For Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson, even playing 32 minutes in a loss wasn’t enough to silence his critics. But it was enough to earn a fiery defense from one of college basketball’s most respected voices.

Darryn Peterson’s team lost to Cincinnati at home by a score of 84-68. On Monday, Jay Bilas, the ESPN analyst, went to The Rich Eisen Show and strongly defended Peterson and called out critics for being unfair. After Peterson himself lashed out at his critics, Bilas’ voice had even more credibility.

“If Darryn Peterson were really getting advice from people about shutting it down, shutting it down would be the easy way to go,” Bilas stated. “The NBA would take him No. 1. Trying to play is what’s causing these speculative issues about his character and all that other stuff. I don’t find it fair.”

Bilas then questioned the foundation of the criticism, saying, “If we had solid information that said so, then I’m good with it. But I think it’s been a little bit unfair. The kid doesn’t talk much. He never had this problem in high school. Nobody ever questioned his competitiveness.”

Peterson himself talked about the criticism in comments he made between games against Arizona and Oklahoma State. “Everybody’s got an opinion on it,” Peterson said to ESPN. “Basketball is my life. If I could have been out there every game this year, I would have. If you had asked me last year what my goals were for this year, I would never have mentioned missing games. So all this stuff kind of just happened, but I’ve got to deal with it.”

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Bilas’ defense of Peterson is understandable thanks to his excellent on-court performances. Despite missing a dozen games due to various injuries, the freshman is averaging 19.8 points per game and shooting 41.3% from three-point range.

Bilas noted how Darryn Peterson cares more about playing than protecting his draft status, even though he has to deal with injuries. Some NBA scouts project him as the first overall pick, while others have him in their top three.

Kansas is 20-7 and has big games coming up against Houston and Arizona that will determine its place in the tournament. Peterson has a tough job; he has to stay healthy while still giving Kansas everything they need. He is special when he’s on the floor.

The loss in Cincinnati was important for Darryn Peterson’s story, but it had terrible effects that went far beyond one player’s reputation. While Peterson faced criticism about his competitiveness, the whole Kansas program was under more and more pressure from the college basketball world.

Kansas basketball falls out of AP Top 10 after rough week

Kansas just learned something the hard way. They beat Oklahoma State on the road, but on Saturday, they lost at home to Cincinnati. The AP voters moved them down six spots, from No. 8 to No. 14. That’s the worst fall they’ve had since November. It was awful to lose to a team that was ranked 51st in NET and 46th in KenPom. It wasn’t just one bad game; it showed that something was wrong.

Kansas has now lost seven games, more than any other top-15 team in the US. Florida and Illinois only have six. A team that should be fighting for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed can’t lose that many games. Because of the Cincinnati result, they fell to the No. 4 seed line in tournament projections. They’ve gone from being a favorite to being a threat, but not the threat they were supposed to be.

Kansas’ resume isn’t completely ruined because they still have good wins over Iowa State, Arizona, and Texas Tech. But they’re now the fourth-best team in the Big 12, and their overall national standing has them behind teams like Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Virginia, and Michigan State in certain rankings.

Houston, ranked fifth, comes to Allen Fieldhouse for Big Monday.  The next week or two will decide the whole season for the Jayhawks.