Kansas guard Tre White (3) celebrates a turnover by Houston during the first half, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

The Houston defense was locking Kansas down, as it has stymied so many teams since the Cougars joined the Big 12, for about 17 minutes on Monday night.

Then came an 11-0 run before halftime for the Jayhawks, a 24-6 run afterward and key 3-pointers late from Jamari McDowell and Darryn Peterson to prevent any last-minute drama and salt away what became a 69-56 victory for 14th-ranked KU over fifth-ranked Houston at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks got a season-best 23 points from the resurgent Tre White, 14 from Peterson and 11 apiece from Melvin Council Jr. and Bryson Tiller, but the key to Monday’s bounce-back victory was their defense, which made the game unceasingly difficult for Houston’s guard trio of Kingston Flemings, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan.

Flemings led the Cougars with 16 points, but he got them on 6-for-18 shooting and didn’t accomplish much until KU already led by 20 points. He was also Houston’s only double-digit scorer.

“I thought our ball-screen defense was really good,” KU coach Bill Self said. “The bigs stayed until (a guard) picked the dribble up a lot more. If you look at it, they didn’t get near as many open looks. I know Sharp scored, I think, off the short roll to start the second half when we helped too much, and Kingston made one or two late. But other than that, I thought our ball-screen defense was right on point and that was good. Even when we were switching, I thought we switched up and just didn’t let them get to their spots.”

With the victory, the Jayhawks preserved their unbeaten record at home on Big Monday under Self and their record of not having lost consecutive games at Allen Fieldhouse since 1989.

“When we play to our ability, defense, nobody can stop us, and like I said before, we didn’t reach our ceiling yet,” Council said. “I don’t know when we’re going to reach it, but when we reach it it’s going to be fun to watch us.”

Tiller opened the game with a bang as he put back a desperation miss on a late-clock 3-point attempt by Peterson, drew a foul and completed the and-1. The Jayhawks had a number of opportunities inside early but committed three turnovers and missed two layups. That meant that even though Houston center Chris Cenac Jr. opened 0-for-5 from the field by the first media timeout, KU trailed 4-3.

The Cougars proceeded to score seven straight, capped off by Uzan’s step-back 3-pointer, and force another timeout, this time by Self.

White made two free throws at the 13:54 mark to snap a scoring drought that had lasted five minutes and 33 seconds.

Peterson put back his own miss with 11 minutes left in the half to give KU its first made field goal since the opening possession after a string of 10 straight misses. However, he then had to go to the bench with his second foul after Tiller conceded a key offensive rebound.

The Allen Fieldhouse crowd came to life after one floater by Council and then a miss that resulted in a layup for White. But the Cougars had some success with baseline drives and backdoor cuts and then Council, too, committed a second foul with a charge into Sharp.

With KU trailing 23-17, McDowell hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one possession. But Elmarko Jackson and Peterson missed shots and Houston was able to score consecutive buckets.

KU rattled off seven straight of its own to tie the game on a 3-pointer by White. The Jayhawks missed a chance to go ahead from beyond the arc with McDowell, but then got two free throws from Council.

Houston called timeout with 37.6 seconds left in the half ahead of its final offensive possession, but Uzan traveled. Peterson subbed back in for the last 10 seconds and lofted in a close-range shot to make it 31-27 at the break in KU’s favor.

Both teams were shooting 33.3% at the break and Houston had a mere one-rebound advantage on the boards. White led all scorers with 11 points as most of the primary offensive threats for both teams failed to get going.

For the first time since Jan. 24, KU outscored its opponent between halftime and the first timeout of the second half, albeit only by one point. However, early 3s by Sharp and Cenac provided some suggestion that the Cougars would improve their shooting — which proved to be a mirage.

The Jayhawks, meanwhile, went up 42-35 on two free throws by Tiller with 15:33 remaining, and then Council picked out White in the corner for a 3-pointer to extend the margin to double digits.

“Tre definitely (kept) telling me to go: ‘Nobody can stop you in transition,'” Council recalled. That’s what I did, you know. And then Tre did it, and then I remember at halfcourt Tre talking about some ‘We the fastest guards in the country.’ I had to look at him like ‘You fast, bro?'”

KU led 49-35 before Kalifa Sahko rattled in a shot at the low block to end Houston’s drought. After a fadeaway by Flemings, Peterson sank a timely 3-pointer and White added another from the left corner not long afterward.

KU went up as many as 20 points, with White going to the free-throw line to reach his season high and make it 61-41 after the under-eight timeout. With the Jayhawks’ offensive intensity dwindling, Flemings led a 7-0 run to force another timeout by Self.

The teams traded 3-pointers before Peterson somehow came uncovered in the right corner to make it 67-51 as the clock ticked below three minutes remaining.

“Tonight, he was great,” Self said of Peterson. “His attitude was great and hopefully he felt well.”

The Jayhawks (21-7, 11-4 Big 12) will head back out on the road for a two-game swing in Arizona. They will first face the second-ranked Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 Big 12) at McKale Center on Saturday at 3 p.m. Central Time. KU won the first matchup between the two teams 82-78 at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 9.

“We want that double bye for the Big 12 tournament, so that’s what we’re trying to work on,” Council said.

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