After a slow and sloppy start in Fort Worth, the 12th-ranked Kansas men’s basketball team figured it out and cruised to a 74-61 road win at TCU.
Not only that, but the Jayhawks started to flex a little in the process.
A sluggish start on the offensive end turned into the Jayhawks smirking and styling with swagger. A low-energy effort defensively that saw TCU score 14 of its first 24 points in the paint turned into the suffocating style of defense that KU coach Bill Self likes to see.
KU responded to the 24-10 deficit 10 minutes into the game by outscoring the Frogs 64-37 the rest of the night.
All in all, it was an important night for the Jayhawks, who stared down the barrel of a bad road loss and responded by dominating the final 30 minutes of play to pick up their third road win in Big 12 play already.
Five Jayhawks reached double figures in scoring, led by Hunter Dickinson’s 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Perhaps biggest of that bunch was AJ Storr reaching 12 points an 6 rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting in 22 minutes.
Flory Bidunga (10), Shak Moore (11) and Zeke Mayo (13) rounded out the Jayhawks’ in double digits.
Next up, KU (14-4 overall, 5-2 Big 12) will return home to take on No. 7 Houston in a huge game of top-15 Big 12 title contenders at Allen Fieldhouse.
Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Here’s a look back at some of Wednesday’s action against TCU.
LIKES
• Bidunga ready to go – It didn’t really show up on the stat sheet, but I really thought Bidunga looked ready to go in this one. And he was absolutely tested early on by former Jayhawk Ernest Udeh Jr. Bidunga was active with his hands and feet on both ends, picking up a few loose balls and rebounds on defense and flying to the rim for a lob attempt on KU’s opening offensive possession. The lob didn’t connect, but he did get to the free throw line for 2 early points. It was nothing special, but you have to remember that this was just his second career start and he’s starting in place of all-energy forward KJ Adams. For the second game in a row, Bidunga did a good job of trying to do his part to account for the energy KU’s missing with Adams out. And his production eventually matched it. Bidunga finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds (3 offensive) in 16 minutes in Wednesday’s first half. He’s had a few good ones, but this was by far Bidunga’s best game as a Jayhawk, and Kansas would not have had any shot to win without him playing so well.
• 10-2 first-half run all about pride – After digging a 24-10 hole with sloppy offense and being a step slow on defense, the Jayhawks found a little life with a 10-2 run that pulled the Jayhawks within six midway through the first half and forced TCU to call a timeout. Hunter Dickinson delivered a 3-point play, Rylan Griffen knocked down a second-chance 3-point shot and the Jayhawks had a lot more fire and fight in them during the run that got them back into the game. That run, which was fueled by KU waking up on offense and the Jayhawks’ defense turning it up a notch or two, turned into a 23-9 run that tied the game late in the first half.
• Dickinson contesting shots – There’s more to being a good defender than just blocking shots, picking up steals and being in the right spot while keeping your man in front of you. KU big man Hunter Dickinson showcased some of that during Wednesday’s game, with his effort contesting jump shots from the outside a perfect example of what else can work. He didn’t attempt to block them. That would’ve been dumb. But he got a hand up on several of them and just that long arm running out at you while you’re trying to dial it in from the outside can force a miss, which it did more times than not when Dickinson challenged shots with poise and purpose on Wednesday night.
• AJ Storr shows out – It wasn’t perfect, but it was better. And it was a big step forward for a Kansas team that has been waiting to see it. Check back later for a full reaction to Storr’s night. He deserves more than just a blurb here after that one.
DISLIKES
• Harris a rough first 5 minutes – Dajuan had a couple of uncharacteristic plays in the game’s first five minutes which really contributed to KU digging into that early hole. First, a lazy pass to Zeke Mayo was easily picked off. Then, Harris drove to the lane, jumped with nowhere to go and came down without getting rid of the ball for the travel and turnover. He made up for it in other ways and started to play even harder on the defensive end while Kansas climbed its way back into the game. But the Jayhawks can’t have those kinds of starts from one of their leaders.
• Double technical foul midway through the 2nd – You can roll your eyes about it all you want, but giving technical fouls to both TCU and Kansas (Dickinson) for the tie-up/scrum that came at the 12:55 mark of the 2nd half with KU leading by a point was just dumb. By the officials. There was nothing wrong with the way they both competed for the rebound after the tie-up and it showed great heart by both guys involved in the initial tie-up for not wanting to let go. If anything, the trio of TCU players who ran to try to yank the ball out of Dickinson’s hands after the initial tie up were the ones who were in the wrong. Dickinson was mobbed for a minute, smiling all the while, without having any kind of negative reaction to the play. In many ways, it was like a staring contest between Dickinson and the three or four Frogs who were in the mix. No harm, no foul. No need to T anybody up.
WHAT THE?
• Soft rim city – It wound up benefiting both teams eventually, but it favored TCU in a big way early on, and it was a wild sight to see. The Frogs and Jayhawks got so many rolls on the soft rims on Wednesday night, turning bad shots into points and misses into barely-mades. For a while, it was just TCU that got those rolls. But Kansas caught up and started getting its share, as well. Both rims. All night. Bringing to mind visions of the rims at Lahaina Civic Center at the Maui Invitational. I doubt anyone on either roster was complaining about it, but you just don’t see rims that soft that often.
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