Bill Self Explains Why Kansas' Darryn Peterson Sat Most of Second Half vs BYU

Darryn Peterson’s first half vs. BYU on Saturday afternoon may have been the best single-half performance college basketball has seen this year (although the Cougars’ Richie Saunders wasn’t far behind with his second-half showing).

The 6-foot-6 guard attacked the rim with a high pickup, before switching hands mid-air for a tough, left-handed finish. Then, he waved off a screen and took fellow freshman star AJ Dybansta one-on-one and hit a heavily contested midrange pull-up.

Off the ball, Peterson was spotting up and knocking down catch-and-shoot triples. He was making brilliant cross-court skip passes (hit Tre White for a corner three), not to mention the first-half headliner: Peterson’s nasty poster jam.

Defensively, he was locking up and reading passing lanes (had three steals). And he did it all within the flow of the game. It never felt as though Peterson was forcing – or even trying. A natural, supremely-talented scorer, Peterson showed off his full arsenal in the first half en route to an 18-point frame (on 6-for-7 shooting).

Darryn Peterson was HOOPIN’ in the first half vs. No. 13 BYU 😦

🔥 18 PTS
🔥 6-7 FG
🔥 3 STL pic.twitter.com/nQ3GvkHFpP
— ESPN (@espn) January 31, 2026

Behind his two-way heroics, Kansas carried a huge 20-point lead into the break, up 53-33 over BYU. And, heading into the second half, all of Lawrence – and certainly Allen Fieldhouse – remained on the edge of its seat, eagerly awaiting 20 more minutes of Peterson magic.

But it never arrived. After three quick minutes in the second half, Peterson exited the game for a breather – or so it seemed. But as the game clock ticked down and Kansas’ lead dwindled, Peterson remained stuck to the bench.

Kansas' Bill Self details why Darryn Peterson missed the majority of second half vs. BYU

By the time BYU cut the deficit to single digits, it was nearing full-fledged panic mode for Kansas, and yet Peterson never budged from his seat. Clearly, he wasn’t going to return to the contest. But the rationale behind that remained unknown – until head coach Bill Self cleared the air in the postgame press conference:

“It’s disappointing that he couldn’t go because of cramps,” Self said of Peterson. “And he didn’t cramp last game, but he did today. I certainly hope we can still figure that out.”

Yet again, Peterson’s absence was due to cramping. And Self wasn’t exactly sure why the freshman guard cramped relatively early in the contest:

“I have no idea. I’m not a doctor. But he definitely started cramping.”

Although Peterson gave it a quick go in the second half (played three minutes), it became clear to Self during the break that Peterson was no longer at 100 percent, and that his recurring cramping issues may bite the Jayhawks in the second half:

“At halftime, I could tell because, when he [was] leaving halftime, he didn’t have the same bounce,” Self said. “He rides a bike at half and does some different things to stay loose. And he didn’t say anything, but I could just tell. At halftime, I asked if he was good. And he said, ‘I’m good.’ But he didn’t have the same response, the same pop as what he had before the game.”

Fortunately, Self said he “would think” both Peterson and guard Elmarko Jackson, who was also banged up a bit in Kansas’ victory, would be good to go for the Jayhawks’ next matchup – which is yet another top-25 showdown (at No. 11 Texas Tech on Monday).