Arizona Suffers First Loss of the Season, Falling to No. 9 Kansas

The No. 1 Arizona Wildcats' record is no longer unblemished after suffering their first loss of the season to the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks.

Arizona (23-1) came into Allen Fieldhouse after making history by defeating Oklahoma State 84-47, putting them at 23-0, the best start ever for a Big 12 team.

Final from Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/DHcSvYnXPo
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) February 10, 2026

Kansas (19-5) was able to knock off Arizona by competing with it in the paint and rallying past a slow start to eventually take the lead in the second half. By the end, Arizona scored just two more points than Kansas near the rim. The Jayhawks also took advantage of their free throws, making 21-of-25 compared to Arizona's 8-of-14 night.

Brayden Burries led the team in points with 25, while Motiejus Krivas was second with 14, to go with 15 rebounds, a career high. It is also the sixth game in which Krivas had a double-double. The Wildcats will need to recover from their loss quickly, as they will be facing No. 11 Texas Tech at home this Saturday.

First half

The Wildcats jumped out to an 8-2 lead four minutes into the first half, but the Jayhawks then scored four consecutive points to shorten the lead.

Oh that is FILTHY Mo 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/Bm1RTIDEnL
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) February 10, 2026

Arizona got back up to a six-point lead due to Awaka's field goal that made it 17-11 with 13 minutes left in the half. Still, Kansas remained relentless on both offense and defense, eventually tying it up at 19 apiece with 10 minutes left to play in the half.

It was then the Arizona offense that went on a scoring run, clawing towards a 29-22 lead that was capped off by Ivan Kharchenkov's jumper with seven minutes left in the half. The Wildcats would remain in control of the game, but Kansas refused to go down by more than seven points from there, playing physical defense paired with efficient scoring.

The Wildcats held a 38-31 lead with four minutes left, but the Jayhawks stormed back to tie it up 38-38 with three minutes left by taking advantage of missed shots and scoring quickly on the fast break that ensued.

COMING IN HOT pic.twitter.com/RRDyQKHCfm
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) February 10, 2026

By the end of the first half, Arizona was clinging to a 45-42 lead. The Wildcats shot an impressive 51% from the field and led Kansas in rebounds, 26-17. It was the stout Jayhawks' defense that kept them in the game, blocking seven shots. Burries led all scorers in the first half with 12 points and went 5-for-7 from the field. Krivas led in rebounds with nine.

Second half

The Wildcats came out of the second half and immediately began knocking down their shots, jumping out to a 55-44 lead. The Jayhawks, however, still refused to slow down and shortened Arizona's lead to a 59-53 score.

THIS SEQUENCE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jU0wxt0ivL
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) February 10, 2026

Eventually, Kansas got to within one point of taking the lead at a 64-63 score with 10 minutes left to play. The Jayhakws were more than prepared to take on the Wildcats in the paint, and it showed. They took their first lead of the night after Flory Bidunga met Krivas near the rim and finished the shot, making it a 65-64 game. Melvin Council Jr's layup in transition put Arizona down by three points after that, extending Kansas' scoring streak to 23-9.

The Wildcats then went down by five points with a 69-64 score and six minutes remaining, but they rallied back to get to within one point at 77-76 with 34 seconds left. The Kansas defense was airtight throughout the rest of the game and Arizona suffered its first loss of the season.

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