FORT WORTH, Texas _ 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 Devonte 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 just four points in 12 minutes in his Big 12 debut.
KU did hit 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 KU coach Self to call a time out just 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 3s 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.
The Jayhawks will next meet Kansas State at 8 p.m., Tuesday, in Allen Fieldhouse. That game will mark KU's 250th straight home sell-out.
KU will have a recruiting visitor for the KSU game in former Arizona State player Sam Cunliffe, a 6-6 shooting guard out of Seattle's Rainier Beach High. He averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game 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 semester of the 2017-18 season.
KU has won 46 consecutive games in Allen Fieldhouse, fourth-longest streak in fieldhouse history. Kansas has an overall homecourt win streak of 49 games, which according to NCAA rules, includes three regular-season games contested in Sprint Center.
K-State, which opened Big 12 play versus Texas on Friday in Manhattan, went 11-1 in the nonconference season.
