SAN DIEGO, California — Kansas basketball’s season is over, after a 67-65 loss in the men’s NCAA tournament on Sunday against St. John’s that ended with a buzzer-beating layup by Red Storm redshirt junior Dylan Darling.
The Jayhawks (24-11) entered as the better seed in this East Region matchup, the No. 4 seed while the Red Storm were the No. 5 seed, but didn’t play well enough to consistently look like it and came up short in a late comeback attempt that saw KU tie the score at 65-65 with less than a minute left. The pressure St. John’s (30-6) used defensively stymied KU early and often, helped the Red Storm overcome their own issues offensively to lead by eight points at halftime — and never give it up after. What’s likely to be KU freshman Darryn Peterson’s last game in college, before turning pro, saw him finish with 21 points.
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This defeat means Kansas’ stretch of NCAA tournament appearances without a trip to the Sweet 16 extends once again, with that last run to one coming in 2022. Although at times this season KU looked like a team that could put a run like that together, too often it was inconsistent as it also tried to learn how to play with — and without — Peterson. Peterson, a potential top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, dealt with various health issues this season that caused him to miss a sizable amount of games.
KU coach Bill Self has downplayed speculation that this would be his final season in Lawrence, before retirement, but this loss in March Madness could very well lead those outside the program to wonder if he’ll be back. Should he come back, he has a talented recruiting class coming in and the chance to supplement it through the transfer portal. Either way, the offseason begins for the Jayhawks earlier than they would have liked.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: Darryn Peterson #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks looks on during the first half against the St. John’s Red Storm in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball’s NCAA tournament run ends with heartbreaking defeat
