For two days, the conversation around Kansas basketball had an edge to it. The 84-68 home loss to Cincinnati sparked doubt. The questions came quickly. Is this team slipping? Has the magic faded?
If Monday night proved anything, it is this: you write off Kansas at your own risk.
Inside Allen Fieldhouse, the Kansas Jayhawks answered every bit of that noise with a 69-56 win over the fifth-ranked Houston Cougars. It was controlled. It was physical. It was unmistakably Kansas.
The Jayhawks are now 21-7 overall and 11-4 in the Big 12. Houston drops to 23-5 and 11-4. And yes, this marked Kansas’ third win this season over an AP Top 5 opponent. That is not the resume of a program in decline.
Allen Fieldhouse still has a pulse
If there was any lingering tension from the Cincinnati loss, it evaporated early.
Kansas has not lost back-to-back games at Allen Fieldhouse since the 1988-89 season. That is nearly four decades of pride, expectation and accountability. The idea that it would happen on Big Monday felt unlikely.
Under Bill Self, it felt impossible.
Self is now 41-0 on Big Monday at home. Let that sink in. Forty-one and zero. In a sport where upsets are routine and conference play is unforgiving, that number borders on absurd.
Tre White plays grown-man basketball
Tre White was terrific.
He scored 23 points on just nine shot attempts, went 3-for-4 from deep and knocked down all eight of his free throws. Every time Houston tried to make a push, White had an answer. A pull-up three. A hard drive. A calm trip to the stripe.
This was not frantic offense. It was mature offense.
Darryn Peterson added 14 points, even if his shot came and went. Bryson Tiller brought muscle and production with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Flory Bidunga protected the rim and made Houston think twice in the paint.
Kansas shot 44 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three. More importantly, it looked comfortable. In control. Like a team that understands who it is.
Defense that travels, toughness that lives at home
Houston prides itself on defense and physicality. On Monday, Kansas matched it.
The Cougars shot just 32 percent from the field and 21 percent from three. Emanuel Sharp went 1-of-10. Kansas closed out hard, contested everything and limited second chances.
There was no panic. No unraveling. Just possession after possession of disciplined basketball.
That is what made the Cincinnati loss sting. Kansas did not look like itself. Monday night, it did.
The Big 12 race just tightened
With the win, Kansas stays right in the thick of the Big 12 race at 11-4. Houston is also 11-4. Arizona remains on top, and the margin is razor thin.
And here is where it gets interesting.
Kansas heads to Arizona on Saturday. A road test against the league leader. A chance to make another statement. A chance to add yet another elite win to a resume that is quietly stacking up.
This team has flaws. The offense can stall. Turnovers still show up at the wrong times. But the ceiling is obvious. Three wins over Top 5 opponents is not an accident.
The obituary for Kansas basketball was drafted a little too quickly.
At Allen Fieldhouse, the response was loud, physical and convincing.