The Jayhawks are heading to Kansas City for a Sunday afternoon showdown with Missouri at the T-Mobile Center. Kansas will look to avoid suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season before traveling to Raleigh for a tough matchup with NC State on December 13.
Coming off a tough loss to UConn on Tuesday night, KU now sits at 6–3 as it attempts to produce a strong finish to the non-conference portion of the 2025–26 season.
We still haven’t seen Darryn Peterson in action since the Jayhawks played in Chapel Hill on November 7. With reports indicating that he narrowly missed out on playing against UConn, all signs point to him getting the green light for the Border War on Sunday.
Though very young, Peterson is a proven player, one who would dramatically improve some of KU’s early-season deficiencies. Without further ado, here are five areas in which the Jayhawks should (and must) show improvement once he returns…
1. Three-Point Shooting
What seems to be a recurring theme for this program as of late is its lack of three-point shooting. In the loss to Duke, Kansas shot 4–21 from deep, with another poor performance coming against UConn, where the Jayhawks went 5–18.
So far this season, the Jayhawks rank No. 261 out of 361 Division I teams in three-pointers made (6.9 per game). Additionally, KU ranks No. 214 in three-point percentage, shooting just 32.9% from deep.
Another potential problem arises when the Jayhawks are hesitant to shoot the ball. This season, Kansas has repeatedly passed up good looks from deep when they need to be letting it fly. Across Division I, KU ranks 269th in three-point attempts (20.9 per game) and must do a better job of adapting to the ever-changing game of basketball.
Though Darryn Peterson isn’t exactly known for his stroke from distance, he is still an exceptional shooter and should help boost the team’s percentages. As the No. 1 prospect in the land, he will draw a ton of attention from opposing defenses and should allow his teammates to get plenty of open looks around the arc.
2. Finishing Close Games
Although this team did a phenomenal job closing out games during the Players Era Festival, they have struggled mightily in the final minutes of close games.
After Kansas took a 37–29 lead into the second half during its loss at North Carolina on November 7, UNC outscored the Jayhawks 58–37. Additionally, the Tar Heels finished the final ten minutes on a 25–18 run to win the game by 13 points.
Darryn Peterson produced a strong first-half performance before being severely limited the rest of the way due to hamstring complications. Kansas has not seen Peterson appear in a game since that second half against the Tar Heels.
In the Champions Classic against Duke, KU trailed 67–64 with just under five minutes remaining. The Blue Devils then went on an 11–2 run to close out the game. Even without Peterson, scoring only two points in five minutes is completely unacceptable for any team. After going toe-to-toe with a top-five opponent all game long, KU was in obvious and desperate need of a true closer in the final minutes of that contest.
Finally, against UConn on Tuesday night, Kansas appeared to have control of the game up until the under-12 timeout. The contest tightened, with both teams trading possessions and trying to gain a slight edge. With 4:37 remaining, Kansas trailed the Huskies 55–54 before UConn closed the game on a 6–2 run to win by five points.
With just under five minutes remaining in KU’s games against both Duke and UConn, the Jayhawks were limited to just two points. They have struggled in clutch moments against some of the top teams, with the Tennessee game being a notable exception.
Adding the No. 1 player in the country to the mix should help tremendously in late-game scenarios and will undoubtedly generate more scoring during crucial stretches.
3. Bench Production
Another recurring theme for many of Bill Self’s more recent teams is the lack of scoring from the bench. Kansas currently ranks 335th out of the country’s 361 teams in bench production, with non-starters contributing just 16.4 points per game.
Much of this will be resolved once Peterson returns, as it allows a current starter to bring more energy to the bench. Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell, Kohl Rosario, and Bryson Tiller have all started at different times since Peterson’s absence. His return will give these players a clearer understanding of their roles, with three of them coming off the bench instead of constantly shifting in and out of the starting lineup.
The production off the bench will only improve with Peterson’s return and could potentially change this team’s DNA in a positive way.
4. Rebounding
Kansas has surprisingly been one of the best defensive-rebounding teams in the country this season, ranking 21st out of 361 teams with 29.8 defensive boards per game.
Although they’ve shown strengths on the defensive glass, the Jayhawks have clearly struggled to rebound during crucial moments. Kansas was out-rebounded 118–89 in its three losses to UNC, Duke, and UConn.
Additionally, they rank 330th out of 361 in offensive rebounding, which is dead last in the Big 12. Rebounding against top opponents is crucial and will need to improve if the Jayhawks want to make a run in March.
Though Peterson likely won’t provide a huge boost in the rebounding department, he has a high motor and rebounds better than most guards. He will also draw significant defensive attention, which could create more space for teammates to grab boards in the paint.
5. Assist/Turnover Ratio
The final area in which KU must improve is the assist-to-turnover margin. Taking care of the ball should go without saying, but this KU team has struggled in that department so far.
The Jayhawks have 129 assists this season compared to 100 turnovers, ranking 136th in the country and 12th in the Big 12. While Kansas generally moves the ball well, the offense can become stagnant at times, especially during runs favoring the opposing team. This often results in unnecessary turnovers as players try to do too much instead of playing team basketball.
Not to worry, this can be addressed by having a trusted floor general on the court, as we’ve seen with Dajuan Harris Jr. in prior seasons. If Peterson can steer the ship effectively and help limit unnecessary turnovers, it will give the Jayhawks much better positioning in close games.
Even marginal improvement in any of these areas could elevate the Jayhawks from a dark horse to a legitimate national title contender. Although Kansas has shown it can win without him, Peterson must be in the lineup if KU wants to reach this goal.
Fans are visibly growing restless about the injury situation, but Bill Self has repeatedly indicated that we won’t see him back until he is 100%. You can bet that Peterson is doing everything in his power to get back on the floor. Hopefully, for KU and its loyal supporters, he’ll reach that point by Sunday.
Make sure to bookmark Through the Phog and follow us on X and Facebook with the username @Throughthephog