SAN DIEGO — To begin its record 36th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, No. 4 seed Kansas faces a first-timer in the event on Friday in 13th-seeded California Baptist in an East Region game.
The Jayhawks (23-10) weathered some late-season turbulence on its way to the tournament. After a Feb. 9 upset of then-No. 1-ranked Arizona, Kansas has lost five of its last nine games.
All five losses in that stretch were by double-digit margins, concluding with a 69-47 defeat to Houston in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament last Friday.
Despite the struggles, punctuated with periods of limited availability for standout freshman Darryn Peterson, Kansas coach Bill Self said the team is optimistic as it turns the page to the postseason.
“No matter what, in this sport whenever you don’t feel well, you always feel better after you practice,” Self said. “Guys’ attitudes were great. They’re excited.”
Peterson, a potential No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s NBA draft, comes into the NCAA Tournament averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game with 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals a contest.
Peterson missed 11 games during the regular season and was limited to 28.4 minutes per game. He scored at least 24 points in three of the five contests leading into the NCAA Tournament.
Tre White, Flory Bidunga and Melvin Council Jr., each of whom has appeared in all 33 of the team’s games, head into the postseason scoring 13.8, 13.5 and 12.9 points per outing, respectively.
Bidunga also has been central to an outstanding Kansas defense, averaging 2.6 blocks per game to help the Jayhawks limit opponents to just 44.7% shooting from inside the 3-point arc.
Western Athletic Conference champion Cal Baptist (25-8) will make its inaugural NCAA Tournament appearance by traveling about an hour south from its campus in Riverside, Calif.
Like their opening-round opponent, the Lancers have played stingy defense much of the season with the nation’s eighth-best 3-point defense at 29.7% allowed.
Cal Baptist held regular-season WAC champion Utah Valley to 22 of 50 shooting from the floor and came away with 14 turnovers in last Saturday’s conference title game. The 63-61 win marked the Lancers’ sixth straight victory and was the 11th consecutive game in which they gave up 75 points or fewer.
“Truly a dream come true, for our players, for our coaches, for our athletic department, for our university,” Cal Baptist coach Rick Croy told CBS 8 Los Angeles of reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Croy has been at the helm of the program since 2013, overseeing a transition to NCAA Division I membership from Division II beginning in 2018-19.
The Lancers have endured only one losing season since moving up, going 16-17 in 2023-24, but this campaign’s 25 wins mark a new high for Cal Baptist at this level.
Central to the team’s success in 2025-26 is Dominique Daniels Jr., the WAC Player of the Year who averages 23.2 points per game.
Self said slowing down Daniels will be a “top priority” for the Jayhawks in Friday’s matchup. The guard has scored at least 22 points in each of the last six games, highlighted by a 41-point eruption in Cal Baptist’s WAC Tournament semifinal defeat of Utah Tech.
–Kyle Kensing, Field Level Media
