Kansas guard Zeke Mayo (5) points to Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) after Harris provided an assist during the first half on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

The Jayhawks unveiled some lineups on Saturday afternoon that could generously be described as creative.

With KJ Adams and Flory Bidunga having severe foul trouble throughout, and Hunter Dickinson himself in a tough spot with three fouls midway through the second half, KU had to play significantly more four-man lineups than usual and gave some key minutes to backup forward Zach Clemence.

One constant amidst all the strangeness has been guard Zeke Mayo.

The Lawrence native and South Dakota State native played his best all-around offensive game as a Jayhawk, making five 3-pointers and serving as KU’s only consistent means of penetrating the interior of the Wolf Pack’s defense. He finished with a season-high 26 points, including five 3-pointers, and despite only playing XX minutes, Dickinson added 21 with 14 rebounds and seven assists as the Jayhawks won 75-60.

No. 10 KU shot a total of 10 of 24 from beyond the arc. Point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. added 15 points and six more assists of his own.

NC State got most of its offense from strong play from forwards Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (12 points) and Ben Middlebrooks (14 points, seven rebounds).

KU far exceeded its early intensity in two straight losses, building a 10-0 lead when Dickinson hit a 3-pointer and then set up Mayo for another possession with a nifty give-and-go. NC State opened 0-for-4 from the field and head coach Kevin Keatts had to call an early timeout.

The Jayhawks jumped out to a 15-0 lead before Dontrez Styles capitalized on a two-on-one chance from distance at 14:20. However, when KU went to the bench for the first time, going 19-3 and bringing in AJ Storr, Bidunga and finally long-injured (and former NC State) guard Shakeel Moore, it struggled to maintain its offensive tempo. The Wolfpack scored nine straight points before Dajuan Harris Jr. scored his first points with a three-pointer from the wing.

From there, NC State managed to keep its first-half deficit at around seven or nine points, helped by foul trouble with Bidunga and Dickinson that prevented KU from threatening in the post almost as often. On the other side of the ball, Huntley-Hatfield and Middlebrooks pushed deeper and deeper inside on each possession, with Huntley-Hatfield slipping a little hook over Bidunga to make the score 32-25 with three minutes left.

Mayo responded with another 3-pointer, but Bidunga was hit with his third foul, which turned into a three-point play for Marcus Hill. After a chaotic stretch filled with turnovers and bad missed shots, Mayo pulled ahead again with an And-1 that included KU’s first free throw attempt of the game.

AJ Storr rattled off a corner 3 at the buzzer and the Jayhawks took a 38-30 lead into the break after scoring 19 points in the first 6:45 and just 19 more points in the final 13:15.

KU pushed a little further ahead in the first few minutes of the second half and got up to 13 points on a putback from Dickinson, but then Middlebrooks got well under the basket on a loose ball and Dickinson prevented a layup with a flagrant foul. Middlebrooks made two free throws, Adams and Bidunga each got their third fouls on the ensuing possession and then Huntley-Hatfield scored twice more at the line to bring the Wolfpack within single digits.

After a chaotic and foul-filled period, Mayo converted a corner for the third time and put KU back up 51-41 on a solo 6-0 run with 13 minutes left. He fired up the crowd when Keatts had to call another timeout.

The Jayhawks lost some of their defensive strength as the half progressed, but generally had an answer in Mayo or Dickinson. Dickinson scored six straight goals to increase KU’s lead to 17 points with four minutes left.

The Jayhawks, who improved to 8-2, host Brown on Dec. 22 for their final game before conference play begins.

Box score

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