Photo: Russell Luna (Content Team)
LAWRENCE, KS — TCU (9-6) falls short to No. 15 Kansas (11-5) 59-51 in tonight’s matchup at Allen Fieldhouse. The Horned Frogs dismantled offense continues to cause problems for this TCU team.
TCU started the game off well and had high intensity on the offensive end of the court as well as the defensive end of the court. Freshman guard, Mike Miles, who had zero points in their previous matchup against Kansas came out of the gate with something to prove. He led TCU tonight in scoring with 18 points and had eight of TCU’s first 10 points of the night.
The Horned Frogs offense was lacking in the first half but thanks to Kevin Samuel’s help under the basket, TCU outrebounded the Jayhawks 27 to 11 in the first half helping them with second chance opportunities to score.
TCU’s defense was intense the entire first half. Kansas couldn’t buy a ticket in the gym and TCU capitalized on that. TCU kept their body in between the opponent and the basket, forcing Kansas to shoot the outside shot. Kansas shot 26 percent from the floor in the first half and 25 percent from beyond the arc.
TCU went into the locker room up 19-18. It was a very low scoring half as both teams shot under 35 percent from the floor and under 30 percent from beyond the arc.
The Horned Frogs started the second half with the same intensity as the first half. They went up on the Jayhawks by six and looked solid on offense.
Five minutes into the half, TCU’s defense started to deteriorate. Miles gets into foul trouble and head coach Jamie Dixon was forced to put tonight’s number one scorer on the bench with three fouls. With Miles out of the game, TCU’s offense was left with no guidance and they started reverting to forced shots and unnecessary turnovers. TCU had 22 turnovers on the night. They shot 35 percent from the floor, 38 percent from the three-point line, and 45 percent from the free throw line.
The lack of focus on both ends of the court for TCU gave Kansas the opportunity to pull ahead. The Jayhawks got their offense going and started to knock down shots late in the second half. With five minutes remaining in regulation, Kansas took a 10 point lead over TCU and gained momentum to finish out the game.
TCU continued to turn the ball over and Kansas capitalized on every opportunity. The 22 careless turnovers and poor shooting led TCU to a eight point loss over Kansas.
The Horned Frogs will head to Missouri to take on the Tigers on Saturday, January 30 at 1 p.m.
TCU leaders:
Mike Miles had 18 points and 4 rebounds.
RJ Nembhard had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Kevin Samuel had 5 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists.
