Kansas Jayhawks lose on the Road to TCU Horned Frogs 74-64

The Kansas Jayhawks lose to the TCU Horned Frogs 74-64 and have now lost in back-to-back games falling to second place in the Big 12 standings.

Fresh off a tough loss to Baylor on Saturday, the Kansas Jayhawks were looking to bounce back against the TCU Horned Frogs. Unfortunately, TCU was prepared for KU and defeated the Jayhawks, 74-64. After another tough loss, the Jayhawks have now dropped to second place, half a game behind the Baylor Bears

While TCU took an early lead 7-3 in the first half, the Jayhawks immediately fought back to make it 15-9. However, neither team could really maintain much separation, and the game was back and forth for the remainder of the first half. Kansas would head into halftime with a lead, 35-34. 

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Unfortunately, the second half was much too reminiscent of the Baylor game. The Jayhawks would lose their rhythm early in the half, watching the lead consistently grow. Despite his best efforts, Bill Self could not find a consistent lineup to leave on the floor. It probably didn't help that Zach Clemence got a block and a defensive rebound in quick succession but then took a blow to the face and had to leave the game.

The Horned Frogs would start to pull away, forcing Kansas to respond. While they were able to shrink a 12 point deficit down to just four points, they never could get it closer than 68-64 with just under a minute left.

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Damion Baugh made six straight free throws to close out the scoring and ice the game, and the Horned Frogs watched the seconds tick away to seal back-to-back top 10 upsets.

The Jayhawks were abysmal shooting the basketball for the second straight game. They shot 37% from the floor and 42% from the 3-point line against TCU. They lost the rebound battle 47-35, including giving up 19 offensive rebounds, allowing TCU multiple second-chance shots at the basket.

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While Kansas shot a respectable 12-16 (75%) from the free-throw line, an area the Jayhawks have struggled at late into games, Jalen Wilson missed a crucial front end of a one-and-one opportunity that prevented two potential points late in the second half.

Kansas had four players score in double digits, led by Jalen Wilson and Ochai Agbaji, scoring a team-high 13 points. Wilson shot 6-11 from the floor and 1-3 from the 3-point line, adding seven rebounds and one assist. Agbaji shot 4-17 from the floor and 3-8 from the 3-point line. He added eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal. While there is a question about how likely this trend is to continue, it's fair to say that Agbaji has slowed down from his big-time performances early on in the season.  

Despite Kansas routinely going to David McCormack in the post, he only scored eleven points, seven of which came from the free-throw line. He also had eight rebounds to lead the team. The other big men, Mitch Lightfoot, KJ Adams, and Zach Clemence, saw limited minutes.

With the loss, the Jayhawks need to win their final two games in order to ensure that they clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title.

The Jayhawks will return to Allen Fieldhouse on Thursday, March 3rd, to take on the TCU Horned Frogs.  Tip-off is at 7:00 P.M. CST and will be aired on Big 12 Now or ESPN+.  

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