All eyes are on Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday, as Darryn Peterson and No. 14 Kansas will host AJ Dybantsa and No. 13 BYU in a matchup between two players vying to be the top pick in this year’s loaded NBA Draft.

Photo Credit: (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) & (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

Peterson, who has appeared in just half of Kansas’ games this season, is expected to be a full go after missing the Jayhawks’ most recent win against Kansas State on Jan. 24. Kansas is 7-3 with Peterson in the lineup this season, winning each of his last three by comfortable margins.

Despite having only ten games of tape this season, it’s apparent how well-rounded and poised the freshman’s game is. Peterson’s best performance of the season was a 26-point outing against Baylor on Jan. 16, where he scored 26 points on 11-of-13 from the field overall and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Darryn Peterson vs Baylor tonight..

26 PTS (11-13 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-4 FTs)
3 AST
2 REBS
1 STL
23 MINS

Who is better than him RN in the country? Why did he only play 23 Mins? pic.twitter.com/JFlpNPJwJX

— Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) January 17, 2026

“It was the closest thing to Durant that I’d seen,” Kansas coach Bill Self told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. “When Kevin came in here, he had 26 at halftime, and we couldn’t guard him. I had pros, lottery picks saying, ‘Man, I can’t guard you.’ And we couldn’t. But it was one of those type of moments. It happened within the flow, it wasn’t like it was forced.”

AJ On Demand

Dybantsa, on the other hand, has been a consistent presence for the Cougs all season. The 6’9 versatile wing ranks second in the nation in scoring with 23.2 points per game and is just a game removed from posting 43 points on 15-of-24 shooting in a blowout win over cross-state rival Utah.

Potential No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa GOES OFF for a career-high in the Holy War against Utah

43 PTS | 15-24 FG | 4-5 3PT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 36 MINS pic.twitter.com/E6pY32MwTD

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) January 25, 2026

Aside from that monster showing against the Utes on Jan. 24, Dybantsa also turned heads with a 33-point triple-double against Eastern Washington on Dec. 22, where he made 11-of-13 attempts from the field. Despite conceding a sizeable early lead to Duke’s Cameron Boozer in the National Player of the Year conversation, Dybantsa has gained some ground since December and could make it even more interesting with a strong performance at Phog Allen on Saturday.

While Saturday’s game is certainly ripe with narratives, BYU coach Kevin Young doesn’t believe his freshman phenom Dybantsa is putting too much stock into the hype surrounding it.

“What I’ve noticed being around really good players for my whole life is, I think all that stuff is way bigger of a deal to everyone that’s not the player,” Young said. “Now, does he want to go out and play well? Yeah, but I don’t think he’s going through this and going through that and blah, blah, blah. He wants to go win the basketball game. He wants to play well. But I don’t think it’s as, like, scrutinized in his own mind as the media makes it out to be.”

AJ Dybansta & BYU vs. Darren Peterson and Kansas is going to be one of the best matchups we’ve seen in a long time. January 31st— mark your calendar. pic.twitter.com/zH3ev1EtyC

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 25, 2026

Saturday’s game tips off at 4:30 p.m. EST/1:30 PST from Phog Allen Fieldhouse and will be broadcast live on ESPN.