Mike Miles Jr. poured in 19 points and Damion Baugh added 11, with six on free throws in the final 46 seconds, as surging TCU ran past No. 6 Kansas 74-64 on Tuesday in a key Big 12 Conference game in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (19-9, 8-8 Big 12) built a 12-point lead with seven minutes to play via their defense and opportunistic offense. Kansas pulled to within 68-64 on two free throws by Ochai Agbaji with 47.2 seconds left — which was as close as it had been to the lead since the 12:12 mark — but that’s as near to the front as it would get.
TCU cemented its victory with six straight free throws by Baugh, captured its second consecutive win over a Top 10 ranked team and its fourth this year against an AP Top 25 team, the most in program history.
The teams will square off again on Thursday in Lawrence, Kansas, as part of a COVID-influenced home-and-home back-to-back.
Emanuel Miller also scored 11 points for the Horned Frogs.
Jalen Wilson and Agbaji led the Jayhawks with 13 points apiece, with David McCormack adding 11 and Christian Braun scoring 10. Kansas (23-6, 12-4) is a half-game behind No. 3 Baylor for the conference lead.
The Jayhawks jumped out to a 15-9 lead at the 13:36 mark of the first half on the strength of seven early points from Wilson but TCU responded, using an 11-5 run to tie the game at 20 after a layup by Francisco Farabello.
The Horned Frogs moved to the front and led 34-29 when Charles O’Bannon Jr. canned two free throws with 1:53 to play in the half. Kansas answered with 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by Agbaji and Jalen Coleman-Lands that granted it a 35-34 advantage at the break.
Wilson and Miles had nine points each to lead their respective teams at halftime.
TCU dominated the first seven minutes of the second half, sweeping to at 50-43 lead while the Jayhawks made just two of their 12 shots from the floor over that stretch. Kansas was within five points after a jumper by Remy Martin with 9:02 to play.
That’s when the Horned Frogs produced a 7-0 run on a jumper and a 3-pointer by Miles and a dunk by Xavier Cork to stretch the margin to 61-49.
–Field Level Media
