TCU’s upset bid fades as No. 1 Kansas, Azubuike turn up energy in second half
TCU didn’t have another upset in it.
The Horned Frogs didn’t have an answer for Kansas’ Udoka Azubuike. The 3-point magic that helped them take a halftime lead eventually wore off in the second half. And, as is the case in every loss, too many turnovers and too few rebounds when it mattered most.
In the end, the Jayhawks showed why they’re the No. 1 team in the country and the Big 12 regular-season champions with a 75-66 victory on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“They turned up their energy and intensity in the second half,” said TCU senior guard Desmond Bane, who scored a team-high 24 points.
“And instead of us turning up our energy and intensity, I feel we got back on our heels a little bit. I turned the ball over too much in the second half. We didn’t give ourselves enough chances and opportunities down the stretch.”
TCU had a 46-43 lead with 14:32 left when KU took control of the game with a 15-1 run. The run started with a dunk by Azubuike following a TCU turnover by RJ Nembhard.
Bane turned it over on the next two possessions with the latter turning into a layup by Kansas guard Marcus Garrett. TCU ended up turning it over three times and going 0 for 5 from the field over the game-deciding four-minute stretch.
“The turnovers in the second half led to baskets the other way,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “That’s just what kills us. Travels you can play through, but those turnovers for buckets is what kills us.”
TCU had 14 turnovers on the night, leading to 16 points by Kansas. Dixon likes to have fewer than 10 turnovers a game, something TCU has done just once in Big 12 play.
Dixon also likes to win the rebounding battle, but KU dominated the boards 36-27. The Jayhawks were plus-eight in rebounds in the second half.
The reason? Azubuike. Not only did he have a career-high 31 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, but he’s also the reason TCU’s big men Kevin Samuel and Jaedon LeDee battled foul trouble all night.
The Frogs simply couldn’t contain the 7-foot, 255-pound Nigerian who scored at will despite battling an ankle injury. His performance had folks in Kansas comparing his Senior Night to the legendary Danny Manning, who scored 31 points against Oklahoma on March 5, 1988.
“Obviously he put us in difficult situations with the fouls,” Dixon said. “It changed the whole game. When I came here, I thought he was a one-year guy and it’s four years later. I never thought he’d be here for four years.
“I guess he was a little banged up this week, but he sure didn’t look like it.”
For Kansas (27-3, 16-1 Big 12), the victory secured at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship. The Jayhawks have now won 19 Big 12 titles.
For TCU (16-14, 7-10 Big 12), the loss was disappointing but promising. The Frogs are now 1-9 on the road and remain winless at Allen Fieldhouse (0-9) in program history.
But they left knowing they can hang with the country’s best team in one of the sport’s most hostile environments, four days after knocking off No. 2 Baylor in Fort Worth.
“I was proud of our guys,” Dixon said. “I thought we competed. I thought we battled. I thought we played way better than we did at our place (in a 60-46 loss to KU on Feb. 8 in Fort Worth).
“Obviously it got away from us in the second half, but I thought we competed, I thought we executed, especially in the first half. We did what we wanted to do offensively.”
It was a different story in the first half.
Azubuike dominated with 18 points, including KU’s first 10 of the game, but TCU nullified that by seniors Edric Dennis and Desmond Bane getting red-hot from 3-point range.
Dennis knocked down five 3-pointers in the opening half, matching his season high, and Bane made four 3s. Dennis drilled 3s on consecutive possessions, which gave TCU a 24-19 lead with 6:11 left.
Bane made two 3-pointers in the final three minutes (the only shots TCU made in that stretch), including one with 22 seconds left to give TCU a 37-35 lead at half.
But it faded away in the second half when TCU went just 4 of 14 from long range.
“KU’s a good defensive team,” said Dennis, who matched his season-high with 18 points. “We got away from our execution a little bit and that was pretty much the reason.”
The silver lining for TCU is it still has a chance to earn a bye at next week’s Big 12 tournament if it defeats Oklahoma in the regular-season finale on Saturday at Schollmaier Arena. The Horned Frogs would earn at least the No. 6 seed with a victory over the Sooners.
“We’ve got to learn from this,” Dixon said. “They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. They’re really well coached, there’s no question about that, and the good players are obvious.
“But I think everybody can see we’re playing better basketball. We’re defending a little better, we’re executing a little better and there’s an opportunity for us to play well on Saturday.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 9:16 PM.
