While No. 8 Kansas eventually marched to a pretty productive 81-69 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys, there was another segment in the saga of Darryn Peterson and his injury-ridden season.
While several ailments have hamstrung the former five-star's season, the biggest has by far been his continued cramping issues. The worst thing about it is that Peterson will play a phenomenal first half, then miss out on the entire second period.
The same happened on Wednesday night over the Big 12 squad.
Peterson looked out of this world with an outstanding 20 points in 16 minutes on a phenomenal 6-11 rate from the field, including a 5-9 mark from beyond the arc.
“I didn't anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go”
However, the freshman played only three minutes in the second half before subbing out for the remainder of the game.
“I didn't anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go, but obviously, we only got 18 minutes. That's disappointing, 'cause he could have had a really good night,” quoted head coach Bill Self following the win, which pushed Kansas’ record to a 20-6 overall record with a 10-3 mark in conference play.
Wednesday marked Peterson’s 15th game of the season. When on the court, Peterson averages 19.8 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on a stellar 47.9% field goal rate. Against Oklahoma State, Peterson notched 13 points over the first 10 minutes.
“But one thing about it is, it's happened often enough that our guys have wanted to play without it, even though that's not the way we want to play. But that's certainly something that we're not unaccustomed to right now…I didn't know that he'd be done, but obviously, he was cramping.”
A balanced scoring outlet
Three other Jayhawks notched at least 10+ points with Tre White, Bryson Tiller, and Elmarko Jackson finishing with 16,10, and 14, respectively.
Kansas finished the night, marking a strong 48% rate from the field with a smooth 20 assists.
Kansas’ defense stifled Oklahoma State, as the Cowboys only hit 34.8% of their shots with a paltry 25% three-point rate and just two players who pushed past 10 points in Parsa Fallah (21) and Anthony Roy (16).
Up next for Kansas is a Saturday showdown against the Cincinnati Bearcats, before the Jayhawks welcome the No. 2 Houston Cougars next Monday.
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