LAWRENCE, Kan. — It was one in all the most anticipated video games at Allen Fieldhouse in the previous few years, a matchup of the projected prime two NBA Draft picks and 2025’s No. 1-and No. 2-ranked highschool gamers, Darryn Peterson of Kansas and AJ Dybantsa of BYU, in a key sport for the Big 12 title race.
Saturday marked simply the fourth time in the web rankings period that 247Sports’ prime two excessive schoolers had confronted off as faculty freshmen. Even a constructing as historic as Allen Fieldhouse had by no means seen a matchup like this.
The crowd, which included nearly 40 scouts for NBA groups and basic managers for the Pacers, Nets, Hawks, Spurs and Thunder, was applicable for the occasion. ESPN’s College Gameday got here right here, Kansas legend Paul Pierce and 2026’s top-ranked participant Tyran Stokes of Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach confirmed up for the spectacle, and the normally raucous Allen Fieldhouse crowd was in full throat nicely earlier than tipoff.
Answers have been anticipated to be given on Saturday. Can both Kansas or BYU severely contend for a Big 12 title and finally a Final Four berth? Should Peterson — who has missed half the season with varied accidents — or faculty basketball’s second-leading scorer, Dybantsa, be thought-about the favourite for the No. 1 choose in June’s NBA Draft?
After working out to an enormous early lead and holding on for expensive life as BYU senior Richie Saunders unleashed a 33-point scoring barrage, Kansas cleared a giant hurdle to maneuver to 6-2 in the Big 12 with a 90-82 win.
With 18 first-half factors, Peterson confirmed why 247Sports ranked him No. 1 in highschool and why he is the slight favourite to go No. 1 in June. For the first 20 minutes, he made the Fieldhouse his playground, drilling easy 3-pointers, scoring at will off the dribble and making big-time performs on the defensive finish. With simply over two minutes remaining in the half, he practically took the roof off the place with a contested jam on a drive down the proper aspect of the lane. It was every little thing that Kansas followers needed to see as they constructed a 53-33 halftime lead.
Then Bill Self and the Kansas trustworthy noticed what they’d slightly not see once more. Just a couple of minutes into the second half, their star freshman checked himself out of the sport and by no means returned resulting from cramping points which have plagued him all yr. Peterson has performed in 11 of Kansas 21 video games and, if he misses the subsequent sport on account of any doable damage from Saturday, it is going to mark the fourth time his availability has toggled from sure to no.
The continued uncertainty round Peterson’s standing is a severe concern for a Kansas group that, with him at full health, has a reliable Final Four ceiling. Since its 2022 nationwide championship, Kansas has but to make to to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.
“That was the real DP there, you guys haven’t seen it like we have,” Self mentioned of Peterson’s 18 factors and three steals in the first half. “It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t see it for 40 minutes.
“(The dunk) was athletic and it was off a sprained ankle, in order that was good to see. He confirmed rather a lot in his bag in the first half.”
Peterson is already one in all the most prolific scorers in Kansas single-season historical past.
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On the different aspect, Dybantsa got here out sluggish. Often matched up with Kansas huge man Flory Bidunga, Dybantsa appeared to be bothered a bit by the size and quickness, and he had some difficulties discovering his spots. As he is finished all yr, he was capable of get issues going a bit in the second half to complete with 17 factors.
“I thought he was OK,” BYU coach Kevin Young mentioned. “He was holding the ball a little too much in the first half. I thought he was better in the second half. He was driving and getting to his spots and looking for some of those turnarounds, and I thought he did a good job of kicking the basketball out.
“I’m not crying over spilled milk or something, however the man leads the nation in fouls drawn and acquired to the line 4 instances tonight. I assumed there have been instances the place he might have been fouled that they missed, however that is life and you need to maintain enjoying. All in all, it was, I assumed, a sport for him that he dealt with nicely relative to all of the exterior noise.”
There is a few vibrant aspect for Kansas in terms of Peterson’s continued cramping points. Senior guard Melvin Council continues to return up huge in huge moments, and freshman huge man Bryson Tiller is coming alongside and had his greatest sport of the yr, notching 21 factors — together with a trio of first-half triples — and grabbing seven rebounds.
Now 16-5, this Kansas group is coming collectively because it prepares to face Texas Tech subsequent. But if they will compete at the highest degree and actually compete for titles, they want their most dynamic participant to be accessible, and no person is aware of that higher than Self.
“We can be competitive, but for us to actually have a chance to do anything that I would consider to be special, we need everybody healthy,” Self mentioned.
“It’s disappointing that he couldn’t go because of cramps. He didn’t cramp last game, but he did today, and I certainly hope we can figure that out. But it tells me that we may not be consistently where some teams play night in and night out, but on any night, we can play with anybody.”
