Darryn Peterson Shows Firepower in Kansas’ Up-and-Down First-Round Win

The last month has been a rough one for Kansas’ guard Darryn Peterson.

He’s seen an inefficient stretch through the end of Kansas’s regular season and into the Big 12 Tournament, in direct juxtaposition with his No. 1 counterparts hitting their stride.

Duke’s Cameron Boozer led his team to the ACC Title while putting together a National Player of the Year campaign, and BYU wing AJ Dybantsa has seen a scoring stretch for the ages, despite the Cougars’ exit from the NCAA Tournament. In his last seven games, Peterson has shot just 36% overall, and just 27% from three, where he was previously one of the top scorers in the nation.

That was prior to Friday, where Peterson led the Jayhawks in scoring en route to a win over California Baptist in the first round of March Madness.

Peterson got off to a slow start, but quickly heated up, getting hot down the stretch of the first half and early into the second.

Darryn Peterson closes out the first half in style. pic.twitter.com/ta0iwFDxC3
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 21, 2026

All in all, Peterson would finish with 28 points on 11-for-24 shooting, adding two steals. While he missed shots, the elite shot-making was certainly on display. He showed poised in shooting over contests, and seldomly got downhill, hitting in the mid-range as well.

He hit four of his 11 attempted triples, continuing to show off his prowess from beyond the arc.

"That was high-level stuff."

Darryn Peterson showing off the footwork. pic.twitter.com/AjI8JSimRt
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 21, 2026

Still, it wouldn't be without team or individual struggles.

California Baptist would make things interesting near the end, going on a massive run with just a few minutes remaining, erasing a 26 point lead in total.

Peterson failed to take over down the stretch, rarely touching the ball in general as he struggled to free himself from defensive pressure. Kansas scored just twice from the field in the final nine minutes, floundering on the offensive end.

The Jayhawks will next take on St. John’s, which is sure to offer a much tougher test. They’re headlined by a potential first-round pick in forward Zuby Ejiofor, as well as a host of other impactful two-way players.

Peterson will certainly need to be on his A-game to help Kansas to a Round of 32 win. While he showed some high-end scoring ability against CBU, he’ll need to be sharper overall, more efficient and simply more commanding to move to the Sweet 16.

Following the game, Peterson was asked if he let his game talk for him.

"I feel like that's all I do," Peterson said. "I don't ever say much, I just hoop."

Peterson remains among the top group with Boozer and Dybantsa, though he's undoubtedly been the most inconsistent over the last month. More tournament wins, and especially more individual aggression and consistency, would go a long way toward him re-taking the outright No. 1 pick conversations.