Kansas looks like a contender even without Melvin Council Jr.

No. 15 Kansas beat No. 24 Kentucky 89-69 in Chicago on Tuesday night. Tre White scored a career-high 30 points and freshman Tyran Stokes added 23.

They did it without guard Melvin Council Jr., who broke a bone in his right foot in practice Monday, the AP reported.

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White shot 11-for-16 from the field and hit four 3-pointers. Stokes worked more physically, finishing with 10 rebounds and four assists to go with his 23 points. Trey Kaufman-Renn chipped in 12 in his first big stage as a Jayhawk.

Kansas grabbed control early with a 9-0 run, led 46-36 at halftime behind 13 first-half points from Stokes, and then pushed the margin past 20 after the break. A 12-0 burst capped by one of White’s threes made it 63-41 with 15 minutes left, per the AP. The Jayhawks’ lead reached 23 at its biggest.

Zoom Diallo was the one bright spot, scoring 24 on 10-for-15 shooting.Big Ten / Getty Images

Kentucky’s turnovers did most of the damage

The Wildcats gave it away 15 times, and Kansas turned those into 22 points. Kentucky scored nothing off Kansas’s 10 turnovers, according to a game recap. Kentucky also shot 4-for-21 from deep.

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Zoom Diallo was the one bright spot, scoring 24 on 10-for-15 shooting. Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic went 2-for-7 for five points. Kentucky is 2-1, and coach Mark Pope still has six new transfers to blend. Kansas’s margin was its largest in Champions Classic history, SI noted.

Kansas is 3-0 for the fifth time in six seasons and has now beaten Kentucky three straight times. Council could return for the start of the Big 12 schedule, according to the AP. That leaves a few nonconference games to see how the rotation holds up without him.

That stretch starts next Tuesday, when the Jayhawks face UNLV in Las Vegas. Kansas hasn’t played a Big 12 opponent yet, and it’s too early to read much into one win. But Tuesday suggested White and Stokes can carry a lot of the scoring load while…

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Publish date : 2026-11-11 21:03:00

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