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Darryn Peterson injury update: Bill Self reveals final status vs. UConn

Danby: Daniel Hager12/02/25DanielHagerOn3

Although it appears as if he is close to returning to the hardwood, Kansas superstar freshman guard Darryn Peterson will not suit up Tuesday night against No. 5 UConn.

“Darryn is not going to play tonight,” head coach Bill Self said in a statement. “He is very close. He has worked his butt off, but he is still not 100 percent. He is day-to-day.”

Peterson has been a massive absence for KU. The Five-Star+ freshman averaged 21.5 points (60% FG, 50% 3PT), 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks in his two lone appearances this season (Green Bay and No. 18 North Carolina).

The star freshman has now missed six games, in which the Jayhawks have gone 5-1 with wins over Texas A&M-CC, Princeton, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and No. 17 Tennessee. Their lone loss came to No. 5 Duke in the Champions Classic.

Following Kansas’ 81-76 win against the Volunteers in the Players Era Festival Third Place Game, Self clarified the timeline of Peterson’s return.

“Until he doesn’t feel it, we’re still in the air,” Self said. “So we’ll get back home and take off tomorrow, and he’ll take off tomorrow and we’ll reevaluate him on Friday to see if Tuesday’s a chance. That would give him a chance to practice Saturday-Sunday-Monday. But there’s a chance UConn’s not in play. So we’ll just have to wait and see how he looks on Friday.”

Although Peterson has been missed, the team has stepped up in a massive way to weather an early-season storm. After opening the season with a 3-2 record, the Jayhawks won all three of their games in Las Vegas to get to 6-2 and climb back into the AP Poll Rankings (No. 21).

They have five non-conference games remaining on their schedule before opening Big 12 play on Jan. 3 at UCF. Along with Tuesday’s monstrous matchup against No. 5 UConn inside Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas will also play Missouri (Border War) and NC State over the next two weeks. It finishes with Towson and Davidson before its conference-opening clash with the Knights.

As optimistic as Self sounds, Peterson very well could be back in time for the rivalry matchup with Missouri.