LAWRENCE, Kan. — If you missed Kansas' men’s basketball’s game against Utah on Saturday, here’s a word of advice:

Don’t bother watching the replay.

The No. 11 Jayhawks entered this matchup as 19.5-point favorites. They still won handily, 71-59, but it was a slog to get there.

In fact, outside of Flory Bidunga’s defensive masterclass, there weren’t many standout performances from the Jayhawks, who did separate late in the game for the double-digit win.

The good news: Kansas is now on a seven-game winning streak, even if this was the worst the group has looked along the way.

The crowd inside a packed Allen Fieldhouse didn’t have too much to cheer for until late in Saturday’s game. One of the highlights came from freshman sensation Darryn Peterson, who scored a ferocious dunk while being fouled late in the second half.

The Jayhawks (18-5, 8-2 Big 12) are now 3-1 all time against the Utes. And they’re starting to build quite the solid NCAA Tournament resume as this year rolls along.

Bidunga led the Jayhawks on Saturday, scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds and seven blocks. Tre White added 16 points and six rebounds. Peterson finished with 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting.

Despite a sluggish start, the Jayhawks led 38-31 at the half. Utah got within two points multiple times early in the second half, but it was all Kansas from there. The Jayhawks led wire to wire in the second period.

Up next for KU: The Jayhawks host No. 1 Arizona at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Saturday’s matchup.

Bidunga was KU’s star on Saturday

After KU’s win at Texas Tech, both Peterson and coach Bill Self said that big man Flory Bidunga is the best defender in the nation.

That was on full display back at Allen Fieldhouse.

At one point in the first half, a Utah ball handler couldn’t get past Bidunga to drive to the basket, and while flustered, threw the ball backward to a teammate.

The pass was too high, leading to a turnover that turned into a Jayden Dawson 3-pointer.

That wasn’t all. Bidunga contributed elite help defense and rim protection. He had three blocks in the first half, then four more in the second. He also contributed seven defensive rebounds.

This was a trap game

Utah (9-14, 1-9 Big 12) entered Saturday on a four-game losing streak with just one conference win against TCU.

Kansas, riding an impressive winning streak, was a 19.5-point favorite, with No. 1 Arizona coming to town in just two days.

So then, maybe it’s no surprise KU didn’t bring its “A” game.

In both halves, the Jayhawks started slow. The defense was lackadaisical at best, while the offense wasn’t much better. It felt and looked like KU was doing the bare minimum to win the game.

A prime example was Peterson’s play. He’s generally a solid defender, but he was scored on repeatedly to start the game, letting multiple players get to the basket with ease.

At one point, Utah pulled within two points in the second half, but KU managed to lock in and win with ease. It certainly wasn’t pretty, though.

On the note of Peterson ...

One of the hallmarks of the Peterson experience is how he always finds a way to make his impact felt. But that really wasn’t the case for most of the game vs. Utah.

Peterson, like many of teammates, had a quiet game. It was a little surprising because his biggest draft rival, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, dropped 43 points on this Utah squad.

On Saturday, Peterson let his teammates take over the spotlight. He did have a couple of nice buckets late in the second half — including the memorable dunk — but wasn’t anything special outside of that one play.

He finished with 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting. It was the least amount of points he’s scored all season. He had one assist to three turnovers and three rebounds in 34 minutes.

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