They went to the tape and Kansas is calling foul.
Star freshman Darryn Peterson did not play in Kansas’ 82-78 upset of previously unbeaten Arizona on Monday due to flu-like symptoms, but his absence has since taken on a life of its own.
The Barstool Arizona X account filmed an unknown individual inside Allen Fieldhouse texting what appeared to be inside information about Peterson not being active.
“So he’s sick and he didn’t tell anyone in practice and (Kansas coach Bill Self) said don’t half ass it if your gonna play, if not sit. DP said F–k It, I’m out,” the individual appeared to text, per the Barstool account.
A Kansas spokesperson told reporters before the game, including ESPN’s Pete Thamel, that Peterson warmed up with the team but would not be able to play.
The video of the individual texting quickly went viral, with 3.5 million views as of Tuesday morning.
It spread enough that Kansas senior associate athletic director for strategic communications Daniel Berk quote-tweeted the clip and said this person is not affiliated with Kansas.
“The person texting in this video is a contracted crew worker who handles official stats during the game for ESPN,” Berk posted. “He does not work for KU and is not affiliated with the athletic department in any way. He has no inside information and was speculating. We are handling internally.”
Peterson had not been listed on the availability report prior to the game, and Self explained that the team thought he would suit up for the colossal Big 12 showdown.
“I thought adrenaline would kick in and he would go,” Self said. “He was at shootaround today, he was out there but you could just tell he didn’t feel great. We were all hopeful that he’d kick in and be ready to go.”
This drama add another chapter to what has been an interesting season for the freshman, who is expected to be a top 2026 NBA Draft pick but has battled availability issues.
CBS’ latest mock draft had Peterson being selected No. 1 by the Kings.
Peterson has appeared in just 13 of the Jayhawks’ 24 games, averaging 20.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor.
He appeared in the first two games before missing the next seven games — including hyped clashes against Duke and UConn — after suffering a hamstring injury.
Peterson found himself immersed in a minutes controversy on Jan. 31 against BYU when he only played 20 minutes in a 90-82 home win in a game that scouts flocked to see.
Kansas’ upset win Monday (19-5, 9-2 Big 12) is one of the best victories by any team this season, and keeps the Jayhawks in the race for the conference title.
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