March has finally arrived, and the Kansas Jayhawks have been handed one of the most daunting routes to achieve Bill Self’s third national title.
Some of the teams in Kansas’ East Region include No. 1 Duke, No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Michigan State, and No. 5 St. John’s.
If the Jayhawks want a strong chance of getting past any of these teams, it likely starts and ends with Darryn Peterson.
Peterson has one last chance to continue to prove doubters wrong
The KU community has largely gotten behind Peterson over recent weeks as further information has come to light about his long-standing cramping issues, which have shredded several national narratives that have come out about the freshman.
While it is great to see Allen Fieldhouse back the guard, it hasn’t stopped analysts from pushing him down the totem pole, as ESPN’s Sean Farnham suggested that the narrative around the best players in the nation should leave out Peterson in favor of Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr.
ESPN college basketball analyst Sean Farnham on Darius Acuff:
— Jacob Davis (@jacobdaviscfb) March 16, 2026
“We’ve spent the whole season talking about AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson. That conversation is wrong, America. The coversation is AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff.”
He breaks it down here ⬇️⬇️pic.twitter.com/9j55bSgqFO
Peterson’s box score does not tell the entire story
You can quickly comb through Kansas’ last couple stat books and see that the Prolific Prep alum has struggled to find the bottom of the net, as in each of his last two games Peterson notched an 8/28 mark from the field through during the Big 12 Tournament, which pails in comparison to Acuff’s run where the Razorback compiled a 27/62 stretch that ended in Arkansas lifting the SEC Tournament championship with an 86-75 win over Vanderbilt.
However, it is necessary to state that Peterson’s recent ability to draw fouls at a high rate and push himself to the stripe is quickly growing as an underrated facet to his game, and when you combine that with the fact that Peterson has too often been the sole contributor to a struggling offense, the criticisms can slowly lose their value.
Yet it is also completely fair to say that Peterson’s numbers have been off-kilter, and he should always be expected to be the top guy because that is what he was touted as the No. 1 player in the class of 2025.
Facing questions from the media is unfortunately something Peterson has grown accustomed to in his short time with the Jayhawks, but the narrative is still far from over, with ample opportunity to get back on track this Friday against the No. 13 Cal Baptist. Tipoff is set for 8:45 p.m. CT with streaming available on CBS.
Make sure to bookmark Through the Phog and follow us on X and Facebook with the username @Throughthephog