LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas sophomore Flory Bidunga has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week by a media panel that covers the league, the conference announced today. With the honor, Bidunga is also part of this week’s Big 12 Starting Five.
This is the first time Bidunga has been named Big 12 Player of the Week and the third time he has been a member of the Big 12 Starting Five.
In the 64-61 win at No. 13 Texas Tech, Bidunga scored 14 points on 7-of-8 from the field and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. From Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bidunga also had two blocked shots. In the 71-59 win against Utah, Bidunga was 7-for-8 from the field again, this time with 10 rebounds, posting his eighth double-double of the season. He also tied his career high with seven blocks, which tied for the most in a Big 12 league game this season. It was Bidunga’s ninth game this season with 10 or more rebounds, 13th of his career and his eighth-straight game with multiple blocked shots.
Last week, Bidunga was named as one of 10 on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year list and he is also on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. At 16.4 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 2.8 blocked shots per game, Bidunga is the only player in NCAA D1 to average more than 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per contest.
No. 11 Kansas (18-5, 8-2) hosts No. 1 Arizona (23-0, 10) tonight, Feb. 9, on ESPN Big Monday. Tip from Allen Fieldhouse is set for 8 p.m. Central.
Big 12 Weekly Honors (Feb. 9)
Player of the Week: FLORY BIDUNGA, KANSAS
Newcomer of the Week: AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Big 12 Starting Five
Cameron Carr, Baylor
AJ Dybantsa, BYU (newcomer)
FLORY BIDUNGA, KANSAS (player)
Kingston Flemings, Houston
Xavier Edmonds, TCU
Kansas’ Big 12 Weekly Honors in 2025-26
Flory Bidunga – Big 12 Player of the Week (2/9); Big 12 Starting Five (11/17; 12/1; 2/9)
Melvin Council Jr. – Big 12 Player of the Week (12/15); Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (12/15); Big 12 Starting Five (12/15)
Darryn Peterson – Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (1/19); Big 12 Starting Five (11/10; 1/12; 1/19)
Bryson Tiller – Big 12 Starting Five (2/2)
