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Myron Medcalf
multiple authors
Lawrence, Kans.–After No. 9 kansas assigned number 1 Arizona This is the first defeat of the season 82-78 Despite not playing on Monday night darrin petersonThe projected No. 1 pick who missed the game due to illness, Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd demanded respect for the Jayhawks.
“Guys, Kansas is a tremendous team,” said Lloyd, whose team had not lost in the Sweet 16 since March 27, 2025. ruler. “Let’s not make this about Darrin Peterson. He didn’t play because he was sick. He beat the No. 1 team in the country at home. He did a great job and his coach did a great job. That should be the story.”
flory bidunga (23), bryson tiller (18) and melvin council jr (23) scored a total of 64 points in Peterson’s absence and beat Arizona, which entered the top five in offense and defense, on Monday.
Kansas became the first team in the last 30 seasons to defeat an AP No. 1 opponent despite not having a 20-point-per-game scorer.
Dozens of scouts and NBA executives had arrived in Lawrence to watch Peterson, who missed the game due to “flu-like symptoms.” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Peterson did not practice Sunday but went through pregame warmups on Monday. Self said he knew Peterson was not himself, but he felt “the adrenaline would kick in” and Peterson would play.
“I went into the training room, he was in there trying out, and I said, ‘Can you do it?’ And he said, ‘Coach, I don’t think I can,'” Self said. “And to be honest with you, if he couldn’t contribute I probably would prefer not to play him, just because we’d spend 20 minutes trying to get him shots or whatever, and if he didn’t feel like it, I’d rather have it the way it happened. So, he tried, but he couldn’t get there.”
Kansas has been in that situation several times this season. Peterson has missed 11 games due to cramps or injuries, and he has played less than 25 minutes in five other games due to the same issues.
When the Jayhawks won three games they had to rally without Peterson (Notre Dame, Syracuse, tennessee) at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas during Fest Week. But they also lost in previous matchups against top contenders Duke and Yukon Pietersen was sidelined.
The Jayhawks learned he would not be available Monday when they returned to the court after warmups.
“We still have a job to do. We still have to compete,” said Bidunga, who became just the third player in 35 seasons to finish with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in a win over an AP No. 1 team. “We’ve played some games without [Peterson]. And it made us stronger. Even if he wasn’t there – I mean, we wish he could have been there for the game – but unfortunately, he wasn’t. But we still have a job to do and we’ve done a pretty good job.”
Arizona beat on Saturday oklahoma state The 37 points marked the Wildcats’ fifth win by 25 points or more against a top 60 KenPom team this season. Kansas overcame an 11-point deficit early in the second half on Monday and outscored Arizona 38-23 in the final 17 minutes.
Tiller, who scored 14 of his team’s first 22 points, had a dunk at the end of the game as Arizona tried to rally. bidunga was blocked brayden burys‘ Made a shot on a key drive with 17 seconds left to maintain a three-point lead. Council hit a clutch floater to extend his team’s lead to six points with less than a minute to go, and then he made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to help seal the win.
Self said Monday’s win proved his team is not better without Peterson, but he is more vocal.
“About one thing [Peterson] The positive is that we’ve played without him, and we’ve been more aggressive individually at times when he wasn’t in the game,” Self said. “Now, we’re not as good, but we’re more aggressive individually. …I don’t know if we would have played so aggressively. [Peterson] He was in the game because he was getting a lot of touches and a lot of shots.”
With Kansas winning its first game against an AP No. 1 team at Allen Fieldhouse, the Fog improved to 83–15 against ranked opponents, tying Jerry Tarkanian for the second-best home winning percentage against ranked teams in NCAA history and trailing only John Wooden.
Throughout the game, there was a consistent sellout crowd at Allen Fieldhouse. At one point, the noise in the building reached more than 118 decibels – equivalent to a jet engine – according to an in-house decibel meter.
Self said that even though the Jayhawks were short-handed, the crowd gave them the encouragement they needed to win and “took ownership” of keeping his team’s energy level high.
“It’s hard to get tired when the crowd is like that,” Self said. “And so, there’s a huge crowd, and everyone will think I’m biased by saying we’re the best because I shouldn’t say that because I don’t know what everyone has, but I can guarantee you there’s no place better than this place.”
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
