Kansas guard Zeke Mayo (5) celebrates after hitting a three before Arizona forward Trey Townsend (4) during the second half on Thursday, March 13, 2025 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas City, Mo. — The Kansas men’s basketball team’s time in the Big 12 tournament was shorter than the Jayhawks hoped, but they have an opportunity to build on some of the team’s best shooting of the season in the NCAA tournament.

Senior guard Zeke Mayo was a prime example. He finished with 18 points on 5-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc in an 88-77 loss to Arizona on Thursday, only one day after scoring 24 points on 5-for-7 from distance against UCF. It was his third straight game scoring 18 or more points. He had also scored 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting from 3 on Saturday in the regular season finale. That level of shooting is what his teammates believe he can provide on any night.

“That’s what we recruited him for,” senior guard Dajuan Harris Jr. said. “That’s what he can do… We believe in him. If he keeps playing like that, we’re going to be in great shape scoring the ball.”

The Jayhawks are making about 34% of their 3-pointers this year this year but shot far above that in the Big 12 tournament. Against UCF and Arizona, the Jayhawks hit 45% of their 3s against the Wildcats and 44% against the Knights. The team went 26-for-58 in the two games.

Center Hunter Dickinson hit three 3s against UCF, the most he had hit in a game since December 2023. He followed that up by shooting 2-for-5 from distance against Arizona. Harris shot 4-for-4 on 3-pointers and 6-for-9 from the field overall against the Wildcats after missing his three attempts from 3 against UCF.

Head coach Bill Self said he’s had two main concerns with the team this year: can they hold a team to under 70 points, and can they score more than 70 points? In the last week, the latter hasn’t been a problem. The Jayhawks have scored 83, 98 and 77 points in their last three games.

As the Jayhawks enter the NCAA Tournament, they’ll need that offensive momentum, especially as the team’s defense continues to be an area of uncertainty for the team.

Self did point out the lack of diversity in the team’s 3-point shooting after the Arizona game. The Jayhawks were able to hit 14 3s in the game, but the shots originated primarily from David Coit, Mayo, Dickinson and Harris. Mayo accounted for 12 of the team’s 31 attempts from 3. The Wildcats, on the other hand, had six players make at least one 3, and nobody made more than two or shot more than four.

“They had balance, and we obviously did not have as much balance,” Self said. “Our bench delivered 13 (points), but we didn’t play the bench much. I didn’t think the bench was very effective, to be honest.”

The Jayhawks have strung together a few strong offensive performances, which bodes well for the team’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament around the corner. Self said some extra rest from the team’s quarterfinal exit might prove beneficial as the team has relied heavily on the starting lineup. They’ll need their scorers to keep up the pace next week.

“Right now, we’ve scored points,” Self said. “We just haven’t stopped guys.”