LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas basketball program announced that star freshman Darryn Peterson, a likely top pick in this year’s NBA Draft, will not be available for Tuesday night’s top-25 matchup against No. 5 UConn.
Peterson, a 6-foot-6 guard, will miss his seventh consecutive game for the Jayhawks with a hamstring injury. He averaged 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists over his first two games but hasn’t played since Nov. 7, when Kansas lost to North Carolina in the Champions Classic.
“Darryn is not going to play tonight. He is very close. He has worked his butt off, but he is still not 100 percent. He is day-to-day,” Kansas coach Bill Self said in a statement Tuesday morning.
Kansas, ranked No. 21 in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll, has gone 5-1 without Peterson, including 3-0 in the Players Era Invitational last week with wins over Notre Dame, Syracuse and Tennessee.
UConn, which will debut its road blue “CONNECTICUT” throwback uniforms for the first time, is hoping to get more from its own star freshman, Braylon Mullins. Mullins made his collegiate debut in Friday’s 74-61 win over Illinois at Madison Square Garden and scored two points with two rebounds in 10 minutes.
Blue Connecticuts are BACK 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LG8McWEm8L
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) December 2, 2025
Coach Dan Hurley said Monday afternoon that his minutes restriction will be raised for Tuesday’s game at Allen Fieldhouse and urged fans to have patience as he gets adjusted to playing in college.
“It’s gonna take Bray some time,” Hurley said. “Bray is dealing with basically missing just about six weeks and then being dumped into Illinois at MSG and then Kansas on the road. We’re just happy he’s back on the court and can start his season. He’s gonna be a major difference-maker for us. Offensively, obviously he’s gonna take a lot of pressure off of Alex (Karaban), off of Solo (Ball), he’s gonna get better shots for everyone just with his presence and his shooting gravity. He’s gonna need some grace here. Give him a runway to get himself going, it’s not easy… He’s just been dropped right into the fire.”
Hurley said Mullins has a lot less pressure on him in his return than Liam McNeeley did as a freshman last season, when the latter was counted on to be among the Huskies’ lead options.
“(Mullins is) insulated by a lot of veteran players and a lot of talent, a team that defends, a team that, when we’re healthy, when Tarris (Reed Jr.) is healthy, feels like we’re two-deep at every position,” Hurley said. “I think he’s gonna certainly get to a point where he’s gonna be having some explosive nights and he’s gonna be a go-to guy for us on offense, but he’s got a runway here where he could just try to get his feet under him, be a two-way player, get a feel for what we’re trying to do on both ends of the court. He missed critical time and I just think he’s got a group that’s gonna support his return well.”
Reed, who also returned from an ankle injury against Illinois and was on a 15-minute restriction, was said to be a game-time decision for Tuesday night as the Huskies look for their first-ever win over Kansas in their fifth all-time meeting.
