College basketball rankings: Darryn Peterson shines on big stage as Kansas takes down Baylor
The Jayhawks freshman star proved why many still view him as the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Friday marked the first time Kansas and Baylor have played each other without at least one of them being ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll since December 1966. Regardless, the game will go down as one of the more memorable ones in the series, if only because it'll forever be the one in which Darryn Peterson -- in prime time on a big network stage -- showed everybody why most project him to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-6 guard took 13 shots, made 11 of them and finished with a game-high 26 points in just 23 minutes. He's now averaging 22.2 points while shooting 50.4% from the field and 40.6% from three in nine appearances. Peterson is the biggest reason why the Jayhawks have won two straight and are 18th in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Arizona remains No. 1 for the seventh consecutive day.
"That was fun to watch," said Kansas coach Bill Self. "That was impressive."
As I noted on the Eye On College Basketball Podcast earlier this week, it's been interesting to watch the reaction from NBA evaluators through the first two-plus months of this season while this freshman class has, broadly speaking, emerged as arguably the best ever. Duke's Cameron Boozer has been incredible. BYU's AJ Dybantsa has been awesome. North Carolina's Caleb Wilson has been stellar. Houston's Kingston Fleming's has been wonderful.
Meantime, Peterson has barely played.
He missed nine of KU's first 13 games and was limited in others because of various soft-tissue issues. It's been frustrating for everybody involved. And yet, despite all of that frustration (and confusion), there was never a moment when any person I communicated with at the NBA level expressed any real concern or wavered from the idea, provided they previously held it, that Peterson is the best prospect in the class.
On Friday night against Baylor, the reasons were on full display.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Koa Peat finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 89-82 qin over Arizona State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at UCF. | -- | 17-0 |
| 2 |  | Pryce Sandfort finished with 28 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 90-55 win over Oregon. The Cornhuskers' next game is Saturday at Northwestern. | -- | 17-0 |
| 3 |  | Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 69-64 win at Seton Hall. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Georgetown. | -- | 17-1 |
| 4 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 76-70 win over TCU. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | -- | 16-1 |
| 5 |  | Tamin Lipsey missed 11 of the 15 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 84-63 loss at Kansas. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Cincinnati. | -- | 16-1 |
| 6 |  | Braden Smith finished with 16 points and eight assists in Wednesday's 79-72 win over Iowa. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday at USC. | -- | 16-1 |
| 7 |  | Aday Mara finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Wednesday's 82-72 win at Washington. The Wolverines' next game is Saturday at Oregon. | -- | 15-1 |
| 8 |  | Graham Ike finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 86-65 win at Washington State. The Zags' next game is Saturday at Seattle. | -- | 18-1 |
| 9 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 71-56 win at Cal. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Stanford. | -- | 16-1 |
| 10 |  | Tyler Tanner missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 80-64 loss at Texas. The Commodores' next game is Saturday against Florida. | -- | 16-1 |
| 11 |  | Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 23 points and 10 assists in Tuesday's 81-60 win over Indiana. The Spartans' next game is Saturday at Washington. | -- | 15-2 |
| 12 |  | Milos Uzan finished with 17 points and two assists in Tuesday's 77-48 win over West Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Arizona State. | -- | 16-1 |
| 13 |  | Keaton Wagler finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 79-68 win at Northwestern. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Minnesota. | -- | 14-3 |
| 14 |  | JT Toppin finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 88-74 win over Utah. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against BYU. | -- | 13-4 |
| 15 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 96-79 win at Oklahoma. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 12-5 |
| 16 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 18 points and 13 assists in Wednesday's 108-74 win over South Carolina. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 13-4 |
| 17 |  | Kyan Evans missed four of the five shots he attempted in Wednesday's 95-90 loss at Stanford. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Cal. | -- | 14-3 |
| 18 | | Darryn Peterson finished with 26 points and three assists in Friday's 80-62 win over Baylor. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday at Colorado. | -- | 13-5 |
| 19 |  | Malik Thomas finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 79-70 win at Louisville. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday at SMU. | -- | 15-2 |
| 20 |  | Labaron Philon finished with 32 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 97-82 win at Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 12-5 |
| 21 |  | Nick Davidson finished with 25 points and three rebounds in Tuesday' 74-50 win over Boston College. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Miami. | -- | 15-3 |
| 22 |  | Ryan Conwell missed 16 of the 21 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 79-70 loss to Virginia. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday at Pitt. | -- | 12-5 |
| 23 |  | Nate Ament finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 87-82 double-overtime win over Texas A&M. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 12-5 |
| 24 |  | Boopie Miller finished with 24 points and six assists The Mustangs' next game is Saturday against Virginia. | -- | 13-4 |
| 25 |  | Kellen Thames finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 78-56 win over Fordham. The Billikens' next game is Saturday against Richmond. | -- | 16-1 |
| 26 |  | Mason Falslev finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 71-62 win over Nevada. The Aggies' next game is Saturday at Grand Canyon. | -- | 15-1 |
