No. 24 TCU comes up short in close loss to No. 3 Kansas
TCU fell short in completing the first season sweep of Kansas in program history.
The Horned Frogs had their chances late, but fell 63-58 to the Jayhawks on Monday night.
“We earned every bit of that loss with our performance,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “They played really good defense, outrebounded us, which we made very clear we had to get done. We just didn’t perform well, it’s disappointing how we played.”
The game lived up to the billing as TCU trailed by a point, 54-43, with 6:38 remaining in the game. It was much different game than the blowout in Lawrence on Jan. 21 when the Horned Frogs won by 23, but the game was still within reach.
But TCU went on a scoring drought of nearly three minutes while Kansas used a 6-0 to build the lead to 60-53 with 4:41 remaining. Damion Baugh broke the scoring drought finishing a layup inside off a pass from Eddie Lampkin.
The Horned Frogs used their defense to battle back to make it 61-58 with roughly a minute to go. Mike Miles Jr. had an attempt inside to cut it one, but his basket fell short. With 35.4 TCU had one more chance to tie, but Damion Baugh’s layup was blocked and a jump ball was called in favor of Kansas.
The game wasn’t over yet as Kansas star Jalen Wilson missed the front end of the free throws. Baugh’s 3-pointer to tie it fell short and Kansas retook possession with just over a second remaining. TCU had a timeout to use to potentially get a better look, but the Horned Frogs settled for a contested 3-pointer.
“I don’t know if that’s the look we wanted, but it’s the shot we took,” Miles said. “It just didn’t go in.”
Miles led TCU with 13 points while JaKobe Coles added 12 points off the bench.
Offensive woes
Coming off a one of the best offensive performances in school history with the 100-75 win over Oklahoma State, TCU followed that up with a lackluster offensive showing. TCU shot just 30% from the field and 28% from 3-point range.
Think abot this. Kansas didn’t have a single field goal in the final 4:45 of the game and scored just three points, but somehow the Jayhawks were able to escape Fort Worth win a win.
“We weren’t good enough all game long,” Dixon said. “I kept thinking we were going to get right and get to executing. I kept telling the guys we haven’t been good, but we’re going to get good in the second half or the next 10 minutes. We just never got right, that’s where it’s disappointment.”
TCU didn’t score a field goal in the final 4:19 after Baugh’s layup. The Horned Frogs held likely Big 12 Player of the Year to just 7 points while holding Kansas under 40% shooting and winning the turnover battle. TCU’s big three of Miles, Baugh and Emanuel Miller struggled.
The trio went a combined 10-of-39 from the field as Kansas successfully executed its plan to make TCU’s supporting cast to step up. To the bench’s credit, the Horned Frogs reserves outscored Kansas by nine, but even that wasn’t enough for a victory. TCU did almost everything except execute on offense in a game that the Horned Frogs had every chance to win.
Gradey’s day
Kansas freshman Gradey Dick was a non-factor the first time these two teams clashed. The former five-star was determined to not let that happen again. Dick was hot early and scored or assisted on 12 of the Jayhawks first 14 points.
Dick nailed two 3-pointers in the opening seven minutes of the game, but missed a significant chunk of the first half with foul trouble. When he returned to the court, Dick hadn’t cooled off as he rebounded his own miss for a putback dunk to give Kansas a 31-29 lead just before halftime.
“I thought we let Gradey get a little too hot at the beginning,” Coles said. “Give them credit, I thought they ran some good sets with the other guys. He just gave them some good offense throughout the game to keep them in it.”
After scoring 14 in the first 20 minutes, Dick scored five more quickly in the first 2:01 of the second half including a 3-pointer that gave the Jayhawks a 38-32 lead. Dick didn’t score another point as Baugh took the matchup personally to slow him down.
When he was taken away, Kevin McCullar stepped up for the Jayhawks with 15 points and a key defensive block on Baugh in the final seconds.
Early nerves
The environment at Schollmaier Arena was electric with a near sellout crowd that featured former TCU stars Desmond Bane and Kenrich Williams. More than three dozen NBA scouts from 20 teams were in attendance. The early spotlight got to TCU as the Horned Frogs missed their first shots.
You could tell TCU was amped up and Kansas took advantage by jumping out to a 7-0 lead. Emanuel Miller broke the drought with two straight baskets. Miller’s buckets helped TCU settle in and the Horned Frogs would late use a 8-2 run to take their first lead of the game, 17-16, midway through the first half.
The two teams battled the rest of the way, exchanging leads and highlight plays along the way. The Jayhawks took a narrow 33-29 halftime lead after holding TCU to just 32% shooting from the floor.
This story was originally published February 20, 2023 at 10:17 PM.
