Wednesday
No. 5 Kansas 55, TCU 62
Yep, you read that score correctly. The 10-12 Texas Christian Horned Frogs knocked off the fifth-ranked Jayhawks in Fort Worth. This was a contest of futility. Kansas, the great storied program with a warehouse of stockpiled talent, could only muster 13 points in the first half. Thirteen. Not that TCU, with its 24 points, was much better.
The second 20 minutes was far more sporting. Both teams, thankfully, managed to hit some shots, with KU outscoring the Frogs 42-40 in the second frame. But the Jayhawks couldn’t overcome their slow start to catch TCU.
TCU’s Garlon Green had 20 points on the night, a game high. Naadir Tharpe tried to keep Kansas in it—he scored nine points over a two-minute stretch in the second half, and finished with 11.
The Horned Frogs shot 39 percent from the field. Kansas was 18-61 (29.5 percent) from the field and 16-23 from the charity stripe.
Recall, Kansas had won 18 games in a row before a loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday. Now the Jayhawks are saddled with a two-game losing streak. Coach Bill Self was beside himself after the TCU loss.
“It was the worst team that Kansas ever put on the floor, since Dr. Naismith was there,” Self told reporters. “I think he had some bad teams when he lost to Topeka YMCA and things like that in the first couple years.” Ouch.
Other Wednesday notables:
No. 11 Louisville 68, Rutgers 48
Stanford 66, No. 7 Arizona 73
No. 18 Minnesota 50, No. 12 Michigan State 61
Thursday
Colorado 48, No. 19 Oregon 47
The Ducks have really fallen off a cliff. That’s three losses in a row for Dana Altman’s club, including this one-pointer at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
With 29 seconds remaining, Colorado’s Andre Roberson missed a shot, grabbed his own rebound and scored, giving Colorado the lead. The Buffs would hold on for their 15th victory of the season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State—Nasty Nate scored 53 points on Thursday night to lead his team past IPFW, 80-74. His outburst was the most points scored by a Division I player this season, besting Travis Bader of Oakland, who scored 47 last month. Wolters shot 17-28 from the field and hit nine three-pointers! He also made 10-11 free throws, so his 15-foot game is pretty good, too.
GAMES I’LL BE WATCHING
No. 3 Michigan vs Wisconsin, 12:00 EST
Can the Wolverines beat the always-tough Badgers in Madison?
No. 5 Kansas vs Oklahoma, Saturday, 4:00 EST
After that TCU debacle, how will Kansas respond?
DePaul vs No. 24 Marquette, Saturday, 2:00 EST
A conference game DePaul might actually win (doubtful).
No. 1 Indiana vs No. 10 Ohio State, Sunday, 1:00 EST
Probably the best game of the week. I’ll be watching the Aaron Craft/Victor Oladipo matchup very closely.
St. John’s vs No. 9 Syracuse, Sunday, 3:00 EST
The Johnnies are always tough, so we’ll see if Syracuse can wrap up its 20th win of the year.
No. 13 Kansas State vs No. 5 Kansas, Monday, 9:00 EST
A great matchup in the Big 12. Will K-State take advantage of a now-struggling Jayhawks squad?
No. 24 Marquette vs No. 20 Georgetown, Monday, 7:00 EST
Some Big East bruising on tap in DC.
No. 3 Michigan vs No. 12 Michigan State, Tuesday, 9:00 EST
Another Big Ten rivalry game, this time for bragging rights in the state of Michigan.
