Kansas expects to have Darryn Peterson available Saturday when the No. 14 Jayhawks welcome AJ Dybantsa and No. 13 BYU to Allen Fieldhouse for a showdown between two of the Big 12’s best teams, and two of the top freshmen in college basketball.
Peterson and Dybantsa are widely expected to join Duke star Cameron Boozer in going in the first three spots of the NBA Draft in June. But the order is anybody’s guess at this point, and it could hinge heavily on how the rest of the season goes.
Dybantsa leads the nation in scoring at 23.6 points per game. Peterson is averaging 21.6, but has appeared in just 10 games.
Peterson missed last week’s win over Kansas State while dealing with an ankle he sprained in a win over Colorado. That was the latest malady for the 6-foot-5 guard, who also has dealt with hamstring and calf issues that have cost him time in every month of the season so far.
“I anticipate him being ready to go,” Kansas coach Bill Self said before Thursday’s practice.
Students have been camping inside Allen Fieldhouse since Monday to get the best seats for the highly anticipated game between the Jayhawks (15-5, 5-2) and Cougars (17-3, 5-2). Each of them are 2.5 games back of Big 12-leading and undefeated Arizona, and a game behind Houston and Texas Tech, meaning the loser could be pushed out of one of the first-round byes available in the Big 12 tournament for the top six teams in the conference.
The showdown between Peterson and Dybantsa has been eagerly anticipated all season.
They crossed paths twice on the AAU circuit last year with Peterson leading Prolific Prep to wins over Utah Prep both times. In the first, Peterson poured in 32 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists in a 76-70 victory. But it was the second game last February in Atlanta that has become legendary: Dybantasa scored 49 points with nine rebounds, only to be outdone by Peterson, who not only scored 58 points, grabbed seven rebounds and five assists, but also hit the winning 3-pointer in an 88-86 victory.
Yet as much as folks are looking forward to their head-to-head matchup, Self said, the reality is that Kansas is still playing BYU.
“We’ve made that point many times,” he said. “I’m sure they would say the same thing about us, too. The objective of the day is to win the game. And that’s the only thing I’m thinking about, and that’s all the players should be thinking about as well.”
It also will be the 1,000th men’s game played at Allen Fieldhouse since it opened on March 1, 1955.
“The building has been open for what, 71 years? That’s a lot,” said Self, who has coached 352 of those games. “As you know, before every tipoff I look at the guys to my right and left — my coaches — and say, ‘Can you believe this? We’re spoiled rotten here.'”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
