The Kansas Jayhawks’ rule over the Big 12 could be coming to an end. With three losses in their last four games, though one was out of conference, the Jayhawks bid for a 15th straight regular season conference title is hanging in the balance. They’re not out of the picture by any stretch trailing K-State by just two games in the loss column. Playing on the road has been a nightmare for KU with just one win, and they travel to Fort Worth for a matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs looking to snap a four game road losing skid.
Kansas Jayhawks at TCU Horned Frogs
Date and Time: Monday, February 11, 2019, 9 p.m. ET
Location: Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena, Fort Worth, TX
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Kansas at TCU TV Coverage: ESPN
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This might be the worst Kansas team Bill Self has had during his tenure. Or, as we’ve seen over the years, the Big 12 could be the best league in college basketball. The Jayhawks’ run to another league title has taken a hit with their inability to win on the road. And the team got more bad news when Lagerald Vick was granted an indefinite leave of absence this week.
Their road loss to Kansas State last week was the Jayhawks third straight in league play and fourth in a row overall. They are just 1-6 away from Allen Fieldhouse this season. Two of the defeats came against Texas and West Virginia, two teams in the bottom half of the Big 12 standings. The loss at WVU was the most excruciating since the Mountaineers are at the bottom of the standings and below .500 overall.
Things were looking good for TCU at the beginning of the season. The Frogs won 12 of their first 13 games, including a takedown of Baylor in the Big 12 opener. However, a visit to KU changed everything. The Frogs failed again to win in Lawrence and their confidence was shot. Including that game, TCU is just 4-5 in its last nine and narrowly ended a two-game losing streak with a 2-point win over Oklahoma State on Wednesday. After losing at Baylor and Texas Tech by a combined total of 45 points, the Frogs will look to improve on their 11-1 home record.
Last Meeting
It’s hard enough to win inside Allen Fieldhouse when you play a near perfect game. Commit 20 turnovers and shoot less than 70 percent from the free throw line makes it nearly impossible. And that’s what TCU did when the teams met for the first time this season last month.
Not surprisingly the Jayhawks exited that game with a win, taking down the then-25th ranked team in the country 77-68. Dedric Lawson was the hero for Kansas with a double-double of 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Vick scored 12 points with four assists. Despite the turnovers TCU stuck around, closing within two points midway through the second half. Lawson ended the drama by scoring the next nine points.
TCU entered the game as the best field goal shooting team in the Big 12 and made 46.3 percent of its shots. That number went south near the end of the second half when the Frogs missed six of their final seven attempts.
Injury Report
KU was already playing without Udoka Azubuike, who was lost for the season in early January with a hand injury. Now the Jayhawks will have to navigate through the foreseeable future without their undisputed leader in Vick, who left the team for personal reasons.
A standout on last season’s squad, most expected Vick to enter the NBA draft. He didn’t and returned to Lawrence for his senior season. Whatever his reason is for leaving, it appeared to affect him recently. Vick played only 19 minutes with seven points at K-State and his numbers have been steadily declining. In the team’s losses, Vick is averaging 10 points per game, over four points per game less than his season average.
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Not only do the Jayhawks have to overcome the loss of their senior leader, they must deal with a road record that sucks. Teams are taking advantage of the depth problem and outside of Lawson, there is no consistent scorer. That means it would be a smart play on KU’s under on the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu. It’s hard to imagine the Jayhawks losing again on the road, but this isn’t your typical KU squad. The Frogs are looking for revenge from that earlier loss and they’ve been very successful on their home floor with a good chance of extending KU’s woes.
College Basketball Score Prediction: TCU 74, Kansas 69
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