on the Knights at 13.7 points per outing.
"We need everybody," Dawkins said of Kugel, who was held scoreless in two games during his slump. "If one guy has a stretch like Riley went through, hopefully you have guys that can pick him up and vice versa. ... It's a function of making sure our guys are understanding that they all have value in what we do."
Jordan Burks, a Georgetown transfer, averages a team-high 13.8 points and adds 4.7 boards.