Game Day Notes
KU junior Keith Langford is treated to a homecoming game and Kansas faces its first road test of the season, as the team travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to take on the TCU Horned Frogs on Monday, Dec. 1, at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Jayhawks (2-0) are coming off a huge win, as they knocked off No. 3 Michigan State, 81-74, on Tuesday night in Allen Fieldhouse. In a physical battle between two national powers, Kansas never trailed in the game en route to its fourth straight win over a top-10 ranked opponent.
The Horned Frogs (1-0) are under the direction of former Jayhawk assistant coach Neil Dougherty, and are 1-0 on the year heading into Saturday's game with Tulsa. The Frogs are led by Marcus Shropshire and Chudi Chinweze, who each average 14.0 points per game. TCU returns two starters and seven letterwinners from a team which went 9-19 last season and finished in seventh place in the National Division of Conference USA.
Monday's meeting between KU and TCU will be the third all-time between the two schools, with the Jayhawks holding a 2-0 series lead.
Last Time Out
Sixth-ranked Kansas defeated third-ranked Michigan State, 81-74, on Tuesday, Nov. 25, in Allen Fieldhouse. The win improved the Jayhawks' record to 2-0 on the year and marked KU's first win over MSU since March 21, 1986.
KU junior forward Wayne Simien led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 9-of-9 shooting from the line. Simien also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Aaron Miles chipped in with 17 points and seven steals, while junior guard Keith Langford added 13 points.
Simien scored 18 points in the first half as the 'Hawks took the lead at the 16:38 mark and never looked back. KU outscored MSU 10-0 on fast break points and held a 38-31 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Kansas shot 51.7 percent from the field and grabbed a 17-point lead at the 14:02 mark. MSU closed the gap to four points after a Paul Davis dunk at the 2:32 mark making the score 76-72. The Spartans shot 57.7 percent from the field but turned the ball over 10 times in the second stanza. Late free throws by Miles and junior Michael Lee sealed the game, 81-74.
Maurice Ager led the Spartans with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and knocked down 4-of-5 three point attempts. MSU forward Paul Davis added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Alan Anderson scored 16 points and dished out seven assists. The Spartans committed 24 turnovers leading to 34 points for the 'Hawks.
Opponent Update
TCU is 1-0 on the year heading into Saturday's game with Tulsa. The Horned Frogs opened the year with a convincing 87-58 win over Texas-Arlington on Nov. 22 in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Marcus Shropshire and Chudi Chinweze lead TCU with 14.0 points per game apiece. Chinweze and Marcus Sloan share team-high honors with 6.0 rebounds per game. Shropshire paces the squad with 8.0 assists per game. The Frogs are averaging 87.0 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting from the floor. TCU is coached by former KU assistant Neil Dougherty, who is 10-19 in his second season with the Horned Frogs and as a head coach overall.