Kansas lost to Duke 78-66, but if you tuned in looking for a meltdown without Darryn Peterson, you didn’t get one. The Jayhawks weren’t perfect, but they looked like a team that knows who they are, even without their best player on the floor.
It wasn’t some magical performance. They shot 40 percent from the field, couldn’t stop Duke from getting whatever it wanted in the paint, and got outscored by 10 in the second half. But it also wasn’t a disaster. For a team missing a projected top-three pick, Kansas played with some structure, found contributions from different spots, and hung around longer than a lot of people probably expected.
Last season, when Kansas got exposed, there wasn’t a Plan B. If the stars didn’t show up, it unraveled fast. This year’s team might not have that issue. It’s not a deep Final Four-ready roster yet, but it’s also not falling apart just because one guy is missing.
Now, nobody’s handing out banners for looking solid in a November loss. And once Big 12 play starts, “almost” won’t cut it. But if the supporting cast keeps trending up, and Peterson comes back healthy, this might be a more dangerous Kansas team than people realize.
It’s fair to question if that’s just wishful thinking, though. It’s also fair to point out that losing by double digits still counts the same in the standings. But for now, what matters is that Kansas didn’t look overwhelmed. They looked competitive, organized, and maybe even ahead of schedule considering who was out.
If this is the floor without Peterson, the ceiling with him could still be pretty damn high.
