No. 25 Kansas proved its roster contains far more than Darryn Peterson.
The Jayhawks rolled past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 77-46 their last time out while Peterson, a potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick, was held out in a precautionary move. His freshman classmates Kohl Rosario and Bryson Tiller took the wheel on Tuesday and helped Kansas (2-1) move on from a loss at then-No. 25 North Carolina four days earlier.
Before they move on to a string of high-major opponents, the Jayhawks will have their next test on Saturday afternoon against Princeton in Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas coach Bill Self revealed that Peterson practiced all three days before the Corpus Christi game but reported hamstring tightness before Tuesday’s game.
“I’m not going to risk that,” Self said. “So, hopefully, it’s precautionary, on the reason why he didn’t play. So I look forward to seeing him in practice on Thursday … We didn’t anticipate this, but at the end of practice he said he was tight. So that told me no reason to go.”
Peterson, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, unanimously was considered a top-two player in his class alongside AJ Dybantsa (BYU). Peterson scored 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field in the Jayhawks’ 87-74 loss to North Carolina.
Without Peterson vs. Corpus Christi, the Jayhawks relied on Flory Bidunga — who scored 12 points (6-of-7 shooting) and grabbed eight rebounds — along with a pair of freshmen. Rosario scored a game-high 16 points, and redshirt Tiller put up 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench.
“(Versatility) is something I work on a lot, and with my athleticism, I feel like I can do multiple things on the court,” Tiller said.
The early defeat to fellow blue-blood North Carolina is pushing a young Jayhawks team to be better.
“We know we had a loss,” Rosario said. “We know it wasn’t a good game, so during practice we’ve had that same mentality, we’ve carried it with us. Obviously we’re gonna look forward and not dwell on the past but also use that energy and the loss to motivate us moving forward.”
Up next is Princeton (2-1), a team that no longer has any players from its NCAA Tournament run in 2023. Xaivian Lee transferred to Florida, and Caden Pierce opted to redshirt the season and finish his degree, with an eye on playing high-major ball in 2026-27.
This will be Princeton’s fourth game in eight days. The Tigers had a rough start, being blown away 104-69 at Akron, but notched a pair of home wins this week. They held off Bucknell 73-63 on Tuesday and defeated Division III John Jay College 100-59 on Thursday.
The starters played restricted minutes against John Jay in order to rest them for Kansas, but big man CJ Happy still managed 17 points in 15 minutes.
Without Lee, the player who runs the offense is Dalen Davis, who averages 16.3 points and 3.3 assists per game.
This will be Princeton’s only high-major game of the season, but a number of challenging mid-major opponents await, including Iona, Bradley, Saint Joseph’s, Loyola Chicago, Temple and Vermont.
“Our schedule is brutal,” Tigers coach Mitch Henderson said this week. “… It’s Kansas, and this is the stuff that we want to be a part of. We also know how difficult it’s going to be, but I think appreciating the opportunity and preparing them to win every single game, that’s my approach.
“Good players make good coaches, so hopefully they’ll be ready to go.”
