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- Bill Self warned against ‘one-hit wonder’ complacency; KU answered with a rout of Baylor.
- Freshman Darryn Peterson scored 26 on 11-of-13 shooting; Flory Bidunga added 23/10.
- KU improved to 13-5 (3-2 Big 12), signaling sustained depth rather than single-game burst.
LAWRENCE
Bill Self delivered a simple yet important message to his Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball players prior to Friday’s 80-62 rout of Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse.
“Coach wrote something on the board: ‘We can’t be one-hit wonders,’’’ KU freshman guard Darryn Peterson said after scoring 26 points with three assists, no turnovers and a steal in 23 minutes. “So we wanted to continue to stamp ourselves and that’s what we did from the jump,” added Peterson.
The Jayhawks had been on cloud nine, so to speak, ever since defeating No. 2-ranked Iowa State 84-63 on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson drives to the bucket during KU’s 80-62 college basketball victory over the visiting Baylor Bears at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. Dominick Williams [email protected]
That victory put KU at 2-2 in league play entering Friday’s contest against an unranked Baylor team that had opened 1-3 in conference but boasted a pair of NBA-caliber players in Tounde Yessoufou (20 points Friday) and Cameron Carr (24).
Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self yells encouragement to his team during KU’s 80-62 college basketball victory over the visiting Baylor Bears at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. Dominick Williams [email protected]
“I did write that,” Self told reporters after his squad improved to 13-5 overall, 3-2 Big 12, heading into Tuesday’s 10 p.m. Central Time battle at Colorado.
“Because everybody’s been patting these guys on their back because they did something on Tuesday. We haven’t done anything. That’s nothing. It’s a long season. That needs to become the consistent effort, not just a one hit (wonder).
“‘My Sharona’ (by) ‘The Knack.’ So many you guys are too young to know ‘The Knack,’ but look it up,” he added.
KU’s 23rd-year coach was jokingly referring to the “one-hit wonder” musical group “The Knack,” which released a No. 1 hit called “My Sharona” in 1979, then failed to follow that hit with any more gold records.
Kansas Jayhawks forward Flory Bidunga blocks a Baylor Bear’s shot during a college basketball game on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. Dominick Williams [email protected]
The Jayhawks took Self’s statement to heart in rolling to an early 19-4 lead. At that point, Peterson had 13 of KU’s 19 points. He finished with 20 points in 16 minutes in the first half as KU led 43-37 at the break.
He had an onset of cramps in the second half, thus played just seven minutes after halftime, scoring six points on 3-of-3 shooting. He hit 11 of 13 shots for the game, going 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
“That was fun to watch. That was impressive,” Self said of Peterson’s early flurry. He also cited the play of big man Flory Bidunga, who scored 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting with 10 rebounds.
Kansas Jayhawks big man Flory Bidunga, left, and guard Darryn Peterson share a laugh after KU’s 80-62 college basketball victory over the visiting Baylor Bears at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. Dominick Williams [email protected]
“It’s only half the time,” Self added of Peterson’s minutes. “What’d he play, 19 minutes where he was actually on the court where he was healthy? The biggest thing, like tonight, he scored. We actually did a better job of looking for him, because he was kind of on a heater.
“I still think when he wasn’t in the game, the other guys were aggressive,” Self noted. “And even when he was in the game after that initial push, I thought other guys were aggressive. And I think that’s the biggest thing, is that we’re kind of, you know, learning how to play off each other and not take away from somebody else’s skill set, because we’re watching one guy.”
Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team fell to 11-6 (1-4 Big 12), has already played and lost to Houston, KU and BYU. He was impressed with Peterson.
“He got off to a great start,” Drew said of Peterson. “And again, I know great players are always going to score, but when they go 11-for-13, that’s yeoman’s work.
“So Tounde has matched up with him before (on the AAU circuit), and I wish we could have started the game, started that matchup, a little bit different — been a little better in the gaps early on. But you’ve got to give him credit for what he did.”
Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr. drives the lane during a college basketball game against Baylor on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. Dominick Williams [email protected]
KU had just the two players, Bidunga and Peterson, reach double digits in scoring.
“They are 22-of-27 and the rest of the starters are 5-of-25 and we still won semi-handily,” Self said. “They were both terrific. I thought that was the best game Flory has had in a while, maybe all year.
Bryson Tiller had six points and seven rebounds with three blocks in 24 minutes. Tre White scored six points on 1-of-8 shooting with six rebounds in 33 minutes.
And Melvin Council Jr. had six points on 3-of-11 shooting with five assists to one turnover in 33 minutes. Self praised Council for setting up several of Bidunga’s dunks off lobs.
KU will travel to Colorado for the late-night Tuesday contest, then meet Kansas State a week from Saturday in Manhattan for a game that’s scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
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Gary Bedore
The Kansas City Star
Gary Bedore covers KU basketball for The Kansas City Star. He has written about the Jayhawks since 1978 — during the Ted Owens, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and Bill Self eras. He has won the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year award and KPA writing awards.
