Kansas basketball: Mitch Lightfoot helps Jayhawks swat Frogs
By Stan Unruh
Kansas basketball picked up a huge road win Saturday night. The Jayhawks held off TCU 88-84 in Fort Worth.
Kansas basketball came out swinging and focused. Bill Self and the Jayhawks desperately needed a road win after Tuesday’s night loss at home. The Jayhawks got a huge effort from Devonte Graham. The senior followed a 27-point performance Tuesday with 28 points including 8 free throws in the final minutes to lead the team to victory.
Udokah Azubuike and Svi Mykhailiuk were outstanding early. Svi hit 3 early 3-pointers. He also hustled back on defense for an amazing shot block that upset the Frog fans. The senior also hit a big 3 late in the second half and finished with 20 points.
Azubuike was strong in the paint but had foul trouble. His ten points in 7 minutes of first half play were huge. He finished with 14 points in just about 13 minutes of action. Dok’s foul trouble allowed Mitch Lightfoot to get 26 minutes of playing time. He definitely made the most of it.
At one point, Lightfoot had two blocks, an offensive rebound and scored with a foul in just a matter of seconds. The 6-foot-8 sophomore also drained a 3point shot, scored 9 points and had a career high 6 blocked shots. That sixth blocked shot will long be remembered. He slapped away Jaylen Fisher’s three-point attempt with 34 seconds left.
Free throws were the difference
Jayhawks fans were worried when TCU trimmed the lead to 1 early in the second half on a 9-zip run. Had the Frogs shot better from 3, it might have been closer. TCU missed 14 threes through the first 35 minutes of action. Coming into the game the Frogs shot 41 percent from beyond the arc. The Jayhawks held them to 31 percent Saturday.
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Coach Self used a 2-1-2 zone late. The Jayhawks also hit some big free throws. The team missed 7 free throws earlier in the second half but made a big 6 –zip run all on free throws after TCU tied the game at 77. As a matter of fact, the 23 Jayhawk free throw made the difference in earning the road win.