Game Primer: How to Watch, Key Players and Important Information for Kansas Jayhawks at TCU Horned Frogs
The Kansas Jayhawks are on the road for their season finale, looking to jump up to the 6th seed and avoid having to play on Thursday night of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City. In their way is a struggling TCU squad that is playing the last home game for their head coach, who announced that she is resigning after the season ends.
TCU leads the all time series 15-10, but the Jayhawks have won the last three meetings and four of the last five. A win today would mark the second straight season sweep for Kansas.
Before today's important matchup, here are the essentials:
The Numbers
Editor's Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are provided by CBB Analytics. CBB Analytics is a new stats website in college hoops, covering both men and women's basketball in D-I, D-II and D-III. You can follow them on Twitter @CBBAnalytics
Kansas: 18-10 (8-9 Big 12): CBB Analytics Net Rating - 61st overall, 66th offense, 83rd defense
TCU: 7-21 (1-16 Big 12): Net Rating - 299th overall, 303rd offense, 240th defense
Line: KU -13.5
O/U: 128.5
How to Watch
Saturday, March 4th, 1:00 p.m. CST
Fort Worth, TX: Schollmaier Arena
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Ron Thulin (Play-by-Play), Janice Dziuk (Analyst)
Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network
- Steven Davis (Play-by-Play)
Webcast: Kansas Online Radio
Game Coverage
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Opponent Team Form
It's hard to pick out exactly what this team is trying to do, because they have been unable to do anything consistently against the various styles of the Big 12 conference teams.
The best you can say is that this is a team that tries to push the pace, likes to get the ball to the paint, and generally gets to the line at a decent clip. Defensively, their one positive attribute is their defensive rebounding percentage in the last five games, but over the course of the season they have been very mediocre at everything.
Players to Watch
The leading scorers for TCU are guard Tomi Taiwo, who averages 14.2 points per game, and forward Lucy Ibeh, who averages 10.3 points per game but only 4.7 rebounds. The leading rebounder is Bella Cravens at 6.0 per game and the leader in assists is Emily Fisher at 4.0 per game
However, with the lack of gaudy numbers from an individual and that the team only averages 59.5 points per game, it's hard to really highlight anyone from this squad.
Matchups to Watch
I expect a lot of Jayhawks to have success across the entire court, but the main thing to watch in this one is how well Holly Kersgieter has progressed since her limited action against Iowa State. Also, at what point will Brandon Schneider be able to get the reserves in for some pre-tournament action.
Prediction
I don't think there is much to analyze here. Despite their struggles, the Jayhawks are way ahead of the Horned Frogs in terms of talent, and the team is starting to find their stride again. Give me the Jayhawks big.
Kansas 82, TCU 59.
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