It was a must for the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks to get off on the right foot to begin their 2025-26 conference play.
Ultimately, an astounding 81 points by the UCF Golden Knights put an end to any chance of that with an all-around effort that resulted in an upset 81-75 loss to send Kansas stumbling out of the blocks.
The Jayhawks trailed by as many as nine points with 4:59 to play, however, Kansas clawed their way back to tie the game at 70 apiece, until a timely 9-5 stretch, mostly led by Jordan Burks and Riley Kugel pushed the game away from arms length, before two garbage time free-throws added the 80th and 81st point to seal Kansas’ fourth defeat of the season.
Former five-star guard Darryn Peterson made his return to the Jayhawks’ starting lineup and looked as good as ever with 23 first-half points, which kept Kansas afloat heading into the half down 44-41, yet Peterson did not see the court for the final 10:55 of the eventual loss.
Bill Self's full comment on Darryn Peterson during the postgame radio interview.
— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) January 3, 2026
He said Peterson's "legs started bothering him again" in the second half. #KUbball pic.twitter.com/2yU7etPby3
Saturday afternoon marked Peterson’s fifth game as a Jayhawk, and while his brilliant 26 points were a needed shot in the arm, his lack of playing time in the second half reminded Kansas fans just how different the offense can look without Peterson.
St. Bonaventure transfer Melvin Council Jr. notched a desperate 20-point period with multiple acrobatic layups that never let the game get too far away from Kansas, but beyond Council’s 20 points, Kansas scored just 14 more in the second half.
Kansas next takes to the court on the 6th against the TCU Horned Frogs in an attempt to get back to a level conference record. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT with streaming available on ESPN.
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