KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first 20 minutes of game time, fans seated in the northeast corner of T-Mobile Center heckled Kansas players, cheered each Missouri basket and made their presence felt from tipoff.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, the spectators donning black and gold Mizzou apparel made a Kansas home game, albeit in Kansas City, feel like a neutral-site contest.

Then, the Jayhawks woke up. The margin grew, and a look of existential dread washed over the faces of the Tigers fans, many of whom paid more attention to their phones than the second-half action.

This one was over. And KU left no doubt about the competitiveness of these teams in a 20-point rout of its Border War rival.

No. 21 Kansas defeated rival Missouri 80-60 Sunday. Many of the headlines pregame went to star KU freshman Darryn Peterson, who returned to action after missing seven games (hamstring strain) and played through illness to score 17 points with three rebounds.

Tre White led KU in scoring with 20 points, adding 13 rebounds. Flory Bidunga chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas (7-3) improved to 177-96 all-time in the Border War series. Missouri (8-2) suffered its second consecutive loss overall.

The first half was a defensive struggle. The Jayhawks led 33-25 at the break despite shooting 35.1% from the floor.

But the second half was all Kansas early. In fact, KU’s lead ballooned to 20 points before Missouri caught fire from deep to pull within 12.

It wasn’t much closer than that the rest of the way. The Jayhawks led for nearly 30 minutes of game time.

Up next for KU: The Jayhawks travel to play NC State on Saturday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Sunday’s game:

Peterson returns

After a seven-game absence, Peterson finally played Sunday.

He didn’t look like his usual self for most of the first half. But near the end of the period, he made a play that should have KU fans excited.

The freshman guard drove into the paint, spun and softly knocked down a fadeaway jump shot. It’s those type of plays that have earned Peterson buzz as a potential No. 1 NBA draft pick.

It’s a move that some college players can do, but few make it look effortless. Peterson scored 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting in the first half. He played only six minutes in the second period but scored five points.

In total, Peterson played 23 minutes in his return.

“I thought he did fine, I didn’t think he pushed it,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “That’s not because of his hammy, that’s because he was sick. I was nervous that he wasn’t going to play, and then I’d have to tell you guys again that something came up. You guys again would say I’m (making stuff up), which I’m not at all. I’ve been 100% honest, but I thought he did fine.”

Self said he aimed for Peterson to play 14 minutes the first half. He played around 17.

“Then, when he got however many he got to start the second half, he was gassed,” Self continued. (Peterson played six minutes the second half.) “... If it would have been a close game, it may have been different.”

The Jayhawks’ defense is elite

This might be the best defense Self has had in years.

The Tigers came into this game averaging about 90 points per contest. Yes, Missouri had only played two power-conference opponents before facing KU, but the Jayhawks held the Tigers to just 25 points in the first half and 60 points for the game.

It was an impressive effort.

KU’s defense has been suffocating of late in part because there’s no weak link. Even KU bigs Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller can guard on the perimeter, so there’s no issue when the Jayhawks have to switch.

On top of that, KU’s length and athleticism bothered Missouri. The Tigers had seven shots blocked.

Missouri shot only 34.4%, including 25.9% on 3-pointers. The Tigers shot 28.1% from the field in the first half and also committed 10 turnovers for the game.

KU’s 3-point shooting wakes up

Heading into Sunday, the Jayhawks ranked No. 195 in the nation in 3-point percentage (33%).

Self has previously indicated he expects this team to shoot closer to the 35-37% range, and the Jayhawks took a step in the right direction Sunday.

Even more notable: Kansas did it while two players billed among the team’s best shooters — Kohl Rosario and Jayden Dawson — played a combined 12 minutes. They were expected to carry some of the shooting load along with Peterson.

Neither Rosario nor Dawson (who did make one 3 Sunday) has shot it well yet. But in their place, two players have stepped up: Jamari McDowell and Tre White.

McDowell hit two big 3-pointers in the second half that help put the game out of reach. White went 3 for 5 from 3.

White is shooting a career-best 41.7% from deep.

“It’s really just the trust the coaches put into me and the trust in my teammates,” White said. “They put me in the right position, swinging the ball. My teammates tell me to shoot it every day, so it’s just that confidence. Kind of just playing free, that’s the biggest difference.”

Peterson added three more 3-point makes to give the Jayhawks nine made 3s for the game.

Overall, KU shot 42.1% on 3-pointers.

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