Here’s 3 Players To Watch When Houston Faces Kansas in Big 12 Tournament
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Houston basketball earned another opportunity to play for a second straight day in the Big 12 Tournament, and this time it comes against a familiar opponent: the Kansas Jayhawks.
It’s head coach Bill Self taking on Kelvin Sampson and it won’t be the first time these two have collided against each other. It also won’t be the first time that these two prestigious schools has faced each other this season as it will be a rematch from earlier on in the year where the Jayhawks got the home win, 69-56.
This time, these three players will look to replicate their performance from the late February matchup and will have to produce a ton of points against a ferocious defense that is hard for any program to overcome.
Darryn Peterson, Guard
Last time Peterson faced the Cougars, he scored only 14 points, going 5 of 14 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers. As many fans already know, Peterson is projected to be one of the top picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, so everyone knows what he is capable of.
To impress all of the scouts that are likely to be in attendance for the contest, he’ll want to show off how special a shooter he is and the reason he deserves to go first off the board. On the season, he is a 45.7 percent shooter from the field and a 38.7 percent shooter from beyond the arc. He’s tallying 19.9 points per game with 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists on average.
In the 2025-26 campaign, he has appeared in only 20 games, averaging 28 minutes per game. He is averaging 1.4 steals to go along with 1.6 turnovers and is also an 81.6 percent shooter from the charity stripe. He’s crafty at driving down the lane and drawing the whistle, so he’ll do his best to make it tougher for the Houston defense to slow him down.
Tre White, Guard
Appearing in 31 games this season, Tre White has arguably been one of the most consistent players Kansas has had, as he is one of the best three-point shooters and most accurate from the line.
As a shooter, the Dallas, Texas, native is averaging 14.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. From the field, he has been on fire, going 46.6 percent, and he is also a 43.5 percent shooter from deep. When he’s feeling himself and touches the ball, he is explosive with the way he goes about business on the court.
His best performance of the season fell against Kansas State, which was his last regular season game of the season, as he posted 23 points and connected on 9 of his 16 field goal attempts. He also was 5 of 9 from three with 11 rebounds for another double-double he’s had. If he carries his composure into the matchup with the Cougars, the sky is the limit for him as the rest of the Big 12 Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament.
Flory Bidunga, Forward
One of the scariest rebounders in the entire Big 12 is participating in this matchup against one of the best teams in the league, so watching the difference in the rebound battle will be super intriguing for everyone who loves paying attention to the rebounding categories.
The leader in rebounders for the Jayhawks, with nine per game, has to win highly-contested battles and will have to box out like he has been all season because he’s arguably facing the best players he has taken on all season, and will not budge at all with the aggressive mindset and physicality they play with.
On the season, the 6-foot-10 beast from Kinshasa, Congo, is averaging 13.8 points per game with 1.6 assists. Out of all the contests he’s played in, the forward has had a heavy presence underneath, with 24 games in double digits. His most notable game was against Princeton, where he registered 25 points. Watch for the athlete wearing No. 40 to have a big impact in a game that will have implications for seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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