The Kansas Jayhawks stared an 0-2 start to conference play in the face with just over a minute left in the game, down by nine points. TCU led 82-71 with 3:10 left in the game at the final TV timeout. The Horned Frogs had built up a 16-point lead, the largest of the game, earlier in the second half with 11:30 left in the game.
Most people around the country probably tuned out, but if you did happen to stay up, you were treated to a comeback of epic proportions from the Jayhawks.
Freshman star Darryn Peterson led the Jayhawks with 32 points, the most by a freshman at Kansas since Andrew Wiggins, a former No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, in 2014. Imagine if the NBA made Kobe Bryant go to college for a year before entering the NBA, and that’s what Peterson reminded me of last night when he was on the court. Scoring from anywhere on the floor, creating his own shot, dominating offensively.
It wasn’t all easy for Peterson and the Jayhawks. We saw the rollercoaster of a ride that has been the 2025-2026 season for Peterson and Kansas. He seemed to be near the end of completing his first game without any cramping issues when, around the 2:22 mark in the second half, he looked to the bench to motion to head coach Bill Self that he needed to be removed from the game.
While Peterson looked toward the bench, a pass from teammate Elmarko Jackson flew over his head. Not only was Peterson about to exit the game, but he also caused a turnover in the process. The Jayhawks were down 82-73 at this point in the game, and things were looking bleak.
Kansas and TCU traded three pointers between Tre White and Liutauras Lelevicius on back-to-back possessions before Kansas ended the game on an improbable 11-2 run in the final minute of the game.
Jamari McDowell hit a three-pointer. TCU missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Kansas got the rebound, and Melvin Council Jr. went the length of the court to make a layup while getting fouled in the process. Council makes the free throw for a three-point play. Lelevicius made two free throws for TCU with 12 seconds left in the game to give the Horned Frogs a five-point lead, but the Jayhawks weren’t done yet.
Kansas sophomore Flory Bigunga made a putback with five seconds left in the game, and TCU made an inadvertent pass that deflected out of bounds, seemingly off TCU as it was called on the floor. After a coach’s challenge by TCU, and a review by the refs, it was determined that Kansas would retain possession with five seconds left in the game. Then the heroics began.
Peterson, who had been sitting on the bench for the previous two minutes and 17 seconds of game time, trying to get his cramps under control, went to the scorers’ table to check in. Everyone knew Peterson was getting the ball. TCU needed to foul as soon as the ball was thrown in. However, the Horned Frogs did not follow that strategy and instead gave Kansas the opportunity to pass the ball into McDowell before getting another pass over to Peterson. TCU’s Jace Posey tried to foul Peterson before he got the shot up, but Peterson’s catch-and-shoot motion was already in place as he got the ball, as there was only one second left in the game. The foul was called, and Peterson went to the line for three free throws.
Peterson, who was still dealing with cramping issues, calmly knocked down not one, not two, but all three of his free throws with one second left on the clock. Then Kansas had a chance to win the game in the final second when TCU threw the ball out of bounds again, this time with no time running off the clock. The Jayhawks threw it into Peterson, who just missed the game-winning three-pointer as time expired, but his free throws were enough to tie the game 87-87 and take the game to overtime.
At that point, Peterson’s game was done. He was banished to the bench with his cramps, something Kansas has been dealing with all season long. That’s a story that will continue to follow the Jayhawks and be a nuisance in the media, and it could continue to plague the team’s play on the court as well. Only time will tell.
In overtime, the Jayhawks never trailed and ended up winning 104-100 over the Horned Frogs. It was a game TCU should have won, but Kansas never gave up. It’s one of those games that will either be a launching point for the Jayhawks to put them into play for competing at the top of the Big 12 standings, or it could be a signal that the Jayhawks will struggle more than what people may have thought ahead of the season.
Yes, Kansas was projected to finish sixth in the Big 12, but if the Jayhawks had started 0-2 in conference with games against UCF and TCU, teams that were not projected to be in the top half of the standings ahead of the season, then that would not bode well going forward. Fortunately for Kansas, they were able to get the win and are now 1-1 in Big 12 play with a chance to build on that win .
Meanwhile, TCU gets stuck hosting the No. 1 team in the nation this Saturday with a follow-up game at No. 9 BYU next Wednesday. A road win at Kansas would have given TCU some momentum and hope to finish this tough stretch of games. Instead, the Horned Frogs will have to wonder what they could have done differently to walk out of Lawrence with a win
Kansas will play at West Virginia on Saturday before hosting No. 3 Iowa State next week on ESPN’s Big Tuesday prime time game.
