Moments That Popped: No. 10 Kansas 75, NC State 60

The 10th-ranked Kansas men's basketball team needed a good outing after back-to-back road losses last week at Creighton and Missouri.

And in their first game inside Allen Fieldhouse in the month of December, that's exactly what the Jayhawks got, handling NC State 75-60 in their second-to-last non-conference game of the 2024-25 season.

Zeke Mayo led Kansas with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and big man Hunter Dickinson dropped a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds while also adding 7 assists and 2 steals — with zero turnovers — in the home win.

Kansas never trailed and the Jayhawks outscored the Wolfpack 38-26 in points in the paint.

Next up, KU (8-2) will be back at home for the final non-conference game of the 2024-25 season, when they play host to Brown at 2 p.m. next Sunday.

After that, it’s all-in on the the Big 12 slate, with West Virginia and Kansas kicking off conference play on New Year’s Eve at 1 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

Here’s a look back at some of Saturday’s action against NC State.

LIKES

• There’s no place like home, right Zeke? – Man. Returning to their home gym sure did wonders for the Jayhawks’ 3-point shots and confidence pulling the trigger. Several players knocked down 3-pointers for the Jayhawks in this one, both in the game’s opening 10 minutes and on the day. KU finished the day 10-for-24 from 3-point range, with Zeke Mayo leading the way with 5 makes on 9 3-point attempts. Dajuan Harris Jr. also added 3 triples on 6 attempts while Dickinson and Diggy Coit each added one, as well. Mayo entered the game with just 6 3-point makes in his last 7 games, so getting back into the flow and finding it at home — after a week of relative rest — was just what the Lawrence native needed.

• Adams’ Effort – This is certainly nothing new nor is it anything unexpected. But, boy, was it on a different level in the opening minutes of Saturday’s game vs. NC State. Even by KJ’s standards. He grabbed an offensive rebound (and drew a foul) on the game’s first possession. He sprinted to the corner to challenge an NC State 3-point try on one of the Wolfpack’s first possessions (the shot hit the side of the backboard). And he was all over the floor on defense, challenging shots at the rim, defending the perimeter and helping his teammates like his life depended on it. While Hunter Dickinson, Rylan Griffen and Zeke Mayo did the scoring in KU’s 10-0 run to open the game, Adams’ impact was every bit as important and set the tone for the solid start. Later in the first half, with under 2 minutes to play, Adams hustled down a loose ball on offense in the corner by the NC State bench but threw it away moments after getting it. Rather than giving up on the play, Adams chased down the play, blocked a layup off the glass and then went flying out of bounds, through the ESPN cameraman under the hoop and onto the lap of a fan. Incredible play, very reminiscent of that one by Frank Mason III at K-State a few years back.

• Has Clemence found a role? – Sure seems like it. We’re not going to quite go to Mitch Lightfoot status here, but the effort, attitude and impact are starting to look slightly similar. KU veteran Zach Clemence again put a positive stamp on this one in his 5:36 minutes of action in the first half. With KU leading by 7, the Jayhawks misfired on a shot from distance. Clemence fought and battled for the miss and came up with the offensive rebound. Two passes later, Dajuan Harris Jr. drained his second 3-pointer of the day to push the Jayhawks’ lead back to 10. Small moment, big impact. That’s kind of the Zach Clemence Way right now.

 • My favorite play in a while – In the game's first two minutes, the stars of the day executed a beautiful played that hinted at what kind of day it would be for both Mayo and Dickinson. With the Jayhawks rolling and leading 7-0, Mayo stepped into a spot on the right wing, where he could've pulled the open 3-pointer to try to get himself going a little more. He didn't, though. Perhaps because he didn't like the spot, his feel or his feet at that moment. Instead, he dumped it down to Dickinson in the post, who never took his eyes off of Mayo, who relocated a few steps to his left and received a perfect pass from Dickinson for a rhythm 3-point try. He buried that one to put KU up 10-0 and force NC State to call an early timeout.

DISLIKES

• AJ Storr’s understanding – So, for months, Kansas coach Bill Self has been telling AJ Storr to be aggressive, preferring for him to attack off the dribble and use his size, strength and athleticism to get to the rim. It’s clear that Storr has heard that. What’s not clear is whether he understands exactly what it means. Take Saturday, for example. After entering the game midway through the first half for the first time, Storr immediately attacked the paint off the dribble from the right wing on his first touch. It was a good decision and good execution. The problem popped up when the drive was cut off. At that point, Storr should probably move the ball, reset and try to find another driving lane later in the possession. Instead, he pulled up for a contested mid-range jumper and missed it badly. The reality of where he’s at right now probably lands something like this: Be aggressive, attack the rim and if you can get there, shoot the ball and finish; If you can’t, go ahead and move the ball and keep the possession alive.

• Free throw discrepancy – The Kansas Jayhawks were outscored at the free throw line for the eighth time in 10 games this season, knocking in 5 of the 7 attempts from the foul line that they got on Saturday. NC State went to the stripe 18 times and made 12, but the free throw thing continues to be a thing to keep an eye on for these Jayhawks. We'll get into this idea a little more in a later article on Sunday or Monday.

• Flory Bidunga foul party – The freshman big man picked up 3 fouls in a little over 5 minutes on the floor during the first half of Saturday’s game and picked up foul No. 4 just 26 seconds after checking in during the second half. After the fourth foul, KU coach Bill Self quickly went to Zach Clemence off the bench. Clemence gave up an offensive rebound, though, and was yanked by Self just 35 seconds after he checked in, putting big man Hunter Dickinson back in the game. While this didn’t kill Kansas on Saturday, it does underscore the Jayhawks’ need for Flory to figure out a way to stay on the floor. Earlier this season, Self lumped him into the small group of players who he considers to be his best. On Saturday, he played just 7:36 because of those 4 fouls, including just that one stint in the second half.

WHAT THE?

• Reputation call – Early in the second half, after a wild possession that saw bodies flying all over the place in an effort to secure a loose ball on the NC State end, the Wolfpack wound up with it and flipped it ahead to 6-10 center Ben Middlebrooks, who had a clear path to the hoop for a bucket. KU big man Hunter Dickinson was close by, though, and made a move to challenge the shot. Middlebrooks felt his presence and pump-faked to get him in the air. It worked, and Dickinson came crashing down hard on the back of Middlebrooks. In an attempt to protect both Middlebrooks and himself from the fall, Dickinson wrapped him up a bit and both big men wound up falling to the floor. Middlebrooks hopped up with a bit of an objection to the foul and the officials quickly called it a flagrant foul. There’s probably something in the rule that says that had to be done, but this also looked a lot like Dickinson’s reputation as a bit of a villain getting the best of the moment. It certainly did not seem like there was any intent to injure anyone. In fact, it might’ve been the exact opposite.  

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