Jayhawks star Peterson not playing vs. UConn, missing 7th game

Kansas’ star freshman Darrin Peterson will miss Tuesday’s game against UConn due to a hamstring injury, the school announced.

Pietersen has missed the last six matches due to injury.

“Darrin will not play tonight,” coach Bill Self said in a statement. “He’s very close. He’s worked very hard, but he’s still not 100 percent. It’s day-to-day.”

Peterson averaged 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the first two games of the season, but missed the remaining months.

He entered the season as the front-runner for the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft.

With Peterson sidelined, Kansas has won five of six games, with the only loss coming to Duke at Madison Square Garden. The Jayhawks went 3-0 at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas last week, including an 81-76 win over Tennessee in the third-place game.

Self went with a bigger lineup without Peterson, going with 6-foot-11 Bryson Tiller next to Flory Bidunga. Tiller has responded by averaging 9.2 points and 7.2 rebounds as a starter.

Kansas also moved guard Jamari McDowell, who played little in the first few weeks, into the starting lineup for the final two games in Vegas. McDowell brings some length and shooting to the Jayhawks’ perimeter; He made two 3s in each of his two games as a starter.