Men’s Basketball
The Kansas bench reacts to a dunk by Kansas forward Flory Bidunga (40) during the first half on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Photo by Nick Krug
Back operating at full strength with the return of Darryn Peterson, the Kansas men’s basketball team will take its show on the road to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a date with the N.C. State Wolfpack on Saturday evening.
Still dealing with an illness, Peterson nevertheless managed to chip in 17 points and help boost KU to its 80-60 victory over Missouri on Sunday, the last time the Jayhawks were on the court.
“I told him, ‘Thanks for coming back. We missed you,’” teammate Melvin Council Jr. said.
Now, after a lengthy break between games, finals week is concluding and KU’s nonconference schedule has reached its home stretch. The Jayhawks have already battled their most difficult opponents of the fall semester but will meet a formidable N.C. State team for just their second true road game of the year. The first, contested not that far from the Lenovo Center over at the University of North Carolina, went south for KU in a brutal second half as it lost 87-74 to the Tar Heels on Nov. 7.
The Jayhawks scored 37 points in each half of that game, but allowed twice as many in the second as they did in the first in what continues to be by far the worst half of the year for KenPom’s No. 8 defense in the nation.
That sort of showing won’t fly against the No. 19 offense.
“We got to put two halves together instead of one, and we just got to build off that,” Council said.
While N.C. State almost completely overhauled its roster heading into its inaugural season under former Chattanooga, VCU, LSU and McNeese State coach Will Wade, it features what will likely be an extremely familiar group of players for Jayhawk fans, as almost every prominent contributor played against KU (for one team or another) during the 2024-25 season.
That includes most notably Darrion Williams, the former Texas Tech forward who came up big for the Red Raiders in consecutive wins over KU in recent years, and whom the Jayhawks recruited heavily in the transfer portal. He picked the Wolfpack, however, and is its leading scorer with 15.9 points per game and 46.7% shooting from beyond the arc.
Other familiar faces include forward Ven-Allen Lubin from North Carolina (13.3 points, 7.2 rebounds), guard Tre Holloman from Michigan State (11.3 points) and guard Paul McNeil Jr. from the previous N.C. State regime (11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds), as well as Houston transfer Terrance Arceneaux.
The Wolfpack’s offensive potency also relies on 6-foot-6 guard Quadir Copeland, who started his career at Syracuse but came along with Wade from McNeese. He’s the second-leading scorer behind Williams. N.C. State also has a highly touted freshman in Matt Able coming off the bench.
AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker
North Carolina State’s Darrion Williams (1), Ven-Allen Lubin (22), Quadir Copeland (11) and Tre Holloman (5) relax during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UNC Greensboro in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.
AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker
North Carolina State’s Matt Able, right, drives the ball around Liberty’s Zander Carter, left, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025.
Its defense has not quite kept pace.
“I think that they’re a lot like us, trying to find their way, but it’s kind of a role reversal,” KU coach Bill Self said. “They’ve been inconsistent on the defensive end, where we’ve been so inconsistent on the offensive end.”
The Wolfpack’s biggest wins to this point are against KenPom No. 43 VCU (at home by six points) and No. 44 Boise State (at the Maui Invitational by 11), and that’s in large part because even after holding Liberty to 45 in a blowout win on Wednesday night, N.C. State is giving up an undistinguished 72.7 points per game and 42.8% opponent field goal percentage (including 33.8% from deep).
Certainly the victory over the Flames represented a step in the right direction, as the Wolfpack limited them to just 19 points on 8-for-27 shooting in the first half before coasting to a 40-point victory.
N.C. State will now attempt to make that performance translate against the Jayhawks in front of a sold-out Lenovo Center. Wade said his team will have to play about three times better than it did against Liberty.
N.C. State Wolfpack (7-3) vs. No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks (7-3)
• Lenovo Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, 4:30 p.m. Central Time
• Broadcast: ESPN
• 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
Darryn’s development: One of Peterson’s most impressive attributes is his quickness off the dribble, but he didn’t use it to drive into the paint all that much in his return to action. If he’s able to be more aggressive as he settles back in, he can in turn draw fouls, and Self said he wants Peterson to be a “six-to-eight-attempt guy a game” at the free-throw line while also finding a balance with his role as a perimeter shooter. To this point, Peterson has shot 11 total free throws in his three appearances.
The exception: The general consensus, and one reinforced by Self and his players over the course of about a month of action, is that playing without Peterson for an extended stretch helped the rest of the Jayhawks develop as competitors, test out new lineups and ultimately grow quite a bit overall. However, Self mentioned on Wednesday that Kohl Rosario might not have benefited quite as much, “because he needs somebody in the game that can get him open looks and stuff like that, that maybe we didn’t have as much hopefully what we’ll have moving forward.” Over the course of Peterson’s seven-game absence, Rosario went from starting to getting almost completely squeezed out of the rotation (he played eight combined minutes against UConn and Missouri). If he can get open looks when he does find himself on the floor, he’ll need to start taking advantage.
Shooting two: KU’s senior forward Tre White was the standout against Missouri with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double, and one of the most impressive attributes he displayed was his ability to get to the free-throw line out of nowhere. Over the course of the season, he has repeatedly found ways to contort himself into a shooting motion when he senses contact from opposing defenders. Teammate Melvin Council Jr. said, “I feel like if I do it, I think the ref’s not going to call it and Bill Self might take me out (of) the game for trying to draw a foul.” As a result, the wing is currently third in the Big 12 in both attempts and makes from the line. Self, for his part, wondered if White has studied NBA star James Harden. Whatever the case, it’s helped him reach a points-per-game average higher than in any of his previous three seasons with three different schools.
Off-kilter observation
KU’s reserve center Paul Mbiya originally signed with N.C. State before backing out and joining the Jayhawks over the summer.
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Written By Henry Greenstein
