Horned Frogs vs Jayhawks: Game Predictions

The quarterfinals of the Big 12 Men's Championship didn't end without a huge upset AND a huge comeback, but fortunately the Kansas Jayhawks weren't on the receiving end of either of those.

Instead their opponent tonight, the TCU Horned Frogs came back from a huge halftime deficit to advance over the Texas Longhorns. Given the proclivities of this offense to go cold at times, it is legitimate to worry that the Jayhawks could be on the receiving end of a similar run tonight.

Will Kansas be able to use the momentum from that offensive explosion to push past the Horned Frogs again? Or will TCU be able to shake off any injury worries to nab another big upset and move further up the pecking order in the NCAA Tournament selection process? Our crew gets together to tell you what we think you can expect to see today.

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Kyle Davis: There should be no overlooking TCU on the way to the Big 12 title game after the fight the Horned Frogs gave Kansas last week. Mike Miles ankle injury is a big factor, as even if he plays, he’s unlikely to be 100%. Once again, the rebounding battle will be key. I think competitiveness on the boards and KU (Ochai in particular) shooting better from outside sends the Jayhawks to the championship game on Saturday.

Kansas 75, TCU 69

Brendan Dzwierzynski: I think it can only help Kansas that they had a minimally stressful quarterfinal before this grudge match with TCU. Can Ochai Agbaji build on the momentum from yesterday and start to string a couple good games back to back again? Will the Jayhawks simply make open looks? If that happens, I like KU to win the rubber game.

Kansas 74, TCU 67

Lucas Murphy: The Kansas Jayhawks unleashed an onslaught against the Mountaineers, which saw Bob Huggins ejected from the game. Now the Jayhawks take on a very hot TCU Horned Frogs team. TCU is very physical on the boards which aided them coming back against the Texas Longhorns. The bigs for Kansas are going to have to play exactly that, big. Both Mitch Lightfoot and David McCormack are going to need to play very well. There is no question this will be a tough game for the Jayhawks, but I believe they will prevail.

Kansas 78, TCU 74

Derek Noll: Kansas got to rest a few guys, tinker with some guys, and overall got to relax on Thursday. TCU didn’t. This game will be tough, but Kansas’s legs will prevail and they’ll advance to the title game.

Kansas 79, TCU 69.

Andy Mitts: Thanks to a friendly whistle (or lack of a whistle in general), the Jayhawks were able to rest David McCormack and get extended minutes from multiple bigs, most notably Mitch Lightfoot.

Additionally, I'm not convinced that we got the best game we could have from Agbaji, and it was pretty clear that Kansas left a lot of potential production on the bench as they tried to incorporate more of the bench players (which is a good thing!)

I don’t think that it’s likely that Lightfoot can repeat that performance, as Eddie Lampkin should be formidable on the inside than Gabe Osabouhien was able to be on the inside yesterday. All that to say that David McCormack is going to have to step up if the Jayhawks are going to win this one.

Ultimately, I think the way we get to the result is going to be a lot different, as the starters will get a better chance to keep in rhythm, but TCU will put up much more of a fight. I still think the Jayhawks have what it takes to pull it off though.

Kansas 72, TCU 65

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