Kansas basketball: No. 3 Kansas holds off No. 24 TCU to rise atop the Big 12

Kansas basketball

The Jayhawks ground out a tough road win versus the ranked TCU Horned Frogs to extend their winning streak to five. It was not pretty, but Kansas pulled it off to win 63-58 and move to 23-5 on the year.

It was a tough battle for KU. Scrappy loose balls and forcing some timely jump balls were what decided the contest. They overcame their 39.4% field goal percentage and 18.8% three-point percentage, holding TCU to just 30.3% from the floor themselves.

Jalen Wilson shot very poorly and scored just 7 points, yet still grabbed 13 boards. 15 points from Kevin McCullar Jr. and 8 assists from Dajuan Harris were some of the box score highlights of the night. McCullar’s presence defensively and his made free throws down the stretch proved to be the difference maker en route to the victory.

This is the kind of win that does not look pretty on the stat sheet but emphasizes just how tough this Jayhawks team is to beat. After a 55-point second half versus Baylor in their previous bout, they went on the road and played some hard-nosed basketball against a very solid team.

It can not be stressed enough how good that Kansas is playing right now. They look as complete as any team in the country, and although that does not always equate to a Final Four appearance, you can not count them out of any game no matter the deficit they might be trailing by.

AP Poll Update

It will be difficult for Kansas to jump Alabama or Houston for the No. 1 spot, but they moved up from No. 5 to No. 3 when the poll was released Monday morning. Texas and Baylor are ranked No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, while three other Big 12 schools are also in the rankings.

The current top 4 seeds could very well be all of the No. 1 seeds come March Madness, depending on how conference tournaments go. If Kansas finishes top 5 in the final AP Poll, it will have been the 6th time in 8 seasons that Bill Self’s squad has done so.

Next Game

Kansas has a four-day rest period before heading back to Allen Fieldhouse to square off against West Virginia. Following the game against the Mountaineers, the Jayhawks will return to their home court to face another bottom-ranked Big 12 team, Texas Tech. These will be extremely light contests compared to what Kansas will have to face versus Texas.