The No. 9-ranked Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team is set to play in-state rival Kansas State on Saturday. Both teams are coming off losses: K-State fell to Texas Tech on Tuesday and KU stumbled at Iowa State on Wednesday.

Kansas basketball had a chance to continue to move higher in the top 10 with a win this week against Iowa State. But did the Jayhawks earn a win?

Jerome Tang and the Wildcats will catch a break without KJ Adams in the lineup as he recovers from an injury. But he is only averaging 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds this season. KU can probably get by with a next-man-up approach in this game.

This is a clash between an elite Kansas Jayhawks defense and a high-powered Iowa State Cyclones offense that averages 86.2 points per game. That said, Iowa State is excellent on the other end of the floor as well and is 10th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, just six spots behind Kansas.

Kansas State travels to Lawrence for the first round of the 2025 Sunflower Showdown looking to end an 18-game drought at Allen Fieldhouse.

The game tips off at Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas will look to right the ship after a recent stretch of inconsistency. A win over Kansas State could steady the course for Bill Self’s squad as they push toward the heart of Big 12 play.