Providence, Rhode Island — The Kansas men's basketball team's 2024-25 season came to an end on Thursday night, with a 79-72, first-round NCAA Tournament loss to 10th-seeded Arkansas at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Jayhawks, seeded 7th, trailed by as many as 11 points before storming back behind the strength of a 2-3 zone defense to take the lead and control late in the game.
But the final few minutes spelled disaster for the higher seed, with KU turning the ball over repeatedly and senior forward KJ Adams going down with an Achilles' tendon injury.
The loss ended one of the most roller-coaster seasons in the 22-year Bill Self era, with KU finishing with a record of 21-13.
Next up, it's back to the transfer portal to find new faces and a host of replacements for the departing players who played the bulk of the minutes this season. The portal officially opens Monday.
Here's a look at some of the more noteworthy numbers from Thursday's finale.
KU Starters (starts at KU/career starts): Hunter Dickinson - 67/156 Dajuan Harris Jr. - 144/144 Zeke Mayo - 32/119 KJ Adams - 98/98 Rylan Griffen - 20/53
Series Info: Kansas leads the all-time series with Arkansas, 8-7 (1-2 in NCAA Championship).
THE KU LOSS...
• Gave Kansas its first, first-round NCAA Tournament loss since 2006.
• Made Kansas 3-2 in neutral site games this season.
• Dropped Kansas to 113-51 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Made Kansas 37-3 in first round games in the NCAA Tournament since 1981.
• Made Kansas 5-2 versus the No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Made Bill Self 609-156 while at KU, 816-261 all-time and 53-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament (43-19 while at Kansas).
• Made KU 2,414-909 all time.
KANSAS NOTES
• Kansas scored its first points of the game on a 3-pointer by Hunter Dickinson, marking his 16th 3-pointer this season and the eighth time that Kansas scored its opening points from beyond the arc.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Senior center Hunter Dickinson scored 11 points, registering his 32nd game of the season in double figures and 146th of his career.
• Senior guard Zeke Mayo scored 18 points on 5-of-8 from the field, marking his 22nd game of the season and 104th in his career in double figures.
• Mayo connected on 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, with his first 3-pointer on Thursday moving him into the top-10 in single-season school history in 3-point field goals made with 86. Mayo passed Malik Newman (85, 2018) for 10th all-time, ending the game with 89 3-pointers made this season.
• With his four 3-pointers, Mayo has registered 16 games this season and 61st of his career with three or more 3-pointers.
• Junior guard AJ Storr scored 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, marking his eighth game this season with 10+ points and the 56th of his career.
• Senior forward KJ Adams scored 13 points on 5-of-8 from the field, marking his 60th career game in double figures, including his 14th this season.
• With 2 blocks on Thursday, freshman Flory Bidunga tied Darrell Arthur (54, 2007) for third on the Kansas freshman single-season blocks list.
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