TCU ‘makes progress’ even though upset bid falls short as No. 15 KU pulls away late
At least TCU had a chance this time.
After getting dominated by Kansas earlier this month in Fort Worth, TCU put up an admirable fight in trying to win its first game at Allen Fieldhouse.
But the 15th-ranked Jayhawks prevailed with a 59-51 victory over the Frogs on Thursday night. KU swept the regular-season series with the win Thursday coupled with a 93-64 victory in Fort Worth on Jan. 5. But the Frogs felt better about their latest performance.
“Today was definitely a light for us,” freshman guard Mike Miles said. “We felt we could have won that game. Our turnovers were too high, but it was definitely one we should have won.”
TCU turned it over 22 times and fell to 0-10 all-time in Lawrence. The Frogs (9-6, 2-5 Big 12) were playing their first game in 16 days following COVID-related postponements. Miles, who went 0-for-8 and was scoreless in the first meeting, led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Junior center Kevin Samuel, who had no rebounds in the first meeting, finished with a game-high eight rebounds.
KU (11-5, 5-4 Big 12), meanwhile, snapped a three-game losing streak and avoided its first four-game losing streak since the 1988-89 season. The Jayhawks were led by forward David McCormack’s 15 points. Guard Ochai Agbaji had 13 points.
“It was progress for us, especially on the defensive end and rebounding,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “Given that we had one practice, I thought we fought. We competed. I thought we did some really good things execution-wise. We’ve got to finish better on some drives, got to make more free throws, but we played hard and we battled.”
It was an offensive struggle for both teams with neither reaching the 20-point mark in the first half. Seriously.
TCU had a 19-18 lead at the break. The 18 points were KU’s fewest since it trailed TCU 22-13 at half in what became a 62-55 victory for the Frogs on Feb. 6, 2013 in Fort Worth.
In the first meeting this season, KU had a 49-35 lead at half. That night the Jayhawks shot 64.3% from the field. On Thursday, they shot 30.8% and endured an eight-plus minute scoring drought in the opening half. KU ended the game shooting 41% from the field.
TCU didn’t have a much better half. The Frogs jumped out to a 10-2 lead before going on their own scoring drought.
TCU and KU traded runs early in the second half as it became a back-and-forth battle.
TCU had a 38-36 lead and a chance to build on it with just under 13 minutes left. However, the Frogs couldn’t capitalize on a turnover by the Jayhawks with a missed alley-oop attempt from Nembhard to PJ Fuller. Then, after a missed layup by KU, TCU’s Taryn Todd threw up an ill-advised 3-pointer that missed.
“Our decision-making was a struggle all game long,” Dixon said. “We had some opportunities. We’ve got to grow and learn what’s important and the value of every possession. We don’t value every possession to the level you need to. Our turnovers speak to that number and that certainly was a huge stretch there.”
McCormack scored the next four points to give KU a 40-38 lead and the Jayhawks didn’t trail again.
TCU tied the game a couple times, but couldn’t get back in front. With the game tied at 43-all, the Jayhawks went on a 7-0 run to take a 50-43 lead. KU scored its 50th point on McCormack’s first career 3-pointer with four minutes left.
KU extended its lead to 54-44 at one point as TCU never threatened in the final minutes.
TCU will stay on the road with its next game at No. 12 Missouri in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Columbia.
“I just want our guys to feel good about what they did tonight,” Dixon said. “Yes, there’s certainly things to improve on, but you have to feel good about it and make progress.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 8:58 PM.
