LAS VEGAS -- Kansas arrived at the Players Era Championship with a 3-2 record and a long list of question marks. Bill Self's team was without potential No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson, and became even more shorthanded when senior Jayden Dawson hurt his wrist during warmups before Monday's game.
The Jayhawks also arrived as an unranked team, the first time in 20 years they've been out of the AP Top 25 in the month of November.
After Wednesday's 81-76 comeback win over No. 17 Tennessee, Kansas leaves the desert with three straight wins and renewed optimism about its potential -- especially with Peterson's return likely not too far away.
"I think that we came here doubting how good we could be," Self said. "Today, I actually thought we played sound. I actually thought we followed what we're trying to do. I actually thought we screened somebody. I actually thought the shots we gave up were the shots we were supposed to give up. So that's encouraging."
Tennessee looked to be in command for most of the first 25 minutes, getting out to a 12-point lead and making life difficult for Kansas on the offensive end. Those struggles were magnified when Tre White, who was the Jayhawks' best player in the first half, picked up his fourth foul with 16:52 left and then fouled out with more than eight minutes remaining.
But as has been the case all week, Kansas received a jolt of production from a surprise source. Sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson and senior wing Melvin Council Jr. scored a combined 23 points over the next nine minutes to give Kansas the lead.
Jackson finished with a career-high 17 points; he hadn't scored in double figures since January 2024 and hadn't scored more than six points all season. Council, meanwhile, hit double figures for the fourth straight game after averaging 7.0 points in his first four games following his transfer from St. Bonaventure.
That's in addition to White and Flory Bidunga, who have stepped up in Peterson's absence to become reliable contributors and focal points of the offense. It's in addition to Bryson Tiller, who moved into the starting lineup five games ago and averaged 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds during three Players Era games.
Suddenly, a team that looked bereft of offensive weapons even when Peterson was healthy has more balance in its attack -- and will benefit when its star guard returns.
"We're not offensively fluid enough to win games like we did there and expect guys to just come off the bench and get 17 or whatever," Self said. "But what it should do is give us confidence when we are whole, if we can learn to play together, that we can defend and rebound well enough to actually be pretty good."
Self said earlier this week that Peterson, who has missed the past six games with a hamstring injury, has been working out in Las Vegas and that he's "hopeful" Peterson will return soon. Self told CBS Sports after Wednesday's game that Peterson will be reevaluated Friday to see if he can suit up against UConn next Tuesday.
While Peterson objectively makes Kansas a better team, this week in Las Vegas showed that the Jayhawks can be competitive at a high level without their star man. They ran out of steam against Duke last week in the Champions Classic, but another week of development and cohesion appears to have changed the mentality and momentum of this year's team.
"It was very important," Jackson said after the game. "I feel like having these games without some key players that we have is good for our team development, and I feel like as a team this is really no surprise. I feel like as basketball players, especially as a team, you're supposed to be delusional about how you guys are, and it feels good to know that we're good about the delusion that we have about this team. I feel like we fight hard, and I feel like we can go toe-to-toe with any team in the NCAA."
Kansas' streak as an unranked team in November is likely to end after just one week, and with Peterson nearing a return, the Jayhawks' upcoming stretch against UConn, Missouri and NC State looks more manageable.
"I'm going into Thanksgiving very optimistic," Self said.