Here’s a closer look at why KU’s comeback effort faltered in home loss against TCU
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self’s face flushed red with anger.
TCU guard Shahada Wells had just hit a three-pointer with 10 minutes, 52 seconds left in the first half. It put the Horned Frogs up 31-13 (14-0 run) against KU on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Self had seen enough. He looked toward the official and then signaled timeout. It was KU’s third timeout in the span of 2:10 of game time.
The Jayhawks are no strangers to finding themselves down big in conference games. Kansas, however, has had massive comeback wins against Oklahoma State (15 points) and Oklahoma (10 points).
KU lost 83-82 to K-State on Tuesday, but the Jayhawks forced overtime after being down 14 points.
On Saturday, KU couldn’t recover from a 25-point deficit. The closest Kansas came was a 10-point deficit (48-38) at the half.
The Jayhawks suffered an 83-60 loss to the Horned Frogs. The victory broke an 11-game home win streak against TCU, and it was TCU’s first win in series history in Allen Fieldhouse.
“There’s a lot of simple things that we didn’t do today that, to me, put us in a situation where we had to play too good on a day where we weren’t that good,” Self said. “We put ourselves in a hole. …There’s been a lot of games where we’ve had in this building like that. And somehow or another, we make the other team shoot low percentages in the second half and climb our way back in.
“Can’t make a shot, but we’ll get a second or third opportunity and knock down that three or what. We just didn’t have any of that today.”
Kansas prides itself on defense but allowed the Horned Frogs to shoot 31 of 57 (54.5%) from the field and 8 of 15 (53.5%) on three-pointers. Coming into this game, TCU was shooting 28.7% from three.
On Tuesday, Kansas State shot 7 of 17 (41.2%) from beyond the arc.
“We have to take pride in guarding and getting stops,” KU forward Jalen Wilson said. “It’s been two games where the teams are way too comfortable against us. Kind of getting to where they want to be.
“Not even worried about offense and get back to making teams play bad — playing our game. Not having to adjust to them. Obviously, today they had anything they wanted to get. So, we got to take pride in winning our matchups, win 50-50 balls and continuing to take pride on defense.”
KU is a slower and smaller team compared to TCU. The Horned Frogs excelled at taking advantage of that — especially in their 17-0 run in the first half.
In one sequence, TCU took advantage of KU’s lethargic energy early. TCU’s Wells picked off Joseph Yesufu’s pass, rumbled into the lane and dunked over Yesefu. The dunk gave the Horned Frogs a 28-13 lead with 11:27 left in the first half.
Shortly after KU’s third timeout amidst TCU’s 14-0 run, the Horned Frogs remained the aggressors. After Kansas missed a shot, TCU guard Mike Miles received a pass off the rebound from Emanuel Miller. Miles ran coast to coast and finished a tough layup. It put the Horned Frogs up 20 (33-13) with 10:06 left in the first half.
On Thursday, Wilson had talked about KU’s need to get back in transition and defend.
Multiple times throughout this game, the Jayhawks’ defensive rotations were a step slow in protecting the rim. In transition, players were out of position and didn’t communicate. TCU finished with 42 paint points and 19 fastbreak points.
Though KU’s defense was the primary concern, the offense didn’t inspire much confidence. The Jayhawks shot 23 of 59 (39%) from the field and 7 of 21 on three-pointers (33.3%).
Multiple Jayhawks, including sharpshooter Gradey Dick, have struggled on offense lately. Dick is amid a mini-slump shooting 3 of 18 (16%) from three across the last two games.
“I am worried about them guarding somebody more than I am scoring,” Self said. “I think when you worry about the right things, you score more points. The right thing those guys need to be is we need to lock in and get stops. Understand that this guy goes right; this guy goes left.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2023 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Here’s a closer look at why KU’s comeback effort faltered in home loss against TCU."
