Kansas survives TCU’s upset bid in Big 12 opener

It looks as if Kansas coach Bill Self was correct when he said the Big 12 Conference was going to be a monster this season.

His Jayhawks on Friday night received a stern test in the league opener from TCU, the team picked to finish last in the league in the preseason coaches poll. The Jayhawks prevailed 86-80 behind 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds from Landen Lucas, as well 22 points from Frank Mason, 17 from Lagerald Vick, 12 from Svi Mykhailiuk and 11 from Devonté Graham.

It was a narrow victory for KU (12-1), which trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, eventually recovering to lead the Frogs 48-44 at the break.

The Jayhawks, who have started their quest for a 13th straight regular-season conference crown, overcame a stellar effort from forward Vlad Brodziansky, who scored a career-high 28 points before a sellout crowd of 6,700 in Schollmaier Arena.

It was a game in which Josh Jackson picked up his third foul in trying to grab an offensive rebound and immediate fourth foul when he was tooted for a technical in bouncing the ball hard in protest with 18:07 left, KU leading 50-46. Self also received a technical on the play, sending TCU’s Brodziansky to the line for four free throws. He made three and cut the gap to 50-49.

Jackson fouled out with 4:28 left and had four points in 12 minutes in his Big 12 debut.

KU made 20 of 25 free throws in the victory while canning 43.3 percent of its floor shots.

Mason and Vick scored 12 points apiece, while Lucas grabbed 10 rebounds and chipped in eight points in the first half.

It’s remarkable the Jayhawks finished just shy of 50 points the initial half, considering they missed 13 of their first 16 shots.

KU went 15 of 20 the final 12 minutes and wound up erasing a double-digit first-half deficit. TCU, which was paced by forward Brodziansky’s 15 first-half points, led by as many as 10 points (17-7 and 22-12).

The Horned Frogs (11-2) stormed to a 7-0 lead, forcing Self to call a time out 3:02 into the game. Brodziansky had four points, including a drive and dunk in the game-opening run. KU missed its first seven shots, finally scoring at 16:45 on a dunk by Lucas.

However, the Frogs upped their margin to 11-2, 14-5 and 17-7. The Jayhawks, who trailed 22-12 at 11:11, used a 14-4 run to tie the contest at 26. The run extended to 24-8 and KU led, 36-30, at the five minute mark. Mason had six points and Vick four in the 14-4 surge. Mason had eight points, Svi Mykhailiuk six and Lucas four overall in the 24-8 run.

Both teams hit five threes the first half, KU going 5 of 13 and TCU 5 of 8. KU hit 7 of 8 free throws; TCU 11 of 13 the first half.

Kansas entered Friday’s game with a 12-1 record all-time against TCU. The Jayhawks had won eight straight in the series.

Worth noting — KU will have a recruiting visitor for Tuesday’s Kansas State game. Former Arizona State player Sam Cunliffe, a 6-6 shooting guard out of Seattle’s Rainier Beach High, averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds while starting 10 games before electing to leave ASU halfway through his freshman year.

Cunliffe was scheduled to be at Georgetown this weekend prior to the KU visit. He will visit Seattle University on Jan. 5. Cunliffe was ranked No. 36 in the recruiting Class of 2016 by Rivals.com. If he enrolls for second-semester classes, he’ll be eligible as a sophomore starting second semster of the 2017-18 season.

This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Kansas survives TCU’s upset bid in Big 12 opener."