Hawking Points: Kansas Survives Hot TCU Shooting to Open Big 12 Play with a Win

The Jayhawks move to 1-0 in conference play with an 83-81 victory Saturday.

Saturday was a pretty good representation of what life in the Big 12 is like. It’s a grind. And the Kansas Jayhawks had to grind out a tight 83-81 win over TCU to move to 1-0 in conference play.

Key Plays

Kevin McCullar found Hunter Dickinson for an easy layup on the first possession of the game. After a TCU miss, Dickinson drained an open three and it looked like KU was going to be in good shape. TCU responded with its own 5-0 run before KJ Adams put back a missed three by McCullar. Adams was all over the boards early, but the Horned Frogs made their first two threes, which is uncharacteristic of them, giving them an early 11-9 lead.

Dickinson couldn’t be stopped early, scoring nine of KU’s first 13 points. TCU kept its hot shooting but Johnny Furphy provided a spark off the bench and Adams brought the crowd to its feet with a major alley-oop dunk from McCullar to make it 21-16.

Despite KU’s turnovers, Dickson put on a clinic in the first half, scoring from all over the court, including back-to-back baby jumpers to give him 13 in the first 13 minutes. Then it was Adams’ turn, throwing down a slam from Dickinson and then flushing home a McCullar missed three. TCU got hot offensively but Dickinson hit his second three to keep KU up 35-30. He then threw down a miss for his 18th point of the half.

The Jayhawks defense was brutal in the first half as TCU got whatever it wanted inside, taking a lead in the final minute of the half. McCullar hit a jumper and Dajuan Harris took a charge to give KU a 41-40 lead at the break.

TCU’s hot shooting and KU’s turnover woes remained to start the second half, allowing the Horned Frogs to get out to a 49-45 lead. Harris’ first bucket cut the lead to one and Nick Timberlake twice sacrificed his body to keep the ball inbounds and turn TCU over. Then it was Timberlake with a layup on the press break to give Kansas the lead back. After TCU hit a three, Timberlake buried his first to make it 53-52 Jayhawks.

TCU hit another three — it was 6-13 from deep at this point — but then Furphy answered with his own triple. Another three put TCU up two, 60-58, before Dickinson tied it. The Horned Frogs went on a 5-0 run before Harris and McCullar cut it to one with two layups, the second by McCullar coming after a steal. Jameer Nelson Jr. missed a pair of free throws and Adams drew an and-one on the next possession but missed his free throw.

Dickinson single-handedly gave KU a three-point lead but TCU got multiple 50/50 balls, which ended in an and-one. Harris knocked down two free throws and then TCU sank its eighth three of the day to take the lead. Former Jayhawk Ernest Udeh made two free throws to extend the lead to three for TCU. McCullar and Harris hit three of four from the line to tie it with 2:30 to play.

TCU continued to make big shots, taking the lead 79-77 in the final two minutes, while Kansas missed seven shots in a row. Dicksion was hit in the face after a turnover by Udeh with a minute left but was called a flagrant. Dickinson made both free throws to tie it and Kansas got the ball back and Harris hit a floater. TCU answered to tie it and Kansas got the final shot and Dickinson finished a layup with 3.4 left.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

Dickinson recorded his second 30-point game of the year – the other coming against Chaminade in Hawaii – and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Adams also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He and Dicksinson combined for 14 of KU’s 16 offensive rebounds. Adams also went 7-8 from the field, making his first seven shots.

McCullar ended with 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists, though it wasn’t his best shooting game, making just 6-16 from the field and 1-5 from deep. Harris also ended in double figures with 10, all in the second half.

TCU hit 8-21 from three and shot 46% from the field. Trevian Tennyson went 6-8 from three on his own, and it was his first time making more than three triples in a game this year. KU, meanwhile, made just 5-14 from three but shot 53% from the field. Furphy and Timberlake also combined for nine points off the bench.

Areas of Improvement

TCU is excellent in forcing live-ball turnovers, and Kansas played into its hands early. Kansas had nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game and it never got much better. TCU ended the game with 16 steals on 18 total KU turnovers. And it’s on these live-ball turnovers where TCU can shoot such a high percentage from inside the arc.

Outside of ball handling and passing, Kansas played a fairly good game, TCU was just on fire shooting the ball. Though there were multiple times when the Jayhawks were slow to grab a loose ball after a miss or tipped pass and TCU regained possession. Kansas has to be more alert on the defensive end.

Takeaways

TCU played excellent and Kansas did just enough, which is what you have to expect in league play. Every Big 12 game is a grind, and once again, KU showed it can make enough big plays when it needs to come away with victories.