photo by: AP Photo/Eric Gay

Kansas head coach Bill Self instructs his players during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee in the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025.

Darryn Peterson is back — back at practice, at least.

The star freshman guard, who is expected to earn his place among the top players in the country as the season draws on, is once again practicing for Kansas after dealing with a hamstring injury.

But KU coach Bill Self told reporters on Monday that it’s still uncertain whether he will join the Jayhawks’ lineup for Tuesday night’s marquee matchup with No. 4 UConn, set for 8 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

“The hesitancy I have is that — before we’ll announce anything — is he has to test out medically from a strength and flexibility standpoint, and we’ll know that in the morning,” Self said. “So still no answer, but we’ll able to say something definitively in the morning.”

Peterson has missed six straight games and three weeks of practice after he averaged 21.5 points in 25 minutes across KU’s first two matchups of the season against Green Bay and at North Carolina. In the meantime, the Jayhawks have acquitted themselves quite well, better than many perhaps expected, most recently sweeping three games against power-conference foes at the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas.

“The biggest thing that I thought was the positive is that we actually guarded and rebounded,” Self said. “And if you do those two things, you can be in most games. But even when our offense was stale, which it was and it will be until we get total rhythm and continuity, if you defend and rebound, you still got a shot.”

Wednesday’s 81-76 comeback victory against now-No. 13 Tennessee — a team that had knocked off Houston a day earlier — provided validation for KU’s players, plus $300,000 in name, image and likeness opportunities, and catapulted the Jayhawks back into the AP Top 25 rankings, where they sit at No. 21.

“We’re just playing off each other well,” forward Bryson Tiller told reporters. “We’re sharing the ball, playing good defense and overall, I think most importantly, just playing hard.”

That’s a welcome development for the Jayhawks in time for the biggest home date on KU’s nonconference schedule — one full of blue-blood and rivalry battles that are otherwise contested on the road and at neutral sites. The Big East-Big 12 Battle, in which the Jayhawks beat the Huskies in a 69-65 classic in Lawrence two years ago, is no more, but KU still found a way to put UConn on the schedule this season by way of a home-and-home series.

Last year, UConn saw its quest for a third straight national title fall short in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when it took the eventual national champion Florida to the brink but lost 77-75.

“Through the years they’ve won six (titles) in the last 27 years,” Self said. “So that puts them as the premier program as far as winning a championship in America.”

The Huskies are back and hoping to return to glory this season with a roster that combines veterans like center Tarris Reed Jr. (15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds per game), guard Solo Ball (14.3 points) and forward Alex Karaban (14.0 points on 50% 3-point shooting) with Georgia transfer guard Silas Demary Jr. (12.0 points, 5.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds) and two bright young talents in wing Braylon Mullins and center Eric Reibe.

Self said UConn is “the best that we’ll probably play against this year as far as offensive movement.”

“Offensively, I think that it’s a hard matchup,” Self said. “It’s a hard matchup, but there are — the way that they move without the ball — there are some things about that that hopefully, being versatile, being pretty long on the perimeter … and having some big guys that can move their feet, hopefully that will help us a little bit.”

Like KU, UConn has dealt with its fair share of injury issues in the early stages of the year. The 6-foot-11 center Reed has played in four of seven games this season and returned from his most recent absence to play limited minutes in a 74-61 victory over Illinois last Friday. Mullins didn’t make his collegiate debut until that same matchup with the Illini, in which he had two points and two boards in 10 minutes.

The Huskies have cultivated an impressive resume in the early stages of the season, one worthy of their top-five ranking that includes victories over then-No. 7 BYU and then-No. 13 Illinois. Their lone loss was at home, 71-67 to Arizona on Nov. 19, and the Wildcats have been as impressive as any team in the country to this point in the year.

The stakes and the competition should make for a vintage Allen Fieldhouse atmosphere as the Jayhawks try to put the nation on notice — even more so than they did last week in Las Vegas.

No. 21 Kansas Jayhawks (6-2) vs. No. 5 Connecticut Huskies (6-1)

• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, 8 p.m.

• Broadcast: ESPN2

• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9 / KMXN FM 92.9)

Keep an eye out

Reintegration: The Jayhawks’ success at the Players Era relied on all sorts of contributions from players who had been struggling or began lower down in the rotation but found ways to step up in Peterson’s absence. If Peterson does in fact make his return and takes up plenty of minutes in the process, can Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell find ways to sustain their production in shorter shifts on the court? Can Flory Bidunga and Tre White comfortably return to serving as secondary and tertiary options on the court? Self said his hope is that because other players have been forced to take on more aggressive play styles in Peterson’s absence, “now maybe we’ll be more apt to play off of him and play with him from an aggressive standpoint as opposed to passive, watching him go make plays.”

Usage rate: One player likely to benefit more than any other from Peterson’s return — whenever it happens — is Melvin Council Jr. The veteran guard, who along with Jackson helped will the Jayhawks back into the Tennessee game, has acquitted himself admirably while serving as KU’s primary offensive initiator, but he’s also found himself with the ball in his hands much more than necessary and taking significantly more shots than he or likely anyone else expected. His speed on the break and his rugged defense have been vital in Peterson’s absence, but his 32-for-92 (34.8%) overall shooting and 4-for-24 (16.7%) conversion rate on 3s have not necessarily been ideal. Perhaps with his running mate back in the backcourt he’ll be able to pick his spots a bit better — or if Peterson still isn’t able to play, can Council be a bit more judicious and, when he does have to force up shots late in the clock, accurate?

Shooting spark: It’s early, but KU has ranked among the worst 3-point shooting teams in the Big 12 and around the middle of Division I as a whole. That’s in part due to one of its projected top shooters, Kohl Rosario, taking some time to settle into college basketball, and in part due to two more in Peterson and Jayden Dawson dealing with injuries (not to mention inconsistency even prior to injury in Dawson’s case). Self said Dawson should be available for Tuesday. UConn isn’t exactly a high-volume shooting team itself, and anything the Jayhawks can do to score in bunches could help them significantly in Tuesday’s matchup.

Off-kilter observation

KU has never lost to UConn in four all-time matchups, in 1995, 1997, 2016 and 2023.