On Saturday afternoon, Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks suffered a big-time upset at the hands of the UCF Knights in Orlando. They entered the contest as 5.5-point favorites over the Knights, but UCF was ready to go from the opening tip and found a way to get things rolling early.
The biggest storyline in this one was the return of Kansas’ star guard Darryn Peterson, who had been dealing with lingering hamstring issues. He was finally cleared and good to go, but that storyline didn’t last as the issues returned in the second half.
Peterson hit the ground running early and looked every bit of the presumed No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. He was dominant in the first half, posting 23 points and was the best player on the court. The issue, though, is that basketball is a game of two halves.
In the second half, Peterson was hit with health issues, subbing out at the 15:58 mark. He went on to return at 11:31, then removed himself from the court 30 seconds later. He would not return in the final 11 minutes, ending his day with a game-high 26 points, which helped UCF cruise to the win.
Credit is due for Johnny Dawkins’ team, however, as (almost) former Jayhawk Riley Kugel decimated Bill Self’s defense. He finished with a team-high 19 points on 8-17 shooting, followed by Themus Fulks with 16 points of his own.
UCF advances to 12-1 (1-0 Big 12) on the season, with its lone loss coming to Vanderbilt in the opening week of the season. As for Kansas (10-4, 0-1 Big 12), they will now look to bounce back at home against TCU on Tuesday, January 6th.
