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Kansas coach Bill Self entered Monday’s showdown with Houston in possession of a 40-0 record in Big Monday games inside Allen Fieldhouse.

That’s a fact that sounds like a lie — but it’s true.

Regardless, oddsmakers made the Jayhawks slight underdogs on Big Monday at home against Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars. To be clear, I get it. Algorithms are algorithms. But, eventually, all algorithms are gonna have to figure out a way to take into account the reality that Self never loses at home on Big Monday.

Final score: Kansas 69, Houston 56.

As the “Aint No Seats Podcast” noted on X, the Jayhawks have been underdogs three times in the past two months inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Those games have unfolded like this:

  • 1/13/26: Kansas 84, Iowa State 63 (despite the Jayhawks closing as 3.5-point underdogs).
  • 2/9/26: Kansas 82, Arizona 78 (despite the Jayhawks playing without Darryn Peterson, the favorite to go No. 1 in the 2026 NBA Draft).
  • 2/23/26: Kansas 69, Houston 56 (despite the Jayhawks being only two days removed from a double-digit loss at home to a Cincinnati team that entered just 1-9 in Quadrant-1 opportunities this season).

Bottom line, Allen Fieldhouse is a special place — what happened there Saturday notwithstanding. Kansas is up to No. 11 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Duke remains No. 1 for the third consecutive day. Houston is down to No. 6. Next up for the Jayhawks is Saturday’s game at Arizona. FYI: those two teams now have the third-best odds (Arizona)  and the ninth-best odds (Kansas) to win the 2026 NCAA Tournament, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Top 25 And 1 rankings

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1
 Duke Cameron Boozer finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s 68-63 win over Michigan. The Blue Devils’ next game is Tuesday at Notre Dame. — 25-2

2
 Michigan Elliot Cadeau missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday’s 68-63 loss to Duke. The Wolverines’ next game is Tuesday against Minnesota. — 25-2

3
 Arizona Anthony Dell’Orso finished with 22 points and four steals in Saturday’s 73-66 win at Houston. The Wildcats’ next game is Tuesday at Baylor. — 25-2

4
 Iowa St. Joshua Jefferson missed nine of the 13 shots he attempted in Saturday’s 79-69 loss at BYU. The Cyclones’ next game is Tuesday at Utah. — 23-4

5
 Florida Alex Condon finished with 24 points and six assists in Saturday’s 94-75 win at Ole Miss. The Gators’ next game is Wednesday at Texas. 1 21-6

6
 Houston Emanuel Sharp missed nine of the 10 shots he attempted in Monday’s 69-56 loss at Kansas. The Cougars’ next game is Saturday against Colorado. 1 23-5

7
 Purdue Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Friday’s 93-64 win over Indiana. The Boilermakers’ next game is Thursday against Michigan State. — 22-5

8
 Nebraska Pryce Sandfort finished with 33 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s 87-64 win over Penn State. The Cornhuskers’ next game is Wednesday against Maryland. — 23-4

9
 UConn Alex Karaban finished with 12 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 73-63 win at Villanova. The Huskies’ next game is Wednesday against St. John’s. — 25-3

10
 Illinois David Mirkovic missed six of the seven shots he attempted in Saturday’s 95-94 overtime loss at UCLA. The Illini’s next game is Friday against Michigan. — 22-6

11
 Kansas Tre White finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Monday’s 69-56 win over Houston. The Jayhawks’ next game is Saturday at Arizona. 3 21-7

12
 Gonzaga Graham Ike finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 71-62 win over Pacific. The Zags’ next game is Wednesday against Portland. 1 27-2

13
 Virginia Jacari White finished with 17 points and five assists in Saturday’s 86-83 win over Miami. The Cavaliers’ next game is Tuesday against NC State. 1 24-3

14
 Michigan St. Carson Cooper finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday’s 66-60 win over Ohio State. The Spartans’ next game is Thursday at Purdue.

 1 22-5

15
 St. John’s Bryce Hopkins finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s 81-52 win over Creighton. The Red Storm’s next game is Wednesday at UConn. — 22-5

16
 Alabama Amari Allen finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 90-83 win at LSU. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Wednesday against Mississippi State. — 20-7

17
 Arkansas Billy Richmond III finished with 21 points and three steals in Saturday’s 94-86 win over Missouri. The Razorbacks’ next game is Wednesday against Texas A&M. — 20-7

18
 BYU AJ Dybantsa finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s 79-69 win over Iowa State. The Cougars’ next game is Tuesday against UCF. — 20-7

19
 Texas Tech Donovan Atwell finished with 26 points and three rebounds in Saturday’s 100-72 win over Kansas State. The Red Raiders’ next game is Tuesday against Cincinnati. — 20-7

20
 Miami (Ohio) Luke Skaljac finished with 24 points and four assists in Friday’s 91-77 win over Bowling Green. The RedHawks’ next game is Tuesday at Eastern Michigan. — 27-0

21
 Tennessee Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 17 points and three rebounds in Saturday’s 69-65 win at Vanderbilt. The Vols’ next game is Tuesday at Missouri. — 20-7

22
 Vanderbilt Duke Miles missed 10 of the 13 shots he attempted in Saturday’s 69-65 loss to Tennessee. The Commodores’ next game is Wednesday against Georgia. 1 21-6

23
 N. Carolina Seth Trimble finished with 30 points and four assists in Monday’s 77-74 win over Louisville. The Tar Heels’ next game is Saturday against Virginia Tech. 2 22-6

24
 Saint Louis Kellen Thames finished with 16 points and five steals in Friday’s 88-75 win over VCU. The Billikens’ next game is Tuesday at Dayton. — 25-2

25
 Louisville Mikel Brown Jr. missed 16 of the 25 shots he attempted in Monday’s 77-74 loss at North Carolina. The Cardinals’ next game is Saturday at Clemson. 3 20-8

26
 Villanova Devin Askew missed all five shots he attempted in Saturday’s 73-63 loss to UConn. The Wildcats’ next game is Wednesday against Butler. — 21-6