After falling against Texas Tech last Saturday, TCU returns to the friendly confines of Schollmaier Arena in search of its 14th home victory of the season. To do so, the Horned Frogs (15-5, 2-7 Big 12) will have to take down the Kansas Jayhawks.
TCU is 13-1 in Fort Worth this year, with the lone loss being to Oklahoma State on Jan. 6. The home forfeit, due to a lack of available players, doesn’t count towards the team’s overall record.
“The fans are always awesome,” TCU guard Agness Emma-Nnopu said. “I love playing in front of the Frog fans.”
Three out of the next four games will be at home for TCU.
Kansas (11-10, 4-6) sits in a tie for eighth place in the Big 12 with Oklahoma State and is coming off a big win versus BYU on Jan. 31.
Jayhawks’ center Taiyanna Jackson played a major role in Kansas’s latest victory. Her 25 points alongside an astronomical 22 rebounds and five blocked shots propelled the Jayhawks over the metaphorical finish line. It was also her 36th career double-double, third-most in Kansas women’s basketball history.
Jackson’s presence in the paint has been an issue for defenses all season. She’s averaged 11.8 points per game and 9.5 rebounds. However, she does struggle at the free throw line, shooting just 46 percent from the charity stripe.
Two other key members of the Jayhawks’ offensive system have been S’Mya Nichols and Holly Kersgieter. Nichols, a freshman guard from Overland Park, Kan., leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game. That’s good enough for 13th best in the conference (TCU’s Madison Conner is second in the Big 12 in scoring at 21 points per game).
Kersgieter, just like Conner, is a three-point shooting machine. She leads Kansas in three-point shooting percentage (44 percent) and has averaged 10.8 points per game. Despite her offensive prowess from behind the arc, she’s struggled recently. She hasn’t scored a point in her last two games and didn’t even start in the team’s win against BYU.
For the Frogs, injury concerns remain a question mark, specifically with the availability of Conner, who has missed the last two games. They managed to scratch out a victory against UCF without her, but her presence was sorely missed in the loss at Texas Tech, where the offense struggled mightily for much of the game.
TCU’s last two games have started well, but terrible second quarters have put them behind the eight-ball. In the Frogs’ win versus UCF on Jan. 23, TCU outscored their opponents 27-15 in the first quarter but were outscored 16-6 in the second. The same was true in the defeat in Lubbock but on a much larger scale. The Red Raiders outscored TCU 25-8 in the second frame after the Frogs had won the first quarter 18-7.
“We were just too casual with the ball [in the second quarter],” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said after the Texas Tech loss.
“We got to do a better job taking care of the basketball. You can’t have 22 turnovers and expect to win on the road,” he added.
Tip-off is at 6 p.m. CST on Saturday, Feb. 2 from Schollmaier Arena. The game will stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
