Foul Trouble Becoming an Issue for Kansas Basketball Big Men

There were a lot of what-ifs during last night's loss to Duke in the Champions Classic.

The Jayhawks had multiple opportunities to get back into the game, but they just could not seem to get over the hump, even going four and a half minutes without scoring during a crucial stretch toward the end of the game.

Another question is how Kansas would have performed had its big men not been in foul trouble. The only player with a positive plus-minus on the team was Flory Bidunga, as the Jayhawks outscored Duke by five points when he was on the court.

But after he picked up his second foul in the middle of the first half, he played sparingly after that until the second half. Additionally, starting power forward Bryson Tiller appeared in 29 minutes before fouling out himself.

A few of the calls by the referees were wishy-washy, but that isn't the point we're trying to make. As two relatively inexperienced big men, both Bidunga and Tiller are going to have to learn to play without fouling.

Foul Trouble Plagued Kansas Against Duke

The Jayhawks lost for many reasons, such as poor 3-point shooting and untimely baskets allowed on defense. However, one has to imagine that the outcome might have swung if Bidunga didn't have to play conservatively once his foul total started to ramp up.

Last year, he averaged 3.0 fouls in his six games in the starting lineup, so fans knew this could be an issue coming into the season.

Nov 18, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga (40) goes up for a dunk during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Because of Bidunga's early foul trouble, Kansas was forced to play big man Paul Mbiya at the end of the first half along with a number of other reserves, which ultimately allowed Duke to finish the half on a 21-7 run after the Jayhawks jumped out to an early lead.

This is another reason why getting Darryn Peterson back on the court once he returns from his injury will be massive. Although Bill Self enjoys utilizing the double-big man lineup, Tiller being in foul trouble left KU extremely restricted and forced the staff to rely on the third center on the depth chart.

Once Peterson gets back into the starting lineup, Tiller will be able to successfully spell Bidunga, who will be free to play aggressively without worrying too much about foul trouble. But until then, they cannot afford to commit so many unnecessary fouls, especially with KU's thin bench unit right now.