Bill Self addresses controversial Darryn Peterson decision after loss to Iowa State originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Outside of some early back-and-forth action, the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks could never close the gap on Saturday against the No. 5 Iowa State Cyclones.
Kansas trailed 37‑27 at halftime and ultimately fell 74‑56, just days after upsetting the No. 1‑ranked Arizona Wildcats without freshman star Darryn Peterson, who had missed that game due to illness.
Peterson returned against Iowa State, finishing with 10 points in 23 minutes. He shot 3‑for‑10 from the field and 2‑for‑6 from three-point range, while committing three turnovers.
Late in the game, Kansas head coach Bill Self made a decision that sparked some controversy among Jayhawks fans: he sat Peterson for the final seven minutes.
After the game, Self explained that the move was designed to manage Peterson’s conditioning after his recent illness and to keep him fresh for Wednesday’s matchup against Oklahoma State.
“Just probably game flow and conditioning,” Self said. “I tried to sub him… he’s been sick, so when he needed to come out there at the end, I was thinking about what gives us the best chance of success on Wednesday. That was just me making that decision.”
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Bill Self said he kept Darryn Peterson out of the game late to keep him fresh for… 4 days from now vs. Oklahoma State. pic.twitter.com/r5k1feikKl
— Heartland College Sports (@Heartland_CS) February 14, 2026
The decision to sit Peterson wasn’t much of a surprise, given that the Jayhawks were already down by double digits. What sparked backlash was the reasoning behind it — keeping him fresh for a game four days away.
“Bill should stop covering for him. It's embarrassing,” one fan wrote.
Another added, “That Self is selling out for this kid is an awful look. He knows damn well he is lying through his teeth.”
A third questioned, “Is Peterson 40 years old? What’s he going to do next year in the NBA when they play games at a greater frequency?”
One more fan commented, “Catering to DP is dragging this team down and Bill knows it. They play better without him. This team is about Bidunga, Council, and Tiller, not DP getting drafted. Enough of this crap.”