Social Media Reacts to Flory Bidunga’s Dominant First Half for Kansas vs Syracuse

Flory Bidunga's sophomore leap has become more and more evident amid Darryn Peterson's multi-game absence. KU's starting center has proved that returning to Lawrence after his brief stint in the transfer portal was worth it, as he is really starting to come into his own.

During the first half of the Players Era Festival second-round game against Syracuse on Tuesday afternoon, Bidunga was a force to be reckoned with. He scored the Jayhawks' first seven points of the half and finished with 11 points and eight rebounds (two offensive), along with two blocks and two assists.

Bidunga has been incredibly impressive so far. He is anchoring the paint defensively and making it extremely difficult for Syracuse's players to drive to the rim.

But more importantly, he stayed out of foul trouble, as he finished with only one foul in 16 minutes played. Syracuse's guard-heavy lineup has had no answer for his rim protection, and that should continue to be the case since he can play without worrying about fouling in the second half.

He has also been excellent offensively. One of his only two misses came on an end-of-shot-clock heave, which happened to be the first 3-point attempt of his career (and hopefully his last).

Regardless, the growth Bidunga has shown is astronomical. Without him, Kansas might not even be leading right now, but the Jayhawks are heading into the break with a 34-25 advantage.

Even when playing next to fellow big man Bryson Tiller, Bidunga gets to his spots and knows when to pass out of double teams. He even hit Tiller for a dunk down low toward the end of the half once Syracuse started to pressure him.

After playing sparingly as a freshman, there were questions about whether Bidunga would make a jump. However, he has proven all of his doubters wrong so far.

There is still a lot of basketball left to be played, but if Bidunga keeps performing at this level today, the Orange will have a hard time climbing back from this deficit. We will update everyone with more information once the game concludes, but for now, here are some great social media reactions we gathered.

Glad Flory is starting to play like he’s better than the defender, cause he is
— JayhawkFocus (@JayhawkFocus) November 25, 2025

flory is just so good hes so fun to watch
— rice #EGE (@pachecocentral) November 25, 2025

Everybody enjoy Flory Bidunga's final year in Lawrence. Because this man is developing at a blistering pace. What can he not do?
— Rock Chalk Blog (@RockChalkBlog) November 25, 2025

Flory is actually insane.
— Jayhawks Express (@JayhawksExpress) November 25, 2025

Ever since Self said he wanted Flory to be the second option, it feels like he's made a big effort to become that.

This team is going to be in good shape when Peterson comes back. #kubball
— Shreyas Laddha (@shre98) November 25, 2025

Flory Bidunga is playing like an All-American 🔥🔥🔥#KUbball
— Andrew Curtis (@AndrewCurtis24) November 25, 2025

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