Will Darryn Peterson Play vs Duke? Latest Updates on Kansas Star

Heading into tonight's Champions Classic matchup between Kansas and Duke, all eyes are on the status of Darryn Peterson.

The Jayhawks' star freshman has not been ruled active or inactive yet, but he has missed the past two games due to a lingering hamstring issue that has greatly affected the beginning of his college career.

As of Tuesday morning, there is still no definitive answer on whether Peterson will play. However, there is a pretty good sense about his status given the comments of head coach Bill Self.

Update at 1 p.m. CT: Peterson has officially been ruled OUT and will not play tonight.

Darryn Peterson Leaning Toward Not Playing vs. Duke

Following Saturday's 76-57 victory over Princeton, Self spoke to the media about Peterson's injury and whether he would play against Duke. His comments weren't very encouraging for KU fans.

"We're not obviously going to have him, at least for the immediate future," Self said. "I just don't know how long that will be."

Self described the injury as hamstring tightness and said that while Peterson probably could suit up if absolutely needed, he wouldn't want to jeopardize the future top draft pick's health this early in the season.

Given that information, it can safely be assumed that Peterson will not dress for the contest, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

A Quick History of Darryn Peterson’s Injury

Peterson first felt these symptoms in the second half of the Louisville scrimmage back on Oct. 24. Self described it as leg cramping and not something that was viewed as a long-term issue by the program.

A few days later, he was held out of KU's second and final exhibition against Fort Hays State due to what Self called "a bug" that had Peterson feeling under the weather. This was viewed as a precautionary measure, and Peterson would be ready to go by the season opener against Green Bay.

Nov 3, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts during the first half against the Green Bay Phoenix at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

In that game, Peterson appeared in only four minutes in the second half after playing 17 in the first once his cramping had returned. Since the Jayhawks were already up big in the second half, the coaching staff did not want to test its luck, but it was clearly a bit of a bigger issue than initially anticipated at that point.

Peterson then played a season-high 28 minutes vs. North Carolina in a loss in Chapel Hill, a game in which Self would later reveal that Peterson felt restricted due to the same injury. Before the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi game last Tuesday, Peterson's injury was referred to as hamstring tightness, and he was held out of his first regular-season meeting.

He also missed the ensuing game against Princeton, and here we are with Duke looming just a handful of hours away.

It remains to be seen whether this injury continues to affect Peterson throughout the rest of the season, but it is certainly a bigger deal than it is being made out to be by Coach Self.