The Arizona Wildcats hadn’t lost since last year’s Sweet 16 until Kansas came to town. Arizona was one of two unbeatens remaining in college basketball. Now, there’s only one, as the Jayhawks handed the Wildcats the first loss of the season.
Kansas is one of the best teams in the country. They were ranked ninth in the country coming into this contest. Winning this game wasn’t totally unexpected until you realize that potential number one overall pick Darryn Peterson didn’t play.
Kansas drops Arizona for first loss without Darryn Peterson
Darryn Peterson has been in and out of the lineup with injuries this season, so it’s a bit of a minor miracle that Kansas is as good as it is. They’ve survived the loss of Peterson on some nights and are probably about to rise to the top five in the AP Poll.
Beating Arizona at all is hard, obviously. No one had done it this season, so to get a win, even at home, without arguably the best player in college basketball, is huge. The win was so impressive, despite being by just four points, that Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd had to praise the Jayhawks.
“Guys, Kansas is a hell of a team,” the coach said via ESPN. “Let’s not make this about Darryn Peterson. He didn’t play because he was sick. They beat the No. 1 team in the country at home. They did a hell of a job, and their coach did a hell of a job. That should be the story.”
Bill Self had to keep Peterson out
Head coach Bill Self said he had to keep Peterson out of the lineup. He had “flu-like symptoms,” and Peterson may have wanted to push through it. Plenty of scouts wanted to see Peterson versus the top team in college. Self also thought adrenaline would kick in for Peterson, but he wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
“I went into the training room, he’s in there trying, and I said, ‘Can you?’ and he said, ‘Coach, I don’t think I can,'” Self said. “And to be honest with you, I would probably rather him not play if he couldn’t contribute, just because we’d spend 20 minutes trying to get him shots or whatever, and if he doesn’t feel it, then I would much rather do it the way that it happened. He tried, but he just couldn’t get there.”
Because of cramping or injuries, Peterson has missed 11 contests this season. In five other matchups, cramps have forced him to play fewer than 25 minutes. Kansas has, at times, won without him. They won three with Peterson sidelined at the Players Era Festival. They also lost to Duke and UConn without him, and who knows how those games would’ve gone had he played?
“We still have a job to do. We still have to compete,” said Flory Bidunga. “We’ve played some games without (Peterson). And that made us strong. Even though he wasn’t there — I mean, we wish he was there for the game — but unfortunately, he wasn’t. But we still have a job to do, and we did pretty good.”
Bidunga led the way for Kansas with 23 points, helping to replace the production by Peterson. He also became the third player in 35 seasons to finish with over 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks while beating the number one team in the country.
Self also acknowledged that his team has to be more aggressive with Peterson out. Had he played that night, they wouldn’t have played the same way, and it’s possible that the aggressive style is what allowed them to get the upset victory.
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