Melvin Council Jr. arrived at Kansas as an experienced transfer expected to provide stability. Against NC State, he produced something far more memorable. He produced a historic shooting performance that had not been seen in a Jayhawks uniform in 34 years.

Council poured in a career-high 36 points and buried nine 3-pointers to lift No. 19 Kansas past NC State 77-76 in overtime at the Lenovo Center. The nine made 3s were the most by a KU player since Terry Brown hit 11 against the Wolfpack in January 1991. This places Council’s firmly among the most significant individual performances in program history.

“I had one guy that was probably the best performer I’ve had on the road in my 23 years at Kansas,” coach Bill Self said. “He was unbelievable.”

What made the outburst stunning was the context. Council entered the game shooting just 18.5% from beyond the arc. He had missed his first 10 3-point attempts of the season. NC State leaned into those numbers, sagging off him defensively and daring him to shoot. Council responded by turning analytics on its head.

He knocked down his first 3 less than three minutes into the game, added another shortly after, and had four triples within the first 15 minutes. By the time the Wolfpack adjusted, Council was already in rhythm.

Kansas needed every bucket from Melvin Council Jr.

Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) drives against Missouri Tigers guard Jacob Crews (35) during the first half at T-Mobile Center.
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Article Continues Below

Kansas needed every basket. Freshman star Darryn Peterson exited late in regulation with hamstring tightness, forcing the Jayhawks to lean heavily on Council. He scored the final 13 points of regulation for Kansas, including three 3-pointers that kept the game alive.

Council opened overtime by exploiting a soft switch for another deep pull-up, then later assisted on Flory Bidunga’s dunk with 51.9 seconds left, giving Kansas the lead for good.

Council finished 13 of 27 from the field and 9 of 15 from 3-point range in 43 minutes, adding seven rebounds and four assists. He became only the fourth Jayhawk since 1996-97 to score at least 36 points in a road game, the most recent being Jalen Wilson in 2023.

NC State coach Will Wade called it a performance Council would “tell his grandkids about,” while Bidunga summed it up more bluntly.

“That’s a bad man,” Bidunga said.

Kansas will return to Allen Fieldhouse carrying momentum. For one night in Raleigh, Council etched his name alongside Jayhawks history, delivering a shooting display decades in the making.