LAWRENCE, Kan. -- It was one of the most anticipated games at Allen Fieldhouse in the past few years, a matchup of the projected top two NBA Draft picks and 2025's No. 1-and No. 2-ranked high school players, Darryn Peterson of Kansas and AJ Dybantsa of BYU, in a key game for the Big 12 title race.
Saturday marked just the fourth time in the internet rankings era that 247Sports' top two high schoolers had faced off as college freshmen. Even a building as historic as the Fieldhouse had never seen a matchup like this.
The crowd was appropriate for the event. ESPN's College Gameday came to Lawrence, Kansas legend Paul Pierce and 2026's top-ranked player Tyran Stokes of Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach showed up for the spectacle, and the usually raucous Allen Fieldhouse crowd was in full throat well before tipoff.
Answers were expected to be given on Saturday. Can either Kansas or BYU seriously contend for a Big 12 title and eventually a Final Four berth? Should Peterson -- who has missed half the season with various injuries -- or college basketball's second-leading scorer, Dybantsa, be considered the favorite for the No. 1 pick in June's NBA Draft?
After running out to a huge early lead and holding on for dear life as BYU senior Richie Saunders unleashed a 33-point scoring barrage, Kansas cleared a big hurdle to move to 6-2 in the Big 12 with a 90-82 win.
With 18 first-half points, Peterson showed why 247Sports ranked him No. 1 in high school and why he's the slight favorite to go No. 1 in June. For the first 20 minutes, he made the Fieldhouse his playground, drilling effortless 3s, scoring at will off the dribble and making big-time plays on the defensive end. With just over two minutes remaining in the half, he nearly took the roof off the place with a contested jam on a drive down the right side of the lane. It was everything that Kansas fans wanted to see as they built a 53-33 halftime lead.
Then Bill Self and the Kansas faithful saw what they'd rather not see again. Just a few minutes into the second half, their star freshman checked himself out of the game and never returned due to cramping issues that have plagued him all year. Peterson has played in 11 of Kansas 21 games and, if he misses the next game as a result of any possible injury from Saturday, it will mark the fourth time his availability has toggled from yes to no.
The continued uncertainty around Peterson's status is a serious concern for a Kansas team that, with him at full health, has a legitimate Final Four ceiling. Since its 2022 national championship, Kansas has yet to make to to the NCAA Tournament's second weekend.
"That was the real DP there, you guys haven't seen it like we have," Self said of Peterson's 18 points and three steals in the first half. "It's just unfortunate that we didn't see it for 40 minutes.
"(The dunk) was athletic and it was off a sprained ankle, so that was good to see. He showed a lot in his bag in the first half."
Peterson is already one of the most prolific scorers in Kansas single-season history.CBS Sports Research
On the other side, Dybantsa came out slow. Often matched up with Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, Dybantsa seemed to be bothered a bit by the length and quickness, and he had some difficulties finding his spots. As he's done all year, he was able to get things going a bit in the second half to finish with 17 points.
"I thought he was OK," BYU coach Kevin Young said. "He was holding the ball a little too much in the first half. I thought he was better in the second half. He was driving and getting to his spots and looking for some of those turnarounds, and I thought he did a good job of kicking the basketball out.
"I'm not crying over spilled milk or anything, but the guy leads the country in fouls drawn and got to the line four times tonight. I thought there were times where he could have been fouled that they missed, but that's life and you have to keep playing. All in all, it was, I thought, a game for him that he handled well relative to all of the outside noise."
There is some bright side for Kansas when it comes to Peterson's continued cramping issues. Senior guard Melvin Council continues to come up big in big moments, and freshman big man Bryson Tiller is coming along and had his best game of the year, notching 21 points -- including a trio of first-half triples -- and grabbing seven rebounds.
Now 16-5, this Kansas group is coming together as it prepares to face Texas Tech next. But if they're going to compete at the highest level and really compete for titles, they need their most dynamic player to be available, and nobody knows that better than Self.
"We can be competitive, but for us to actually have a chance to do anything that I would consider to be special, we need everybody healthy," Self said.
"It's disappointing that he couldn't go because of cramps. He didn't cramp last game, but he did today, and I certainly hope we can figure that out. But it tells me that we may not be consistently where some teams play night in and night out, but on any night, we can play with anybody."