The pregame-headline was disappointing.
Darryn Peterson is out
What?!?!
Hand to heart, I was legitimately bummed. If you listened to Sunday’s episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, you know how eager I was for this matchup between the nation’s No. 1 team and an opponent led by the presumed No 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. To not get that was disappointing.
But the game was still great!
Final score: Kansas 82, Arizona 78.
Melvin Council Jr., the undeniable heart and leader of this team, took 25 shots, only made six of them but somehow still felt like the star of the show. He had 23 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal in 40 minutes. The capacity crowd at Allen Fieldhouse ate up every second of it and actually contributed to the victory, according to common sense and Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Bill Self.
“The building was unbelievable,” Self told Scott Van Pelt late Monday before later adding, “this place won this game tonight. Allen Fieldhouse won this game tonight.”
No argument here.
As for Peterson, what do you want me to say? It’s obviously weird and unfortunate that he apparently pulled himself from the competition pregame. To be clear, I’ve also had flu-like symptoms; I know it can be rough. But even Self said it wasn’t clear Peterson wouldn’t play until about an hour before tipoff, and the optics on that aren’t great even if his absence was legitimate.
Either way …
Kansas is up to No. 9 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Arizona dropped to No. 2. That means Michigan is the new No. 1. Dusty May’s Wolverines are 22-1 with eight Quadrant 1 victories heading into Wednesday’s game at Northwestern. They’re also No. 1 in the NET, at KenPom.com and at BartTorvik.com.
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