Arizona vs. Kansas: The High-Stakes Showdown That Could Redefine the Season

Ever since the 2025-26 college basketball season tipped off, Arizona has been the talk of the town — and with good reason. Starting with a jaw-dropping upset of the reigning champs, Florida, in Vegas, the Wildcats have dazzled fans and analysts alike. Racking up five wins over ranked teams during their nonconference run and blazing through the season with an unprecedented 23-0 streak, Arizona’s surge was nothing short of electrifying. But, as all great stories go, adversity struck: back-to-back losses, including the crucial sidelining of Koa Peat due to a leg injury, threw a wrench in their seamless trajectory. Now, with the regular season winding down, the Wildcats stand tantalizingly close to clinching their first Big 12 title — a milestone that could cement their program’s elite status. One win against 14th-ranked Kansas this Saturday would at least share the crown, and a subsequent victory over Iowa State could seal it outright in front of the home crowd. It’s a thrilling juncture, packed with promise and drama, and I’m eager to break down exactly what’s at stake when Arizona (26-2, 13-2 Big 12) hosts the Jayhawks (21-7, 11-4). LEARN MORE

The 2025-26 season began about four months ago when Arizona took the college basketball world by storm and knocked off defending champion Florida in Las Vegas. The spotlight has been on the Wildcats ever since, growing brighter during a nonconference slate that included five wins over ranked opponents and only intensified as they got off to a program-record 23-0 start.

Then came the inevitable adversity: consecutive losses, including one that saw Koa Peat suffer a leg injury that has kept him out since.

But with just over a week left in the regular season, Arizona finds itself on the cusp of its first Big 12 championship. A win Saturday against No. 14 Kansas would secure at least a share of the title, with the chance to claim it outright Monday night in the home finale against No. 4 Iowa State.

“This team’s done a good job hanging with it all year, putting ourselves in position to be in position,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said Thursday, repeating a phrase he’d first mentioned after Saturday’s win at No. 2 Houston. “Now, let’s see what happens Saturday, and see if we can inch closer to getting there.

“Obviously it’d be a great accomplishment. Regular season conference championships mean a lot to programs and to the coaches, maybe not the fanbase, because they want to get fixated on what they consider the final result. But when you do what we do, anytime you’re judged over a conference season against your competitors, if you can come out on top, that says something about your program. Obviously, we want to be a team competing for championships, and a Big 12 championship would be no different. It’d be something we’d be really proud to get done. But do it. We got to go do it.”

Here’s what to watch for when the second-ranked Wildcats (26-2, 13-2 Big 12) hosts the Jayhawks (21-7, 11-4):

Wildcats ‘hopefully’ at full strength

Peat hasn’t played since the first half of the overtime loss to Texas Tech on Feb. 14, a strained muscle in his lower leg keeping him out. But the freshman did warm up before Tuesday’s game at Baylor and was listed as a “game-time decision” before ultimately sitting out a third straight game.

Fellow freshman Dwayne Aristode has missed four games battling an illness, one that kept him home for the road trip. But Lloyd said he expected Aristode to practice Thursday, increasing the chances that he and Peat could return to action against Kansas.

“We’re not going to get out ahead of ourselves on it, but hopefully we’re going to practice closer to full strength (Thursday), and then hopefully that’ll lead to playing closer to full strength Saturday,” Lloyd said.

Those weren’t the only ailments Arizona has dealt with of late. Brayden Burries needed an IV after the Feb. 18 game against BYU, still looked well below 100 percent at Houston and according to Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star was battling bronchitis at Baylor when he scored 23 points including 14 in the final 10-plus minutes.

And Anthony Dell’Orso was also a game-time decision for Baylor after injuring his ankle and a foot muscle late at Houston yet played 30 minutes and hit two of Arizona’s nine 3-pointers. Dell’Orso had scored 22 apiece off the bench in the previous two games.

“The seasons are obviously long and they’re tough, and it’s been a long road, but I feel like we’re coming out of it,” Lloyd said. “I feel like we’re coming out of it at the right time. You have to acknowledge it’s probably going to happen over the course of the season. You don’t manifest it happening, but it does. You have to deal with it. I think everyone’s had to go through it at some point this season. We had a good day off (Wednesday), and I told our guys we needed it to be our guest best day of rest and recovery we’ve had all season. And then we need to follow it up with a couple good practices, because we haven’t been able to practice much. I think practice matters.”

Reserves Sidi Gueye and Evan Nelson helped Arizona navigate the last three games, combining for 41 minutes.

“Those guys had really important moments the last (three) games, and they really helped us,” Lloyd said. “We may continue to need it. And now maybe it’s easier to go dip into that well after you’ve been forced to have some success with it.”

The offensive approach

During Peat’s absence Arizona has started both Tobe Awaka and Motiejus Krivas, and until the second half at Baylor that combo had struggled to be as productive on offense. Instead, the UA wings had taken on a bigger role with Dell’Orso having his back-to-back monster performances off the bench against BYU and Houston and Ivan Kharchenkov also getting more involved with scoring.

This last game also saw Jaden Bradley show off a 3-point barrage he’d previously not pulled out of his toolkit. The senior was 5 of 8 from deep after being 5 of 22 on 3s in the first 13 Big 12 games.

“For him to go 5 of 8 from three doesn’t surprise me,” Lloyd said. “I think it’s just a great sign that we can win a lot of ways. If teams are going to come try to game plan by not guarding Jaden Bradley, I guess so be it.”

If Peat is able to play, and start, Arizona can go back to having a big come off the bench. Awaka had thrived in that role, averaging just under a double-double, and while he wasn’t less foul-prone the whistles didn’t have as much of an impact because the Wildcats could rotate between him, Krivas and Peat in the frontcourt.

Awaka only played 17 minutes at Houston, fouling out in the final minute. Many of his fouls are outside the paint, often the result of going for a loose ball or chasing a defender.

“Tobe’s deal is simple: just don’t run guys over at the end of the play,” Lloyd said. “Just stop. I mean, it’s that simple. Tobe’s done a good job all year, when you’re that physical and that aggressive fouls are going to happen.”

Which Kansas shows up?

The Jayhawks handed Houston its most lopsided loss since joining the Big 12 three seasons ago, beating the Cougars 69-56 to continue their dominance at home on Big Monday. But two days earlier Kansas was thumped by 16 at home by Cincinnati, a team that had only won once previously on the road in Big 12 play this season and whom Arizona crushed 77-51 in January.

Kansas has also won at Texas Tech, split with Iowa State and handed the UA its first loss.

“They’ve been a little bit up and down, for sure,” Lloyd said. “But you have to go back and you have to see are there reasons they didn’t play well? Are they self-inflicted wounds, or are they stuff that the opponents are doing, that maybe they struggle matching up with for whatever reason. Gotta just look at it on a case by case basis.”

There’s also been the ongoing drama surrounding freshman guard Daryn Peterson, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft who is averaging 19.5 points per game (28.5 per 40) but has also missed 11 games. During nonconference play he sat out with a hamstring injury and in the league has missed time with an ankle sprain, cramps and illness, asking out of a couple games midway through.

Peterson was a surprise scratch for the first meeting with Arizona, yet he wasn’t missed as Kansas’ supporting cast stepped up huge.

“Obviously Daryn’s an elite talent,” Lloyd said. “Speculate all you want, I just don’t see any scenario where they’re not better or don’t have a higher ceiling with him on the floor. So that’s what we’re going to prepare to play against. Obviously, last time kind of was a surprise that he didn’t play. This time, we’re fully expecting him to play. He’s a really talented player who’s obviously a great competitor. You don’t have the success he’s had without being a great competitor. I’m sure he’s seeing the end of his only year in college right in front of him, so I’m sure he’s going to come out and try to capture that moment and make the most of it.”

The McKale mood

Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse is one of the best environments in college hoops and can have an impact on games, something Arizona has experienced twice in the past 12 months. But now the Jayhawks get to visit what had been the toughest place to play in the Pac-12.

There have been some grumblings online—and on local radio—of late about the lack of a true home court advantage at McKale Center because of the crowd makeup and the atmosphere it creates. Lloyd doesn’t see why Arizona’s fans can’t be just as impactful on Kansas as Kansas’ were on the Wildcats.

“Why shouldn’t we match it?,” he said. “I hope our fans welcome Kansas and Coach Self like their fans welcomed me. Nothing disrespectful, but they were there for it, and that would be great. Our fans need to know that there’s a standard that’s been set for fandom and Kansas is pretty high up that list, so let’s compete.”