Potential Top Pick Darryn Peterson Delivers Clutch Performance in Win

The 2025-26 college basketball season hasn't gone as planned for one of the top prospects in the nation.

Darryn Peterson, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, according to 247Sports, has dazzled when on the court. Peterson's high school efforts and his performance at Kansas have placed the former five-star prospect among the upper echelon of prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft class.

Peterson has a strong chance at being the No. 1 pick this summer, but has struggled to stay on the floor this season for the Jayhawks. The superstar guard has appeared in 12 games, playing less than 25 minutes in five of those contests after suffering a hamstring injury early in the campaign.

On Monday night, Peterson played a season-high 35 minutes while helping lead Kansas to a 64-61 win against Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' victory pushed Bill Self's team to 17-5 on the season and 7-2 in Big 12 competition.

The Red Raiders played solid defense against Peterson, holding the potenial top pick in check for most of the contest, but the Kansas star connected on two key shots late in the game to lead his team to a win.

TTU held a 61-58 lead with 1:20 left in regulation before Peterson hit a contested triple to tie the game. Then, Peterson nailed another 3-pointer with 44 seconds left in the contest to give the Jayhawks an impressive win on the road.

Darryn Peterson is a BAD man.

Back-to-back from deep in crunch time. Bucket getter.#kubball pic.twitter.com/QHypYIJPjW
— Kole Emplit (@KoleEmplit) February 3, 2026

Peterson, who was 3-of-12 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc before his final two shots, finished with a team-high 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist. Even after a lackluster showing until the final moments, Peterson's late-game shot making showed why the 6-foot-6 guard is in the running to be the first player selected in the 2026 draft.

Peterson is averaging 21.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 50.6% from the field and 43.2% from beyond the arc on 6.7 attempts per game.

Star point guard and potential first-round pick Christian Anderson didn't see the court for Texas Tech, dealing with an illness that held him out of the game. JT Toppin, who also has a chance to be selected in the 2026 draft, tallied 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and a block while shooting 5-of-18 from the field.

Another draft prospect, Flory Bidunga, played solid defense against Toppin, helping limit the Red Raiders' star. Bidunga finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks while shooting 7-of-8 from the field.

The 6-foot-10, 235-pound sophomore is averaging 14.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 66.8% from the field this season.

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