The talk of the town, unsurprisingly, is setting its eyes upon Allen Fieldhouse and the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks, as KU is set to take on the No. 13 BYU Cougars. Let’s not get things confused here. The biggest storyline that will be hammered until the final buzzer sounds is the battle between Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa, two players who are each vying for the top spot in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Getting the narrative right
However, when speaking with the media ahead of the ESPN-bound clash, head coach Bill Self relayed the importance of not forgetting the true point of Kansas’ matchup against the Cougars goes far beyond Dybantsa vs Peterson.
“We made that point many times in the past, but we sure will do that,” quoted the two-time national title-winning coach.
“…I mean, I’m sure they would say the same thing about us, too. It’s, you know, the objective of the day is to try to win the game. So, and that’s the only thing I’m thinking about, and that’s all the players should be thinking about as well.”
Winning the other battles is key
Both Peterson and Dybantsa have shown the ability to take over with the flip of a switch. KU fans have seen Peterson spearhead wins against both TCU and Baylor, while Dybantsa ranks second in the nation with 23.6 points per game, which included 43 points in BYU’s latest win, a 91-78 win over the Utah Utes, earlier this month.
Yet, to follow Self’s point, what about everyone else? Melvin Council Jr. could make the case for the nation’s most underrated player with a tempo-setting 13.7 points and 5.2 assists per game. Tre White and Flory Bidunga have each shown the ability to be beyond effective contributors as well.
When you look at the Cougars, it is hard not find something similar. Both Richie Saunders and Robert Wright III average over 17 points per game for a team that sits 17th-best in the nation with 86.7 points per game.
Tipoff in Lawrence is set for 3:30 p.m. CT, Saturday afternoon.
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