Big Monday: Kansas Stuns Arizona without Darryn Peterson, Mikel Brown Torches NC State for 45!

No Darryn Peterson? No problem.

With the sports world’s post-Super Bowl attention turned to this week’s Big Monday matchup, No. 15 Kansas pulled off a thrilling upset over previously unbeaten No. 1 Arizona, 82-78, at Phog Allen Fieldhouse despite a last-minute withdrawal from the likely No. 1 overall pick of this year’s draft.

No Shortage Of Drama

Shortly before the game, the freshman phenom was declared out with flu-like symptoms, though that was only where the drama started. While the Jayhawks were chipping away at the nation’s top team, a post surfaced on X that showed someone who appeared to be a Kansas statistician texting his friend a version of events that described a conflict with Kansas head coach Bill Self.

“So he’s sick and he didn’t tell anyone in practice,” the text read. “Bill said, don’t half a** it if you’re going to play, if not sit. DP said f**k it, I’m out.”

“So hes sick and he didn’t tell anyone in practice and Bill said don’t half a** it if your gonna play, if not sit. DP said Fuck It, I’m out.” pic.twitter.com/6zY1LBKfxp

— #1 Barstool Arizona (@UofABarstool) February 10, 2026

Needless to say, the situation provided more ammo for an already growing subset of college basketball fans who harbor resentment for the potentially generational prospect. It’s one thing to be cautious while protecting your draft stock, but it’s become abundantly clear throughout the season that he’s going to shut it down at the first sign of discomfort.

In turn, as it became increasingly evident that Kansas had the ammo to beat the nation’s best team even without its marquee player, the narrative’s online trajectory was predictable. This Jayhawks team, clearly snubbed by a teammate who thinks he’s bigger than the program, rallied around the fact that Peterson wasn’t in the lineup and won because of his absence. Not in spite of it.

Clearing The Air?

A statement released by a member of the Kansas athletic department firmly denied the accusations brought forth in the statistician’s text. It was, however, more with an intent on putting out the online fire than it was on offering any meaningful clarity regarding the situation.

The person texting in this video is a contracted crew worker who handles official stats during the game for ESPN. He does not work for KU and is not affiliated with the athletic department in any way. He has no inside information and was speculating. We are handling internally. https://t.co/lF2vB5A6CE

— Daniel Berk (@DSBerk) February 10, 2026

“The person texting in this video is a contracted crew worker who handles official stats during the game for ESPN,” the employee wrote on X. “He does not work for KU and is not affiliated with the athletic department in any way. He has no inside information and was speculating. We are handling it internally.”

Is it true that Kansas was playing with some extra fire because the Jayhawks felt neglected by their star? It’s possible, maybe even likely. But one thing that certainly rings true is Kansas does need Peterson to be a legitimate national title contender. Monday’s win shows that the surrounding pieces equal more than the sum of their parts, even against the highest performing team in the country, and we’ve seen how dangerous Peterson’s killer mentality can be down the stretch with his late-game shooting display against Texas Tech late last month.

Downtown Mikel Brown

The lead-in to Monday’s main event was less competitive, but it gave us one of the most entertaining single-game shooting performances we’ve seen at the collegiate level, perhaps ever. Louisville star freshman Mikel Brown absolutely torched Will Wade’s NC State Wolfpack, scoring 45 (!) points on 14-of-25 from the field overall, while shooting an absurd 10-of-16 from beyond the arc. It was as thorough a beatdown as we’ve seen in any power conference game this season, with Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals walking away with a 118-77 victory on their home floor.

Tuesday’s slate is also headlined by a highly anticipated matchup, as No. 7 Nebraska will look for yet another statement victory against No. 13 Purdue at home. The Huskers lost back-to-back games to Michigan and Illinois in Big 10 play following a 20-0 start, but rebounded with an 80-68 win at Rutgers on Saturday.