LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball couldn’t protect home court on Saturday, in Big 12 Conference play against Cincinnati, and suffered an 84-68 loss.
The No. 12 Jayhawks (20-7, 10-4 in Big 12) trailed 36-34 at the end of the first half, and despite taking a lead early in the second, watched UC pull away toward the end of regulation. The Bearcats (15-12, 7-7) led by as many as 19 points before winning by 16. As much as it was a positive sign to see KU freshman Darryn Peterson make his way through the game and score 17 points, his presence was nowhere near enough to deliver a win.
Kansas finished the game abysmally from the 3-point line, shooting 4-for-18, while Cincinnati shot 12-for-31. The Bearcats watched sophomore Moustapha Thiam prove to be the best player on the court, as he led all scorers with 28 points. KU’s only other standout was sophomore Flory Bidunga, who had an 18-point and 12-rebound double-double.
Kansas’ schedule resumes Monday with a game at home against No. 2 Houston. It’s a matchup that would have been challenging regardless, but one that looks even more difficult now that KU allowed itself to suffer this letdown Saturday. Kansas’ place in the Big 12 regular season title race just became that much more precarious.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: No. 12 Kansas basketball suffers embarrassing upset loss at home vs UC