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Quick recap: Jayhawks turn in well-rounded effort to snap early deficit at TCU, win 74-61

Quick recap: Jayhawks turn in well-rounded effort to snap early deficit at TCU, win 74-61

On January 23, 2025By Littum

Photo by AP/Tony Gutierrez

Kansas forward Flory Bidunga (40) looks to make a pass as TCU’s Noah Reynolds (21) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025.

Fort Worth, Texas – The Schollmaier Arena crowd was energized as it had been all Wednesday night, fired up by TCU’s renewed power on the field, until a pair of much-maligned Jayhawks combined to put Kansas back in front midway through the second half.

AJ Storr hit a deep stepback jumper, David Coit drained a 3-pointer in transition, and then Storr dunked the ball from Vasean Allette before finally scoring on a putback layup. The stretch of seven straight points fueled a massive run that turned a 48-47 deficit into a 61-50 lead.

After trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, 12th-ranked Kansas finished with a 13-point victory, 74-61.

It was a night of notable statistics for KU in an all-around team effort: Storr reached double figures for the first time since Jan. 5, Shakeel Moore did it for the first time as a Jayhawk and freshman Flory Bidunga posted his first ever. double-double (with four blocks, no less).

Even with such a wide array of contributors, center Hunter Dickinson continued as KU’s leading scorer with a total of 16 points on the night. Zeke Mayo completed the quintet of Jayhawks in double figures with 12 points.

For TCU, Noah Reynolds nearly matched Dickinson with 14, and Vasean Allette scored 13, while Brendan Wenzel added 11.

A turnover-filled start prevented either team from making a field goal for two and a half minutes before Ernest Udeh Jr. finished off an alley-oop from Allette. KU was down 8-4 when TCU forward David Punch, who had previously been 1-for-7 on 3-pointers all season, hit one late in the shot clock. Then Udeh outmaneuvered Dickinson for an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play. That run of six straight extended to a combined 15-2 stretch before Coit sank a pair of free throws, his first since mid-November, to make it 18-8.

The Horned Frogs took their biggest lead of the night yet when leading scorer Reynolds, who had missed much of the start of the game due to foul trouble, made it 24-10 with a transition layup. However, KU showed its first signs of life as Dickinson got involved in her first five points of the game and Rylan Griffen drained a second-chance 3 to cut the margin to six.

KU got as close as 30-27 on a layup by Bidunga and had a chance to make it even more, but Griffen stepped out of bounds as he received a pass from Dickinson. On TCU’s next possession, however, Reynolds rounded a screen to hit a straight 3.

Bidunga committed his second foul with just under four minutes remaining in the half but remained in the game. The Jayhawks caught a break when Wenzel missed two free throws. Bidunga scored again to give himself 10 points and seven rebounds in the game, and with a minute and a half left in the half, Mayo drained a floater to tie the game at 33.

However, he made a bad pass that led to a layup by Allette, who led all scorers with 11 points at halftime.

Moore hit a 3-pointer early in the second half that gave KU its first lead since the score was 4-3, but the Jayhawks committed a series of turnovers that prevented them from doing much more. Zeke Mayo again came from deep, meaning the Jayhawks needed just five minutes to surpass their first-half 3-pointers made total (one).

With 13 minutes remaining, TCU’s Trazarien tied White Dickinson when the center went for an offensive rebound and he and several other Frogs tried to rip the ball away from Dickinson for an extended period, effectively bringing him right up to the base of the TCU student section. The officials eventually assessed both Dickinson and White with technical fouls, but on the ensuing possession, White made a lob that put the Frogs ahead 48-47.

Led by Storr and Moore, KU began a 12-2 run, including a 3-pointer and fast-break dunk by Moore. The Frogs’ Reynolds made it a six-point game with a 3 with just over five minutes left before Moore connected again, giving him three 3s in a half compared to two the rest of the season.

The Jayhawks will return home to host No. 7 in Houston on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Cougars remained undefeated in the Big 12 by dominating Utah 70-36 on Wednesday night.

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