LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas’ basketball players returned to Allen Fieldhouse this week after completing an unsuccessful three-game road trip that featured losses at Oklahoma State, Baylor and Oklahoma.
Hoping the overall home environment would spark a convincing victory against TCU on Thursday night, the No. 15-ranked Jayhawks instead struggled and scored just 18 points in the first half and trailed by as many as seven points in the second before rallying to a Tyon Grant-Foster-led 59-51 victory before 2,500 fans.
Grant-Foster — who started the second half with Dajuan Harris, along with the regular starters David McCormack, Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji — scored five quick points in the final half and finished with nine points and five rebounds in sparking KU to its 11th win in 16 games. KU is 5-4 in the Big 12.
McCormack led the way with 15 points and six boards and Agbaji 13 points for KU, which trailed 19-18 at halftime. Their 18 points was the lowest total in a half since scoring 13 total in the first half of a 62-55 loss at TCU on Feb. 6, 2013. Garrett had eight points and seven rebounds and Harris seven points and three assists.
TCU, which was clobbered 93-64 by KU on Jan. 5 in Fort Worth, Texas, fell to 9-6, 2-5. The Horned Frogs, who have lost four straight games, were led by Mike Miles and RJ Nembhard, who had 18 and 12 points respectively.
Grant-Foster’s driving layhup gave KU a 45-43 lead at 7:51. Grant-Foster grabbed a rebound and scored to make it 47-43. Then McCormack hit the first three-pointer of his career in three tries and it was 50-43 at 3:52.
It was 50-44 Kansas when Agbaji and Garrett put down back-to-back dunks to make it 54-44 at 3:10. TCU did cut it to six points in the final moments.
KU coach Bill Self, who had said he might switch his starting lineup in response to the team’s three-game losing streak instead went with the regular unit of McCormack, Garrett, Agbaji, Christian Braun and Jalen Wilson.
However he did bring in Harris for Wilson at 16:08 when TCU raced to a 10-2 lead (thanks to eight points from Miles.
The Jayhawks were flat out embarrassed in a first half in which they scored 18 points on 8-of-26 shooting and trailed 19-18 at the break.
Miles ripped off eight early points and TCU led 10-2 at 16:58. The Jayhawks had an 11 minute, 13 seconds scoring drought in the half and had just 14 points with 2:44 left in the half.
KU is set to next meet Tennessee in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge game at 5 p.m., Saturday, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. TCU will travel to Missouri for a 1 p.m. game in the Challenge.
The Jayhawks will return to Big 12 competition on Feb. 2 against Kansas State (7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse).
