KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Kansas basketball weathered an inconsistent performance Thursday, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference men’s tournament, and exited with a 78-73 win against TCU.
Despite opening the game on a 9-0 run, and the Horned Frogs not scoring for more than five minutes at the beginning of the first half, the Jayhawks still trailed at halftime 34-31. KU (23-9) was able to prevail in a back-and-forth second half, though. Led by freshman Darryn Peterson’s 24 points and eight rebounds, Kansas eliminated TCU (22-11) from the Big 12 tournament.
KU, which also saw sophomore Flory Bidunga finish with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, seemingly lived at the free throw line during this contest. The Jayhawks finished shooting 30-for-37 from the free throw line, while the Horned Frogs shot 14-for-18. TCU coach Jamie Dixon often appeared frustrated, especially in the second half, about his perception that his team wasn’t getting a fair whistle during this matchup.
Kansas now looks ahead to a Big 12 tournament semifinal game on Friday against No. 2 seed Houston, which is set to tip off at 8:30 p.m. (CT) at the T-Mobile Center. The Jayhawks have faced Houston once before this season, at home. KU won that game 69-56 inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball eliminates TCU from Big 12 tournament with win