Tenth-seeded KU shot a season-best 54.7 percent from the field and put away No. 7 seed TCU, 81-64, in the first round of the Big 12 tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

It was Kansas’ first win since Dec. 13, 2015.

“Well, you know, we’re such a young team,” KU coach Brandon Schneider said. “I really think we’re probably the youngest team in the country in the Power Five conferences … start three freshmen, two sophomores, new staff. But, again, I really think … you know, we’ve gotten better, and when you’re not having a very good season, it would be very easy for those young guys to quit and start looking forward to next season, but they’ve really stuck with us.”

Sophomore Lauren Aldridge scored a career-high 23 points, sophomore Chayla Cheadle contributed 15 points, and freshman Kylee Kopatich added 14 points and nine rebounds.

“I thought we did a great job of preparing for this game, and we came in with the mentality that this is going to be our game that we’re going to win,” Cheadle said.

Sophomore guard AJ Alix led the Horned Frogs (16-14, 8-10 Big 12) with 16 points and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. TCU’s all-time leading scorer, senior guard Zahna Medley, was held to 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting, but tallied a game-high six assists. Senior guard Veja Hamilton came off the bench to contribute 12 points.

Kansas (6-24, 0-18) led by as many as 17 points but never trailed by more than two.

KU will meet second-seeded Texas (26-3, 15-3) at 6 p.m. today.

“I think we are going to use all the energy we can get playing against Texas,” Aldridge said. “We are excited about the opportunity. Like the Big 12, we see them … we have seen them twice this year. So we’ve got to see what happens, but we’ve got to come with a lot of energy, though.”