- HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors - http://www.hoopsworld.com -
Last-place TCU shocks Kansas
Posted By HOOPSWORLD On February 7, 2013 @ 2:01 am In All,Wirenews | Comments Disabled
by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports
FORT WORTH, Texas — Bill Self paced and cringed, shook his hands and head and eventually just placed his fingers over his eyes. Like most Kansas fans, Self could barely bring himself to watch his Jayhawks author their worst offensive half of his 10-year tenure.
After losing at home to Oklahoma State on Saturday, Kansas’ first loss since Nov. 13, the Jayhawks figured to blitz Big 12 bottom feeder TCU on Wednesday night. But in a season defined by historically low scoring nationwide, the fifth-ranked Jayhawks turned in an unsightly offensive performance in a 62-55 loss against a team that was winless in Big 12 play. And a sea of delirious fans flooded the court after one of the most improbable results of the season.
Kansas (19-3, 7-2 Big 12) scored six points in the game’s first 16 minutes en route to a 13-point first half at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, where many purple-clad Horned Frogs fans appeared as much in disbelief as the Kansas players. The 13 points was the lowest total in a half at Kansas since the school began keeping such records in the 1988-89 season.
The Jayhawks, who entered the game leading the league in field goal percentage (47.8 percent), made 3 of 22 field-goal attempts in the first half. Redshirt freshman Ben McLemore, the Big 12′s second-leading scorer, missed all six of his field-goal attempts in the half.
After facing a 16-point deficit with 11 minutes to play in the game, order was restored, at least momentarily. The more athletic Jayhawks pressed and turned the game into a scramble, engineering a frenetic rally to cut the deficit to single digits. But their fortunes faded amid a flurry of errant shots. And the zaniness in this unique season continued.
As teams continue to play musical chairs atop the polls, this result will resonate as a jaw-dropper throughout the season. If there had been any doubt about how wildly unpredictable this March figures to be, fans can look no further than Wednesday’s game here. Under first-year coach Trent Johnson, TCU (10-12, 1-8) was ranked 161st in the RPI and had not won a … [For more on Last-place TCU shocks Kansas; Jayhawks score 13 first-half points, click here.]
Article printed from HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors: http://www.hoopsworld.com
URL to article: http://www.hoopsworld.com/last-place-tcu-shocks-kansas-jayhawks-score-13-first-half-points
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2012 HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors
Part of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group.