The No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks are looking to have gotten things in order. Especially with star guard Darryn Peterson back in the fold. Peterson had missed out on seven straight games with hamstring tightness, which dated all the way back to November 7th, his last action in a 87-74 loss to the now No. 14 UNC Tar Heels.
However, when Peterson got back to the action against the Missouri Tigers in an 80-60 Border Showdown victory, his impact was felt across the court with a strong 17 points on a 6-14 rate from the field, which included 3-9 from beyond the arc. Peterson also added three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
While numbers-wise this may have been Peterson’s worst performance of his young collegiate career, the parallels to an ever-excellent career are still well within reach.
Darryn Peterson has scored 60 points in 73 minutes of play this season, which is .822 pts/minute. Since minutes started being tracked, the best points/minute average in a season for #KUbball was Danny Manning in '88, when he averaged .705 pts/minute for the #Jayhawks.
— Creighton Coover (@kucr8ton) December 7, 2025
There is no point in trying to revise the past.
Peterson was not available for that seven-game stretch, and while his impact easily could have led to an undefeated stretch, Peterson was not 100% and while Self and his squad did struggle at times, often passing the baton on who would be leading the Jayhawks in offensive production. Self spoke many times about how that could have been a good thing in the long-term of the season.
Now that Peterson is hopefully back to 100% in the future, this is a team that will not be so reliant on him to always carry the torch.
Four players who currently rank ahead of Peterson in points this season, Flory Bidunga (147), Tre White (143), Melvin Council Jr (107), and Bryson Tiller (93).
While Kansas’ 74.6 points per game still sits 178th in the nation, Self’s squad is likely ot experience a boon with Peterson back on the court.
Before conference play gets underway, the Jayhawks have three more games to continue to get things in order. A trip to NC State is followed by a two-game homestand against Towson and Davidson before Big 12 play starts on January 3rd.