Austin Eckert | @AustinCEckert
Kansas Advances To The Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game
Kansas City, MO- Kansas men’s basketball took care of business Friday night against the TCU Horned Frogs, 75-62. The win secured them a spot in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game.
This was the third time in 11 days that Kansas has played against TCU. They both split their regular season series.
The Horned Frogs were able to create a four-point lead to start the game, but Kansas’ defense was able to hold their ground later on and create turnovers and shot-clock violations to help complement their offense.
They were led once again by Ochai Agbaji with a 22-point performance, while Mitch Lightfoot and Remy Martin also both reached double digit figures.
The Jayhawks were able to go on several double-digit figure runs throughout the half and went into the half up by 14.
The Horned Frogs were able to overcome an 18-point deficit at the half yesterday, and took down the Texas Longhorns, but their opportunity to do it again against the Jayhawks, didn’t quite exactly work out in their favor.
Kansas was able to find a rhythm in the second half and were able to create big time plays both offensively and defensively.
Agbaji’s alley-oop became a highlight reel for the whole nation and energized the team and crowd, which there were many in the stands wearing blue and red. The energy from the crowd was one of the many factors into Kansas’ success against the Horned Frogs.
Lightfoot’s three-point shot was another highlight reel that got the crowd on their feet, but it was a surprise to many on the bench, and even for Lightfoot himself.
The Jayhawks finished the game shooting 50% on the night, going 30-60 from the field goal range, and knocking down nine of their 11 free throws.
Despite the loss for the Horned Frogs, Chuck O’Bannon led the team in scoring with 15-points, shooting 6-8 in field goals, and going 3-5 in the three-point range. Behind him was Mike Miles with 14 points, going 6-13 in field goals, and only 1-4 from the three-point range.
Despite giving up 75 points, the Horned Frog defense held the Jayhawks to only six three-pointers on the night, out of 18 attempts.
The Jayhawks will play the winner of Oklahoma-Texas Tech tomorrow night at T-Mobile Center at 5 p.m. in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game. This will be their first opportunity in a while to earn a Big 12 Tournament Championship trophy.