Darryn Peterson and Kansas had an incredible first half before the No. 14 Jayhawks had to hang on late without their star freshman in a 90-82 win over AJ Dybantsa and No. 13 BYU.
Peterson scored 18 points in the first half as Kansas led 53-33 at the break. Peterson was 6-of-7 from the field and provided the highlight of the game with this massive dunk over BYU’s Mihai Boskovic and Keba Keita.
But in a familiar sight for Kansas fans this season, the Peterson experience was relatively brief. He didn’t return to the game after exiting with 16:46 to go.
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In his postgame news conference, Kansas coach Bill Self said that Peterson was dealing with cramps. As Peterson sat on the bench in the second half, he had wraps draped across his thighs.
With Peterson sidelined, BYU got Kansas’ lead all the way down to four with 1:27 to go. But Kansas quickly got the lead back to six and the Cougars couldn’t get any closer.
Kansas was much more than Peterson in the first half. The Jayhawks entered the game shooting just under 36% from the 3-point line. They were 9-of-12 in the first half. It doesn’t take much expounding to explain how a team shooting 75% from behind the arc generally spells disaster for the opposing team.
Peterson was 3-of-4 from deep in the first half as Bryson Tiller and Tre White were a combined 5-of-5. No Jayhawk missed more than one 3-pointer before halftime.
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As Peterson took over, Dybantsa took a while to get going. He didn’t score his first points until he made a 3-pointer of his own with 7:22 remaining in the first half. Dybantsa finished the game with 17 points. Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 33 points as he was 11-of-19 from the field and 6-of-14 from behind the arc.
Is Peterson the favorite to be the No. 1 pick?
Peterson and Dybantsa entered the season as two of the top freshmen in the country and likely top-three picks in the 2026 NBA Draft. Peterson looked like a No. 1 pick on Saturday like he has at various points throughout the season.
But Saturday’s game was just his 11th of the season. Will his lack of availability make NBA scouts for lottery teams waver if he continues to miss time into March? Or will his undeniable talent when he’s on the court continue to wow teams who have a shot at the top pick?
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Peterson has dealt with myriad leg issues since the start of the season and Saturday’s game wasn’t the first time an absence has been described as cramping, either. He missed a month from early November to early December with hamstring issues and then played just twice in December. Before Saturday, Peterson missed Kansas’ win over Kansas State a week ago because of an ankle injury.
The Jayhawks are a national title contender and a primary rival to Arizona for the Big 12 title when he’s on the court. Kansas moved to 17-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12 with the victory. Though the Jayhawks are 2.5 games behind the Wildcats, the two teams still have a home-and-home series remaining. A road win over Texas Tech on Monday — the Red Raiders lost at UCF on Saturday — will be a massive step in Kansas’ quest for its first conference title since 2023.
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