Darryn Peterson rescues KU basketball on the road at Texas Tech: Three takeaways

Shreyas Laddha, The Kansas City Star on Feb 3, 2026

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Don’t ever count out Darryn Peterson and these Kansas Jayhawks.

After struggling for most of the game, the freshman hit the two biggest buckets of his KU career against Texas Tech. In the process, KU stole a victory that nobody could have seen coming ... besides maybe Peterson himself.

No. 11 KU, after all, trailed by nine with six minutes to play. But the Jayhawks rallied to defeat No. 13 Texas Tech 64-61 on Monday night at United Supermarkets Arena.

The Jayhawks (17-5, 7-2 Big 12) won their sixth straight game overall, while handing the Red Raiders their first home loss of the year.

Peterson led the Jayhawks in scoring with 19 points. Melvin Council Jr. added 16 points with seven rebounds. Bryson Tiller led KU with 10 rebounds and four assists, though he scored only three points.

This game will be remembered for Peterson’s performance. While still managing cramping issues, he played 35 minutes, including 17 in the second half. And he hit the two biggest shots of the game.

Tech led for most of the second half until KU came alive late. Peterson tied the score at 61-all with a contested 3-pointer from the right corner, then hit another 3 to put KU up 64-61 with 44 seconds left.

The Red Raiders had two possessions to tie it in the final moments. They missed their first attempt, but got a second chance after a Tre White turnover with 15 seconds to play. Tech’s ensuing 3-point look was no good, as was a last-ditch heave at the buzzer.

Up next for KU: The Jayhawks host Utah at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Monday’s matchup.

Darryn Peterson struggled until crunch time

Peterson didn’t look like his usual self in the first half. He did hit a few shots — the kind of looks only he can make — but still seemed out of rhythm.

He drove a number of times through contact and didn’t get a foul call. After one drive, he threw his arms up in frustration. What followed was poor shot selection, as Peterson forced up tough looks, and then he disappeared for a long stretch in the second half.

Peterson had 11 points on just 3-for-10 shooting at halftime. He didn’t record a field-goal attempt in the second half until there was 9:01 to play. He was 0-for-2 in the period heading into the crucial final 90 seconds.

But then he came alive and won the game for KU.

Tech won the battle from deep

Make no mistake, Tech’s offense thrives on 3-point shooting. In fact, the Red Raiders took 12 3s out of their first 16 shots to start the game.

KU’s perimeter defense was a mixed bag. There were several times when Kansas left players open or contested shots late, but it didn’t matter.

Tech only shot 6-for-21 (28.6%) on 3-pointers in the period. But the Jayhawks were just 2-for-11, meaning they were outscored by 12 points from 3 in the half.

The Red Raiders made six more 3-point looks in the second half, finishing 12-for-40 from 3. KU shot at the same efficiency, 30%, but made only six looks on 20 attempts.

That said, the numbers looked different until the final 90 seconds, when KU drilled two 3s and Tech missed its final three looks.

And even more so with five minutes to play, when Tech was 12-for-35 (34.3%) from 3. KU was 4-for-19 (21.1%).

A classic Bill Self win

This was a quintessential Bill Self win. The Jayhawks struggled for most of the game, but somehow came away with the victory on the road.

That’s become a theme for this team during its six-game winning streak. The Jayhawks are just finding ways to win games, even when it doesn’t look the prettiest.

KU had 15 turnovers to Tech’s nine. On top of that, Tech had 14 offensive rebounds to KU’s five. And the Red Raiders hit twice as many shots from 3-point range.

Still, the Jayhawks closed it out.

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