How KU basketball celebrated on K-State’s home court — and in the locker room
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU guard Melvin Council led belt celebration in visiting locker room after win.
- Council posted 17 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds and guarded K-State’s PJ Haggerty.
- Group-chat videos pushed KU to end its Manhattan skid after 3 straight losses.
Melvin Council stood amid a crowd of his Kansas teammates, clenching a black belt in his fist.
The senior guard repeatedly wound up and hit the belt against the carpet at his feet, while his teammates egged him on. The camera turned to coach Bill Self, who looked on with an amused expression. He never stopped smiling.
The location? The visiting locker room at Bramlage Coliseum after the Jayhawks’ blowout win over rival Kansas State.
The postgame scene was captured on center Flory Bidunga’s Snapchat and quickly spread across social media. It fit the magnitude of Saturday’s win.
Not only did Kansas (15-5, 5-2 Big 12) end a three-game losing streak in Manhattan — the Jayhawks have now won four straight Big 12 games for the first time since 2023.
Final score: Kansas 86, K-State 62.
Council was a major contributor in Saturday’s win. He posted 17 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. Despite only joining the squad in the summer, Council has fully embraced being a Jayhawk.
Perhaps, that’s why he mimicked K-State’s Wabash Cannonball tradition as the final seconds ticked off the clock. In fact, he did it twice in the last minute.
“This means a lot,” Council said.
He elaborated, saying the players are in a group chat in which a video was shared from a previous meeting with Kansas State. It showed the Wildcats defeating a Jalen Wilson-led KU basketball squad.
“(We saw the video) when Kansas State beat us and the fans stormed the court,” Council said. “... So I just tried to put that in my head throughout the whole game.”
On top of all Council did on the offensive end, he also defended K-State star PJ Haggerty. Haggerty finished with 23 points but shot 6-for-17 from the field.
Haggerty scored only five points in the first half.
“Just make him play fast,” Council said of the matchup. “He’s a great player. He gets to the free-throw line a lot, and when he passed the ball, try to deny him. Some things worked and some things did not. Just stay in front of him and don’t jump for ball fakes.”
Council wasn’t the only one who seemed to have extra motivation. With the game well out of reach and 10 seconds to play, Tre White dunked — despite Self motioning from the sideline to dribble it out.
Perhaps that can be explained by White remembering the video from the group chat. The video also showed Kansas State coach Jerome Tang’s postgame speech in 2023.
“I told y’all we’ll get you one court storming,” Tang told the crowd after KSU’s win. “From here on out, expect to win.”
To Tang’s credit, K-State did defeat KU in Manhattan each time until Saturday. Clearly, White and the Jayhawks wanted to turn the tide.
“They had sent the video in the group chat and every player has seen it,” Council said. “We just had that mindset: That can’t happen again.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2026 at 12:12 AM.
