Kansas Guts Out First Road Win in Overtime Thriller vs. NC State
Kansas basketball found itself in a dogfight on Saturday-and came out with a hard-earned 77-76 overtime win over NC State. It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t easy, but it was the Jayhawks’ first road win of the season, and it came in the kind of gritty, grind-it-out fashion that builds character come March.
Let’s start with the moment that sealed it: Flory Bidunga’s dunk with 51 seconds left in overtime. In a game where no team led by more than seven points all night, that bucket was the final blow in a back-and-forth battle that tested Kansas in all the right (and wrong) ways.
But make no mistake-this game belonged to Melvin Council Jr.
Council’s Career Night Carries Kansas
Council didn’t just show up-he took over. The senior guard dropped a career-high 36 points, shooting 13-for-27 from the field and a scorching 9-for-15 from beyond the arc.
He added seven rebounds, four assists, and-maybe most impressively-zero turnovers in 43 minutes of action. That’s not just a good stat line.
That’s the kind of performance that earns you a spot in the Kansas lore of clutch road heroes.
After the game, Bill Self didn’t hold back his praise for Council.
“We had one guy who was probably the best performer that I think that I’ve had on the road in my 23 years at Kansas,” Self said. “He was unbelievable.”
Council’s confidence grew as the game went on. NC State dared him to shoot early, and once he saw a few go down, the basket must’ve looked like a canyon.
That’s the thing with shooters-they don’t dwell on misses. They remember the makes.
And Council made the Wolfpack pay.
A Team Win with Key Contributions
While Council was the headliner, he wasn’t alone. Darryn Peterson chipped in 17 points in 31 minutes before exiting with just over two minutes left in regulation.
Self later clarified that Peterson’s issue was tightness in his hamstring-something he’s been managing all season. The encouraging news?
He made it deeper into the game than he has in previous outings.
Tre White added 12 points, rounding out the Jayhawks’ trio of double-digit scorers. As a team, Kansas shot 43% from the floor and 37% from three-solid numbers considering the defensive pressure they faced throughout.
Defensively, Kansas held NC State to 38% shooting overall and just 26% from deep. That perimeter defense was a focal point coming in, and for the most part, the Jayhawks executed their game plan.
“I actually thought our best chance coming in here was to not let them shoot the ball beyond the arc and switch,” Self explained. “You’re going to give up something, but I thought we did a decent job on that until the very end.”
A Chess Match of Defensive Schemes
Both teams leaned heavily on switching defensively, and it led to a game where offensive rhythm was hard to come by. Self admitted KU didn’t have the ball or body movement he wanted, but he credited his team for competing and adjusting.
“We switched everything,” Self said. “They hurt us driving the ball some, and they played the mismatches some, but for the most part, we did a pretty nice job.”
That adjustment was key, especially down the stretch, when NC State made a late push behind some big shots from Darrion. But Kansas held firm, forcing an off-balance heave at the buzzer that missed the mark.
Late-Game Strategy and Situational Execution
One of the more subtle but telling moments came when Self inserted Paul Mbiya late in overtime to defend an inbounds play. The goal?
Disrupt the lob and make NC State work for a clean look. It wasn’t textbook execution, but it was just enough to force a tough shot.
And then there was the play where Council was fouled and officials reviewed it for a potential flagrant. Self didn’t see the full sequence but trusted the crew’s ruling of a common foul.
“Not Great, But Good Enough”
Self was candid postgame. He knows his team didn’t play its best. But he also knows what it means to win when you don’t have your A-game-especially on the road.
“It’s good. It’s getting old not playing great, though,” he said.
“Guys competed. They tried hard.
That was actually fun to watch. We didn’t execute as well as we did against Tennessee, but it was kind of like that game a little bit where guys just have to tough it out.”
That’s what this win was: a tough-it-out, lean-on-your-hot-hand, survive-and-advance kind of night. Kansas didn’t dominate.
It didn’t dazzle. But it did enough.
And sometimes, especially in December on the road, that’s exactly what you need.