Much like many previous games, at the end of the BYU game in Lawrence on Saturday, Jayhawks’ freshman, Darryn Peterson, ended the game on the bench due to cramping during the 2nd half. His status for the game in Lubbock against Texas Tech was never truly in question, but his ability to finish the game certainly was. Luckily, he was able to do more than just finish the game.
After just 20 minutes of court time in the win vs the Cougars, he played a whopping 35 minutes against Texas Tech, and all 35 minutes were 100% needed in order for KU to secure the win. This 35-minute mark is by far his most of the season, surpassing a couple previous games against TCU and Colorado where he played 32 minutes in each contest.
Not only is this simple minute-mark stat incredibly promising for Peterson from an injury/cramping perspective, but his ability to carry the offensive load in clutch time and hit two insanely important shots proved that the Jayhawks are a true contender this season. While he struggled in the game overall, he made both of the final two shots in the game.:
Game tying + Game winner pic.twitter.com/ISQanH0Ghu
— We good? (@gifhawk2) February 3, 2026
The first shot came with 1:20 left in the game on a leaning 23-foot shot from beyond the arc to tie the game at 61-61. He followed this up with the game-winning shot when he pulled up from deep again and drained a contested 26-footer to give KU a 64-61 lead with 44 seconds remaining. These points ended up being the final points scored in the game from either side.
Is 30+ minutes a night sustainable for Peterson moving forward?
While Peterson's 35 minutes on Monday night were beautiful to see from a Jayhawks fandom perspective, it is still tough to believe that this game will be the trend moving forward rather than the outlier. He has played 30+ minutes in just 5 games this entire season, but perhaps the trainers, coaching staff, and/or he himself have found a routine that works to limit his cramping.
If this optimistic viewpoint does become reality and the freshman phenom is seeing the court for 30+ minutes a night, with a game or two of 34+ minutes when needed, it is very possible that Kansas continues to rise up the top 25 rankings and enters March Madness as a 2 seed. Weeks ago, following the losses at UCF and WVU, this would have seemed crazy.
Once March Madness begins, Peterson will have a chance to help lead KU to their first Final Four run since 2022, when the Jayhawks won the NCAA National Championship. His talent alone gives Kansas this type of ceiling, but as many of the old-school coaches say, “availability is the best ability”.
Assuming that Peterson can be available for the Jayhawks not to just start the games, but also to finish them while playing 30+ minutes a night, then the sky is truly the limit for the Crimson and Blue in 2026. Rock Chalk!
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