Bill Self and the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks secured a seventh-straight win on Saturday after taking down the Utah Utes 71-59. And on Monday, Kansas looked to keep its winning streak alive but had arguably its toughest test of the 2025-26 college basketball season, hosting Tommy Lloyd and the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats.
Self has guided the Jayhawks to another strong season, entering Monday’s game with an 18-5 overall record and an 8-2 mark in Big 12 play. The surge comes one year after a first-round exit in last season’s NCAA Tournament. However, against the nation’s No. 1 team on Monday, Self and Kansas were without a key player.
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Darryn Peterson, a 6-foot-6 guard out of Prolific Prep High School (Napa, California), was a five-star prospect in the Class of 2025 (247Sports). He ranked as the top guard in his class, the No. 1 prospect from the state of California, and the nation’s top overall recruit, ahead of players such as Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa.
Peterson has not only been Kansas’ top player this season but arguably the best in the country. Through 13 games played, the guard is averaging a team-high 20.5 points on 48.9% shooting, along with 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists, and is widely projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. But Peterson had already missed ten games this season, with Kansas posting an 8-2 record without him compared to 12-3 with him.
And while Peterson participated in warmups ahead of Kansas’ matchup against Arizona, the Jayhawks announced the freshman was ruled out against the nation’s No. 1 team due to flu-like symptoms, leaving Self and Kansas without their top option for an 11th game.
"From Kansas spokesperson: 'Darryn [Peterson] won't play tonight. He has flu-like symptoms. He went out with the team for warmups but can't go,'" ESPN's Myron Metcalf wrote on X.
Self and Kansas will hope Peterson can return to action in their next game Saturday, when the Jayhawks travel to face No. 5 Iowa State at 1 p.m. ET.