LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) – An obscene chant shouted from Texas Tech students toward star Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson on Monday night late in the first half provided a bit of irony for No. 22 in blue’s late game heroics.
“He’s a (expletive),” the crowd chanted at Peterson as he shot free throws with seconds remaining in the first half.
But it was Peterson — and Kansas head coach Bill Self — getting the last laugh when the clock hit zeros Monday night in Lubbock. The star freshman connected on a pair of 3-pointers that tied the game at 61-61 and gave Kansas a game-sealing 64-61 lead over the Red Raiders.
Tuesday night during his weekly ‘Hawk Talk’ show, Self thanked the Red Raiders’ student section for their role in the proceedings.
“There was obviously a little chant that was going on,” Self acknowledged. “And thank you.”
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The crowd at Johnny’s West restaurant in Lawrence laughed following Self’s comments.
“Honestly, I don’t think that had anything to do with whether the ball goes in the hole or not,” Self continued. “I don’t believe that, but thank you.”
Peterson struggled for much of the night in Lubbock, but finished the night with a game-high 19 points in KU’s first road win over a top 15 team since 2020.
“There were a lot of things that happened and then a guy that kind of went unnoticed there for a while just said, ‘Hey, jump on boys. Let’s go for a little ride now,’” Self said. “That was fun to watch.”
Peterson’s late-game shots came at the end of a career-high 35 minutes in a KU uniform and featured great elevation on his jump shot form, Self noted.
“To me, the great thing is that was after 35 minutes of playing time,” the KU coach said, “he elevated like that in a situation where he’s been struggling with his legs some, so that was great to see.”
Self then pointed out KU’s student section chanted “overrated” at BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa during Saturday’s Jayhawk win over the Cougars.
“We did the same thing to AJ and it’s not right,” Self said. “Our students don’t need to do that.”
KU gets several days off before returning to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday against Utah. The game against the Utes tips off at 1:30 p.m. CT.
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