One of the most anticipated regular-season games in recent college basketball history tips off Monday night when the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats (23-0, 10-0 Big 12) travel to Allen Fieldhouse to face the No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks (18-5, 8-2 Big 12).
Our Arizona vs. Kansas prediction includes the projected starting lineups, how to watch details, and a full score forecast with analysis for this must-watch Big East showdown.
Arizona vs. Kansas Projected Lineups and Key Matchups
Arizona Wildcats Starting Lineup
- G Jaden Bradley (Sr., 13.8 ppg, 4.5 apg)
- G Brayden Burries (Fr., 15.3 ppg)
- F Koa Peat (Fr., 14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
- C Motiejus Krivas (Jr., 11.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 60% FG, 40 blocks)
- F Ivan Kharchenkov (Jr., 9.4 ppg)
Kansas Jayhawks Starting Lineup
- G Darryn Peterson (Fr., 20.5 ppg)
- G Melvin Council Jr. (Sr., 13.7 ppg)
- G Tre White (Jr., 14.6 ppg, 42.5% 3PT)
- F Bryson Tiller (Fr., 8.7 ppg)
- C Flory Bidunga (So., 14.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.8 bpg in Big 12)
Arizona vs. Kansas Prediction and Preview
We are one day removed from the NFL season ending, and the college hoops world has wasted no time taking center stage.
And this won’t be the last time.
These teams play twice this month, and Arizona, specifically, will be in the limelight from now until then, with games against Texas Tech, BYU, Iowa State, and Houston over the next four weeks.
Buckle up.
Koa Peat is the five-star with pedigree and upside, though it’s been fellow frosh Brayden Burries leading the way in the scoring department for this team more often than not. He can score in bunches, something that we’ve seen courtesy of a pair of 28+ point efforts since New Year’s Day (most recently, the impressive win at BYU, where he got to the line 14 times).
He has had some duds this season (5-15 FG over a two-game stretch in the middle of January, where he mustered just 12 points across 63 minutes), and those types of performances can be overcome in some situations, but not this one.
Kansas doesn’t exactly have an easy stretch of games coming (at Iowa State on Saturday), but the most daunting portion of their season is behind them.
MORE: PFSN Men’s CBB Power Rankings: Michigan Edges To the Top As Kansas Climbs
The Darryn Peterson saga is a day-by-day thing for this program, and that tracks. He’s averaging north of 20 points per game and, when on the court, looks the part of a future NBA All-Star.
But with his spotty availability, three teammates have stepped into larger roles than expected and thrived in them. Melvin Council Jr. specifically has shown that he has what it takes to put this team on his back for extended stretches.
His scoring 15+ points isn’t news, but the upside that we saw against NC State on December 13 (36 points with nine triples and zero turnovers in 43 minutes) is next level and a potential cheat code for cutting down the nets in April.
This game is likely to come down to pace. The Wildcats want the possession count to spike while the Jayhawks prefer to make this a battle of efficiency. For me, I think Arizona would do a better job navigating the Kansas tempo (Jayden Bradley’s experience and savvy would prove huge in this instance) than a world where the home team is forced to play fast.
This is going to be fun, and there’s very much a chance that this is a matchup we see late in March with even more on the line.
Prediction: Arizona 81, Kansas 76
How To Watch Arizona vs. Kansas
- Date: Monday, Feb. 9, 2026
- Time: 9 p.m. ET
- Location: Lawrence, KS
- Arena: Allen Fieldhouse
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: ESPN App, FuboTV
- Radio: Wildcats Radio 1290-AM (Arizona) / Jayhawk Radio Network (Kansas)
