At the end of the day, any KU fan would have taken a win against the No. 13 BYU Cougars. Especially if it is a BYU team spearheaded by potential top pick AJ Dybantsa, so there will never be too much cause to complain about in Kansas’ latest 90-82 win over the Cougars.
However, there will be slight concern over the health of guard Darryn Peterson. The Prolific Prep prospect put up a mouth-watering first half that fans could have only dreamt of as the former five-star notched 18 points on a 6-7 rate from the field. Peterson showed aggression at the rim, an ability to knock down threes with a 3-4 mark from beyond the arc, while also oozing class with sudden pull-ups, which made the game look easy. It doesn't hurt that Peterson added three steals as well.
However, Peterson did not play most of the second half after being subbed out with 16:46 to play with Kansas up 56-37.
A familiar injury for Peterson
This season, Peterson has been limited by hamstring tightness, cramping issues, and, most recently, a sprained ankle in Kansas 75-69 win over the Colorado Buffaloes earlier this month.
Saturday was just the 11th game this season where the freshman played, and while Peterson has been superb through most of his time on the court, he did not see the court for the majority of the second period due to the aforementioned cramps, according to Bill Self.
Bill Self told reporters in Kansas that Darryn Peterson was dealing with cramps, which is why he didn’t play the final 16 minutes. Peterson still out dueled AJ Dybantsa, despite the cramping issue. https://t.co/6ex7rbKIO6
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 1, 2026
Following Peterson's exit, the Jayhawks labored to their eventual win, having led by only four points (82-78) with 1:27 to play, thanks to a short rotation from Self, which then caused the team to run out of gas late in the second half.
Overall, the Jayhawks now move to an excellent 16-5 overall mark with a 6-2 Big 12 record. Kansas can hardly afford to celebrate as the No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders await the sky-high Jayhawks this Monday, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. CT and streaming available on ESPN.
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