Kansas Jayhawks freshman Darryn Peterson, the projected first overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft, has missed a lot of games this season, raising questions regarding his availability for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Let’s check out if he’ll be available for the first round matchup against the California Baptist Lancers and for the remainder of March Madness.
Is Darryn Peterson Playing in March Madness?
Yes, as per the latest update, Darryn Peterson will play in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, i.e., March Madness. Kansas (No. 4 seed) is relying heavily on him in its first-round matchup.
Even though he’s expected to play, his status will be closely monitored up until the tipoff this Friday because he has dealt with multiple injuries, including hamstring, ankle and cramping. Not only has he missed games, but there have been multiple occasions where head coach Bill Self was left handicapped when Peterson checked out of the game before playing a lot of minutes.
It should also be noted that the player is not missing games intentionally. In fact, he would have liked to be on the court as much as possible if not for injuries. Both the head coach and Peterson have confirmed the same.
“Everybody’s got an opinion on it,” Peterson told ESPN. “But basketball is my life. If I could have been out there every game this year, I would have.
“If you would have asked me last year, what were my goals for this year, I would never mention missing games. So all this stuff kind of just happened, but I’ve got to deal with it.”
Meanwhile, Self has been balanced in his viewpoint while talking about Peterson missing so many games, which kind of is also affecting Jayhawks’ season and their plans.
“The thinking with him was not to put him out there where he’s saying stuff that he didn’t really know,” Self said. “I don’t disagree with you at all, but I also don’t think it was quite as easy for he and his family to handle it in the way that we all say, ‘Oh, that’s easy, just handle it this way.’ Because this one was not a black-and-white situation.
“Darryn’s story obviously was much bigger than anybody wanted it to be here, because it wasn’t for the most positive reasons,” Self said. “But on the flip side of that, the struggles going through it with him, our team kind of growing through it, our team struggling with it, and then the finish hasn’t been written yet. So we’ll see how it all works out.”
For now, Peterson enters the NCAA Tournament fully healthy.
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