Up-and-down Kansas season reaches another peak with win over No. 5 Houston

Will the real Kansas please reveal itself?

On Monday, the Associated Press No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks (21-7, 11-4 in Big 12) defeated No. 5 Houston Cougars (23-5, 11-4 in Big 12), 69-56, adding to one of the biggest mysteries of the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Good luck trying to figure out Kansas.

Dominant Kansas win complicates the team's picture

It's difficult to know who Kansas is. Against Houston, it looked like one of the top-five teams and a legit national title contender. It outshot Houston, 44%-32%, playing outstanding defense to hold the Cougars to a season-low in points.

Star freshman Darryn Peterson had an off-shooting night, scoring 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting, but the Jayhawks were elevated by senior guard Tre White, who had a game-high 23 points. Freshman forward Bryson Tiller had his second double-double of the season, ending with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

The win was Kansas at its best. The problem is that it came a little over 48 hours after it was at its worst in an 84-68 home loss to Cincinnati.

That's the trend with this year's team. Kansas went 3-0 at the Players Era Festival in November but also lost to the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels (22-6, 10-5 in ACC), No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (25-2, 13-1 in ACC) and No. 6 Connecticut Huskies (25-3, 15-2 in Big East) over its first nine games.

The Jayhawks then opened Big 12 play 1-2, losing to the UCF Knights (19-7, 8-6 in Big 12) and West Virginia Mountaineers (16-11, 7-7 in Big 12) while needing overtime to beat the TCU Horned Frogs (17-10, 7-7 in Big 12). Entering Monday, they had lost two of their last three by double digits.

But Kansas also has wins over the No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones (23-4, 10-4 in Big 12), No. 19 BYU Cougars (20-7, 8-6 in Big 12), No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders (20-7, 10-4 in Big 12) and No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 in Big 12), showing it has the potential to win a Big 12 championship and possibly a fifth NCAA title.

Anything is possible with the 2025-26 Jayhawks, for better or worse. Monday was a sign of how good they can be. Without more consistency, however, they'll be impossible to trust come March.