Quick recap: Kansas earns hard-fought win at TCU

By Shane Jackson Feb 20, 2023

Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) works to the basket as TCU's Eddie Lampkin Jr. (4) defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The third-ranked Kansas men’s basketball program extended its win streak to five in a row with a hard-fought 63-58 win over No. 24 TCU on Monday inside Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. And the latest victory really illustrated what has changed about the Jayhawks over the last couple of weeks.

Bill Self’s squad has learned to play ugly, and perhaps more importantly, they know how to make the opposing team play ugly with their play on the defensive end. The Horned Frogs, who were coming off a 100-point performance on Saturday, simply struggled to find any sort of offensive rhythm in Monday’s matchup.

TCU hit eight 3-pointers in the 23-point blowout over Kansas during the first meeting in Allen Fieldhouse last month. But KU adjusted, opting to have Dajuan Harris Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr. stick with TCU’s top scorers rather than pass off with a switch. It was a strategy Kansas employed in the second half of its comeback win over Baylor on Saturday.

Kansas also did a better job of limiting TCU in transition this time around. The Horned Frogs had to work for every basket inside, as well, despite most members of the Jayhawks’ frontcourt dealing with foul trouble for much of the night.

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PHOTO GALLERY: Kansas basketball at TCU

Box score: Kansas 63, TCU 58

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But the play that best exemplified KU’s grind-it-out victory on Big Monday occurred with just under five minutes left to play. Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick both missed shots on the same possession, though Wilson collected a miss by Dick and converted on a putback to put the visitors up seven just before the final media timeout. It was the type of hustle plays that the Jayhawks fed off of all night.

TCU put together a late charge in front of its home crowd, making it a one-possession game in the final minute. McCullar then forced a jump ball for a game-sealing defensive play with 30 seconds left to play.

With the win, the Jayhawks (23-5, 11-4 Big 12) remain in first place in the league standings with three games left to play. TCU (18-10, 7-8 Big 12) has now lost five of the last six games.

Kansas will play host to West Virginia on Saturday.