Cincinnati forward Baba Miller (18) turns for a bucket against Kansas guard Darryn Peterson (22) and Kansas forward Bryson Tiller (15) during the first half, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

An uneasy and abnormally quiet Allen Fieldhouse crowd roared to life for a moment when Elmarko Jackson tied Saturday’s game at 49 with 12 minutes to go.

Jackson had two chances to ratchet the noise up to another level, and put game pressure on Cincinnati, but missed a pull-up 3 and then couldn’t quite rattle in a fast-break layup. Instead, the visitors remained on the front foot, caught fire as the second half crossed its midpoint and upset eighth-ranked KU, 84-68.

“I would guess that we didn’t respect them,” sophomore forward Flory Bidunga said. “The Big 12 is one of the greatest leagues, and then obviously, we should have respected them more than what we did and I feel like we didn’t.”

The Bearcats’ forwards Baba Miller and Moustapha Thiam combined for 46 points and presented consistent issues for KU’s forwards inside, but as impactful as any buckets in the game were their four 3-pointers on seven attempts when they had previously been 6-for-41 (14.6%) and 6-for-29 (20.7%) from deep on the season.

“How about our frontcourt tonight?” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. “I mean, it’s Moustapha’s birthday. That’s one heck of a birthday present. We all got to feel like it was our birthday tonight.”

“Baba was kicking everybody to start the game,” KU coach Bill Self said. “It didn’t make any difference who we put on Thiam or Miller. Flory can’t guard them both. Somebody else is going to have to guard the other guy, and we didn’t do that very well at all.”

Though known for its defense, Cincinnati went 12-for-31 on 3s compared to KU’s 4-for-18 (with two makes for the Jayhawks in the final minutes with the outcome decided). Jalen Celestine and Day Day Thomas made critical shots in the final minutes to end any hope of a Jayhawk rally after neither team had led by more than five points for the first 34 minutes. Celestine finished with 14 points.

“Coach is telling us that they shoot 32 3s, they make eight,” KU guard Melvin Council Jr. said. “We already knew that they were just on fire today.”

Bidunga had 18 points and 12 rebounds for KU but was largely contained in the second half and battled minor foul trouble. Darryn Peterson scored 17 points in 17 minutes while playing 32 minutes, one of his highest totals of the season.

“If we’re going to grab a positive out of this today,” Self said sarcastically, “yeah, let’s go with that.”

KU was also outrebounded 40-29 and allowed 14 offensive boards: “That always has been an issue with us,” Bidunga said.

“They were more aggressive, they were more physical and we played soft,” Self said.

The result was the first home loss in Big 12 play for the Jayhawks, and one that deprived them of any semblance of control over their chances at a share of the conference title.

“I didn’t think anybody played well today,” Self said. “I’d certainly include all our players with that. You know, the thing about it is, we can chop it up however much we want to, but the defensive intensity from everybody was lacking.”

Baba Miller came out aggressive from the opening whistle and drew an early foul on Bidunga, but Bidunga finished a pair of lobs before heading to the bench with an 8-5 lead. The Bearcats tied the game when Miller fed Jizzle James for a 3-pointer.

Miller had 12 points and two assists as Cincinnati went ahead 19-17.

“We gave no resistance whatsoever and he just shot over us at 4 feet,” Self said.

Bidunga answered one Bearcat bucket after another. The Jayhawks moved the ball sharply and precisely on offense to take a lead at 23-21 on a corner 3 by Tre White — KU had opened 0-for-5 from deep — but with Miller on the bench, Celestine responded with a step-back 3 on the next possession.

Peterson’s reverse layup gave the Jayhawks the first two-possession lead by either team at 30-26 with five minutes left in the first half. It didn’t last, as a series of empty possessions allowed the Bearcats to surge back in front on back-to-back 3s by Thiam and Celestine.

Peterson’s contested baseline jumper evened the score and ended KU’s drought, but Thiam rattled in a fadeaway. KU had a chance to take the lead late in the half when Council’s steal set up an open 3 for Peterson, but he couldn’t connect. James was off the mark on UC’s final possession, but the Bearcats still took a 36-34 lead into the break.

Despite another early 3-pointer by Miller, KU briefly recaptured the lead less than three minutes into the half on another jumper by Peterson. However, the Jayhawks conceded a three-point play to Thiam on a putback that resulted in Bidunga’s third foul and sent him to the bench.

Cincinnati took its first four-point lead on a corner 3 by Sencire Harris, a defensive specialist who had been 5-for-29 from deep on the year.

“They did a good job,” Self said, “and when we did play to scouting report, they made us pay, which is what teams should do offensively, and they definitely did that against us.”

Jackson was able to weave his way through the lane to tie the game and resuscitate the Allen Fieldhouse crowd, but KU didn’t take the lead. Instead, Miller ended Cincinnati’s dry spell with a free throw and Thiam added another.

Bidunga got called for offensive goaltending on a floater by Peterson and Thiam went to the line again for two more free throws to make it 53-49 in the Bearcats’ favor.

Thomas connected on a deep 3 to cancel out Peterson’s shot from the corner moments earlier. Thiam made a left-wing 3 of his own to put the Bearcats ahead 61-56 entering the under-eight timeout.

Celestine faded back to the corner after grabbing an offensive rebound to make it 66-58 with six minutes to go as the Jayhawks’ hopes rapidly faded. That kicked a 17-2 run into gear to prevent any chance of late-game magic in Allen Fieldhouse.

Self praised Cincinnati’s defensive effort, citing the Bearcats’ ability to deny paint touches and hamper Peterson.

“They didn’t switch defenses, but they gave a different look out of timeouts,” He added. “Even though it’s still man-to-man they made it look like it was a zone, and we didn’t handle that very well. Even though we said ‘Just run what we tell you,’ we were surprised that they were in zone, but they were only in zone for one pass.”

The Jayhawks, who fell to 20-7 and 10-4 in league play, will remain at home to take on No. 2 Houston at 8 p.m. on Monday.

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