Kansas took the court Thursday in the Big 12 tournament without Josh Jackson, suspended for a violation of team rules. TCU entered the quarterfinal matchup seeking its first two-win showing in a conference tournament since 1997, when it was in the WAC.
From the start of the game, the Frogs showed they were unafraid and at the end of the game it was Kansas, the No. 1 team in the country, that made the game-deciding error.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk jumped to contest Desmond Bane’s 3-pointer with less than three seconds left, and fouled him on the way down. The penalty awarded three free throws to the Frogs. Kansas got the ball with 2.5 seconds left and ran a play to set up Devonte’ Graham for a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it bounced off the back of the rim and TCU emerged victorious.
Here is what it means for Kansas, TCU and rest of the Big 12 tournament.
Kansas will still be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament: No matter what happens the rest of the weekend, Kansas should still be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, likely in the Midwest Region. The Jayhawks have done enough this season to still have a top-line profile even with the loss to TCU, and now they get some extra time off to prepare for the tournament run. No loss is a good loss, but considering Jackson was out and it doesn’t shake up their postseason seeding this result doesn’t hurt them too badly.
The loss was, however, historic: It’s only the second time that Kansas has lost its opening game in the Big 12 tournament. The other defeat came against Baylor in 2009. On the other side, the win for the Frogs marks the first time that TCU has won two games in conference tournament play since 1997. That year, in the WAC, TCU was bounced by Keith Van Horn and the Utah Utes.
This was a huge win for Jamie Dixon: Dixon played at TCU, and his move from Pittsburgh to take over the program raised some eyebrows. After the game, Alex Robinson was gushing about the job his coach did preparing them for the Jayhawks and the tournament. “We just listened to what our coaches said,†Robinson repeated over and over, in different ways. Dixon was keyed in and charged up throughout the game, and now he has a win against the No. 1 team in the nation to his name at the end of a challenging first year on the job.
The bracket is wide open for West Virginia, Baylor and Iowa State: TCU will try to continue this great run against Iowa State in the semifinals Friday, but this is mostly great news for the rest of the title contenders. Kansas had the best odds to win the tournament, and now it looks like Monte Morris and Iowa State will have a much easier path to the title game if they can take care of business against the Frogs.