National Basketball Association
Kansas 87, Texas Christian 68
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
Officials:
# Michael Greenstein, # Kipp Kissinger, # Kelly Self
Attendance:
16300
By The Sports Xchange
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Move over UCLA. Make room for Kansas.
The third-ranked Jayhawks, who played one close game after another during the past month, pulled away from TCU with a sizzling second half Wednesday night on the way to a history-making, 87-68 victory in Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks (25-3, 13-2 Big 12) clinched at least a tie for their 13th consecutive regular-season conference championship, tying UCLA for the all-time mark.
"It's great, but tonight shouldn't be about 13," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "It should be about this team, and Brandon."
Self was referring to former Kansas great Brandon Rush, who had his jersey raised to the rafters during a halftime ceremony.
Balance was the name of the game for the Jayhawks as Frank Mason led the way with 20 points, playing all but the final 66 seconds. Devonte Graham (17 points), Josh Jackson (15) and Carlton Bragg (15) also had big games.
Mason, one of the top contenders for national player of the year, finished with four assists and just one turnover. Jackson added another double-double to his resume, contributing 11 rebounds and four assists, while Graham had seven assists on his birthday.
"We talked before the game about how we've been playing in too many close games lately," Graham said. "It was nice to not worry about that tonight."
Bragg gave the Jayhawks a huge lift off the bench by tying his career high in points and adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Horned Frogs (17-11, 6-9) failed in its bid to win for the first time in Lawrence. Alex Robinson paced TCU with 15 points, Jaylen Fisher added 11 and JD Miller had 10. Kenrich Williams grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and led the team with four assists.
TCU led for much of the first half behind a 26-18 advantage on the boards, including 11 offensive rebounds, but ended up trailing 40-39 at intermission.
Jackson gave the sellout crowd a scare midway through the first half when he went down with a right ankle injury. However, after making a trip to the locker room, the freshman was back on the court less than five minutes later.
"I had sprained it in practice a couple days ago," Jackson said. "I wasn't worried. I knew I'd be all right. I knew I'd be back out there."
Kansas led just 60-53 with 11:00 remaining but broke things open with a 9-1 run.
"They've got a lot of good players and are obviously well-coached," TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. "That's a good combination."
The Horned Frogs were held to 37 percent shooting the final 20 minutes and outrebounded by 25-12 after intermission. Overall, Kansas shot 47.5 percent on field-goal attempts, while TCU finished at 39.1 percent. The Jayhawks made 19 of 27 foul shots, and the Horned Frogs were 8 of 12 from the line.
After the game and following a highlight film, athletic director Sheahon Zenger presented the Kansas seniors the Big 12 regular-season trophy -- with the previous 12 on display on the Fieldhouse floor.
"I thought that was a great video, one of the best we've had," Self said. "We've had a lot of hard-rocking guys who have played here over the years."
NOTES: The Jayhawks will look to clinch the Big 12 outright title Saturday at Texas. TCU plays host to No. 12 West Virginia on Saturday. ... Kansas has been involved in seven games decided by six points or fewer, and five games decided by four points or fewer. ... TCU's six conference wins are the most since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 during the 2012-13 season.
Top Game Performances
| Texas Christian |
|
Kansas |
|
Alex Robinson 15 |
Scoring |
Frank Mason 20 |
|
Alex Robinson 4 |
Assists |
Devonte' Graham 7 |
|
Kenrich Williams 12 |
Rebounds |
Josh Jackson 11 |
|
JD Miller 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Devonte' Graham 6 |
|
Kenrich Williams 2 |
Steals |
Devonte' Graham 1 |
|
Vladimir Brodziansky 4 |
Blocks |
Carlton Bragg Jr. 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Texas Christian
|
68 |
39.1 |
6-23 |
8-12 |
16 |
33 |
8 |
4 |
9 |
| Kansas
|
87 |
47.5 |
10-23 |
19-27 |
19 |
39 |
6 |
3 |
10 |
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