KU basketball has one nonconference game left. How would Bill Self grade the slate?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas can finish 2025-26 nonconference slate 10-3 with a Davidson win.
- Bill Self frames 10-3 as meaningful given Darryn Peterson’s limited availability.
- A win would send KU into holiday break on a four-game nonconference streak.
If Kansas men’s basketball defeats Davidson on Monday night, the Jayhawks will complete the 2025-26 nonconference season with a 10-3 record.
That’s a mark that most college hoops analysts would likely consider a major success considering the team’s best player, Darryn Peterson, has played in just four games so far because of strained hamstring and cramping issues.
Tipoff for KU-Davidson is 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse with a livestream on ESPN+. The Jayhawks enter 9-3. Davidson of the Atlantic 10 Conference is 8-3.
“From a record standpoint, considering we played eight of those games without DP so far, I think that would be a good record based on the quality of schedule,” coach Bill Self said Sunday, referring to 10-3.
“This is one game (that can) tip the scale one way or another. I don’t know if it does totally, but I will tell you this, 10-3 sounds a heck of a lot better than 9-4. So to me, this is a very important thing,” Self added.
Peterson played the first two games of the season — a win over Green Bay (94-51) and loss at North Carolina (87-74).
He then missed seven straight games in a 5-2 stretch that included wins over Texas A&M/Corpus Christi (77-46), Princeton (76-57), Notre Dame (71-61), Syracuse (71-60), Tennessee (81-76) and losses to Duke (78-66) and UConn (61-56).
Peterson returned to play 23 minutes in a win over Missouri (80-60), exited late in an overtime win at North Carolina State (77-76), then sat out the victory over Towson (73-49) on Tuesday. Peterson is listed as day-to-day entering the Davidson contest.
Following Monday’s game, the Jayhawks will head to their hometowns or hometowns of friends for a short Christmas vacation. The players report back to campus Dec. 27 with the next game Jan. 3 at UCF.
Attaining a 10-3 record would also mean the Jayhawks won their final four nonconference contests.
“I think any time you have a break in games, you want the last one to be a good taste in your mouth, so you don’t have that negative taste for two straight weeks or whatever,” Self said. “And turkey and ham and your Christmas fixings will taste a little bit better if we’re successful.”
Self said the players most certainly are looking forward to being with family and/or friends for a few days following the Davidson contest.
“I do think that it can be a distraction, more so for the players than anybody because, right now, everybody wants to go home,” Self said. “We’ve played some of the worst games we’ve ever played on the road the game before Christmas.
“Do you all remember at Villanova (56-55 KU loss on Dec. 21, 2019 in Philadelphia)? Do you remember at Temple (77-52 KU loss on Dec. 22, 2014 in Philly)? I mean good gosh. You remember in Reno, when we go out there the game before Christmas and Nevada put a knot on our head (75-62 loss to Nevada on Dec. 21, 2003?
“They all want to be with their families. Everybody wants to. The students are all gone and that’s fine for a couple of days, but after a couple of days, everybody wants to get to where they’re going to have Christmas. So yes, it is (a distraction), but it’s the same way with Davidson. It’s the same way with every team in the country.”
Self said he’s been pleased with team chemistry heading into the final game before the break.
“I think everybody likes Tre (White). I think people like BT (Bryson Tiller). I think people like Kohl (Rosario). I think people like Melvin (Council Jr.). Flory (Bidunga) is beloved. Darryn … everybody likes Darryn. Everybody likes Mari (Jamari McDowell) and Marko (Elmarko Jackson). You can go down the line,” Self said.
“I actually think that there is a closeness on this team in large part because sometimes with teams there are distractions that keep everybody from hanging out together. I don’t think we have those right now. I’m sure guys … guys got girlfriends, but for whatever reason, they seem to hang around each other all the time, where sometimes different things can occupy the majority of their off-the-court time. I don’t feel that with these guys.”
