Zeke Mayo has helped Kansas basketball in several ways. This one surprised Bill Self
Senior guard Zeke Mayo has attempted a Kansas team-high 24 free throws in six Big 12 Conference games so far this season.
That’s 10 more chances than point guard Dajuan Harris, who is No. 2 on the team with just 14 trips to the line in league play.
“I never thought going into the season that Zeke Mayo would be the guy who could get more free throws than anybody else on our team,” KU coach Bill Self said of the former South Dakota State standout who went 6-of-8 from the free throw line in Saturday’s 84-74 victory over Kansas State at Allen Fieldhouse.
“We knew Zeke could shoot and we knew he was a very good player. The thing we probably didn’t anticipate is he’d be so good getting downhill and drawing fouls and getting to the basket. His ability with the ball off the bounce has been far more effective than we probably anticipated when the season started,” Self added.
Mayo is 32-of-38 overall (.842) — 21-of-24 (.875) in six Big 12 contests — from the free-throw stripe heading into Wednesday’s Big 12 battle against TCU. Tipoff is 6 p.m. with a live telecast available on ESPN2.
“He’s driving the ball better. He’s getting better at getting fouled,” Self said.
Mayo, a graduate of Lawrence High School, earned a reputation as a scorer in his three seasons at South Dakota State. He averaged a team-leading 18.8 points a game as a junior on 46.6% shooting. He was 92-of-235 from 3 (.391) and 130-of-157 from the line (.828).
His 157 free throw attempts in 2023-24 calculated to 4.9 attempts per game, close to his 4.0 per game average in Big 12 games at KU.
He’s KU’s second leading scorer (all games) at 15.0 points a game, right behind center Hunter Dickinson’s 15.8 points per game average. In Big 12 games only, Mayo actually is ahead of Dickinson, 17.7 points per game to 16.2. Dickinson is 11-of-13 from the line in six Big 12 games for 84.6%. Harris is 9-of-14 for 64.3%.
“I didn’t come here and expect that kind of (go-to-guy) role,” said Mayo, who has been reliable when KU needs a hoop.
Mayo scored 24 points (to Dickinson’s 25) in Saturday’s win over K-State. Mayo hit three early 3s, good for nine of KU’s first 14 points as the Jayhawks stormed to a 14-0 advantage four minutes into the game.
“Obviously we have a great All-American in Hunt, a great point guard in Juan (Harris) and many other great scorers here,” Mayo said. “It’s something I’ve worked on in my career to be able to become, I wouldn’t say an alpha, but a guy who can go get a bucket when we need one.”
Harris — he averages 10.1 points a game on the season with 91 assists to 26 turnovers (Mayo has 51 assists, 32 turnovers) — says Mayo has been ultra-important, especially with the ball in his hands.
“He shoots the ball,” Harris said. “He’s probably with Hunt the best scorer on our team. He’s our best shooter. We tell him keep doing that, keep shooting. Zeke is unselfish, too. He likes to pass the ball. He likes to score. He’s doing great for us.”
Mayo said for the Jayhawks (13-4, 4-2) to have success at TCU on Wednesday and at home against Houston on Saturday in games this week: “We have to execute our offense and continue to do what we’ve been doing defensively. We’ve shown we can hold teams to very few amounts of points by staying aggressive.”
The Horned Frogs enter 10-7 overall and 3-3 in the league. KU is 13-4, 4-2. TCU defeated Baylor on the road Sunday, 74-71.
Former KU big man Ernest Udeh of TCU had a career-high 16 points and a season-high 15 rebounds versus Baylor for his fourth double-double of the season. Udeh’s four blocked shots tied a career high.
The Jayhawks are 2-1 on the road in league play this year with wins at UCF and Cincinnati and a loss at Iowa State.
