No. 2 Kansas aims to regain its footing following a slight stumble when it hosts No. 14 TCU on Saturday afternoon in Big 12 action in Lawrence, Kan.
The Jayhawks (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) saw their 10-game winning streak come to a halt with an 83-82 overtime loss at No. 13 Kansas State on Tuesday.
Jalen Wilson recorded a career-high 38 points to go along with nine rebounds while playing all 45 minutes versus the Wildcats.
Wilson’s performance aside, Kansas was plagued by foul trouble, mediocre foul shooting (70.6 percent, 24 of 34) and worse efficiency from 3-point range (20.7 percent, 6 of 29).
“The great thing about basketball is we’ll have another game in two days, three days. We can’t dwell on this,” said Wilson, who boasts team-leading averages in points (20.8) and rebounds (8.9) this season.
“We have another good team coming up and we’ll see them again. That’s the beauty of the Big 12.”
KJ Adams Jr. made all six of his shots from the floor and finished with 17 points. He has posted double-digit scoring performances in 11 straight games after failing to reach that mark in the previous seven to start the season.
Dajuan Harris Jr. had a career-high 11 assists on Tuesday to boost his team-leading average to 6.5 for the season.
Harris, however, turned the ball right before the buzzer to seal Kansas’ fate.
“If you told me we’d have the ball with a chance to win twice, that’s something I’d probably sell out for,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “That last possession is one possession I probably wish we could take back.”
Like Kansas, TCU (14-4, 3-3) bolted out of the blocks to start the season. The Horned Frogs won 13 of their first 14 games before hitting a wall and losing three of their last four games.
TCU coach Jamie Dixon was left looking for answers after his team was taken to task on the boards in a 74-65 setback to West Virginia on Wednesday.
“The rebounding numbers are hard to fathom, 31-18, so that just got to us,” Dixon said. “Their 14 offensive rebounds to our four was hard to handle, and we’re a low-turnover team and we go for 19. … I don’t know how many charges we had that were called, but we must’ve set a record, I think.”
Mike Miles Jr. served as the bright spot for the Horned Frogs by collecting 21 points and a career-high five steals.
Miles, who sports a team-leading average in points (19.1), made 8 of 12 shots from the floor to record his 20th consecutive double-digit scoring performance dating to last season.
Last season, Miles scored 19 points in TCU’s 74-64 win versus Kansas on March 1 before being limited to just five two days later on 2-of-12 shooting from the floor. That didn’t cut it in a 72-68 setback to the Jayhawks.
Chuck O’Bannon Jr. totaled 15 points and Miles added 14 in TCU’s 75-62 loss to Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.
–Field Level Media
