The return of Darryn Peterson provides Kansas a lesson in its win over Mizzou
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas beat Missouri 80-60; second-half surge erased any late suspense.
- Darryn Peterson returned from injury and illness, led scoring and playmaking.
- Kansas produced a 23-3 run; roster must share offensive load to sustain wins.
The game had opened up after halftime, never tight enough for even a nervy possession or two, with the lone Mizzou run countered by a Jamari McDowell 3-pointer. And then another McDowell 3-pointer. And then 12 second-half points from big man Bryson Tiller.
Kansas, in so many ways, cruised past Missouri 80-60 in Kansas City on Sunday, and ...
... well, wait a minute.
As they earned a second-half snoozer, you couldn’t help but look toward the end of the KU bench, wondering if you were staring at another alarm bell.
Darryn Peterson returned to the lineup from a hamstring strain for the first time in a month, scoring 17 points. And then he spent the majority of the second half not part of the blowout but bowing out, with a trainer working on his leg.
He’s fine, KU coach Bill Self insisted, just gassed from an illness he picked up late in the week, rather than feeling the effects of the previously injured hamstring. He probably could’ve returned if the Jayhawks had needed him.
They didn’t.
But they will.
And they’re also going to need something more.
That second-half image — Peterson saddled on a folding chair, a trainer massaging his leg, assistant coach Jeremy Case pacing the sideline presumably to gather some updates — provided a reminder that in a moment’s notice, this Kansas team will need to be more than Darryn Peterson.
But you know what else provided that reminder? The instances when Peterson was on the floor.
The most clunky KU offense Sunday came with Peterson in the lineup, not without him, a team of four standing, watching and apparently waiting on one player to do something to bail them out. In reality, his monthlong absence should demonstrate that while these Jayhawks have a particularly compelling leading character who will and should drive their story, that doesn’t mean he needs to be a solo act.
Kansas was out-manned for the initial 10 minutes Sunday at T-Mobile Center in downtown KC, merely because the Jayhawks operated as though having the best man on the floor would be enough. The Tigers beat KU to loose basketballs and dominated the glass — among their initial 13 missed shots, they rebounded eight of them.
On defense, they put their attention on Peterson. And the rest of the KU lineup seemed content to operate stuck in the same awe as the rest of us, waiting to see what he might do.
“I thought we stood,” Self said. “There wasn’t any ball and body movement. The way they guarded the ball screens (with) the hard hedge — we didn’t play behind it and take advantage of it. I didn’t think we played great.”
That will get better with time.
It did get better with time, actually.
For about an eight-minute spurt — the halftime break sandwiched in the middle — we saw what this KU team can be. And it looks pretty formidable.
It’s not solely Darryn Paterson. It’s Peterson-plus.
The Jayhawks outscored Mizzou 23-3 between the end of the first half and the onset of the second half. You know how many buckets Peterson made during that run? Two.
Tre White was terrific everywhere. Flory Bidunga played like he can be a go-to option on the block. Tiller remembered that he’s 6-foot-10. And KU completely smothered Mizzou defensively, the stops allowing Melvin Council to run in transition ... and good luck keeping up with him.
That’s it. That’s the KU formula to reach the ceiling. It includes Peterson. It features him, of course. He did score 17 points in 23 minutes. But it includes the rest of the group doing its part, too.
“He makes the game so much easier,” White said. “He attracts a lot of bodies whenever he’s playing, so that just makes it easier for us.”
“He’s a great player — we love playing with him,” Tiller said. “He makes the game way easier.”
Easier, not easy.
Though it can be the latter, too. That’s the luxury Peterson provides. Mizzou ended that 23-3 KU run with back-to-back buckets, and then pinned the Jayhawks to the final five seconds of the shot clock.
With four seconds left, Peterson grabbed the ball at the top of the key, and with three seconds left, despite being covered, he released a shot. It was good. The run was done.
Oh, yeah, there is that option.
KU could’ve used it five days earlier A day after the Jayhawks couldn’t find the rim in the second half of a loss against Connecticut, Self pitted his starters against the top reserves for a scrimmage during practice. The Peterson side scored 20 points. He had 14. And he had three assists.
Do the math. He was part of every bucket.
He can carry this team. He’s that good. He can bail them out on occasion, even.
But there’s a lesson the Jayhawks should’ve learned without him, a lesson only reinforced in their first game with him in a month.
They’re even better when he doesn’t have to do it all.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 6:19 PM.