McCormack scores 20 as Kansas coasts to 93-64 win over TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas — David McCormack scored a season-high 20 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures as the No. 6 Jayhawks matched the Big 12 record by winning their 11th consecutive conference road game, 93-64 over TCU on Tuesday night.

The Jayhawks (9-2, 3-1 Big 12) matched the league mark they initially set 18 years ago. The win in Fort Worth came only three days after their 25-point loss at home to Texas that matched the most lopsided win by an opponent in the 65-year history of Allen Fieldhouse.

Even without starting senior guard Marcus Garrett, still recovering from an elbow to hit in the Texas game, the Jayhawks had little trouble against a TCU squad that had won its previous five games.

Ochai Agbaji added 19 points, while Jalen Wilson had 16, Tristan Enaruna 12 and Christian Braun 10.

Chuck O’Bannon Jr. had a career-high 18 points to lead the Horned Frogs (9-3, 2-2). R.J. Nembhard had 14, below his Big 12-leading scoring average of 18.7 points and ending his streak of four 20-point games in a row.

Garrett was at the game but not in uniform. He missed the final seven minutes of the Texas game after getting hit in the head by an inadvertent flying elbow from Longhorns forward Jericho Sims when going for a rebound.

TCU was within 28-24 after scoring seven consecutive points in 41 seconds, that spurt capped by Nembhard’s alley-oop pass to Kevin Samuel for a dunk after PJ Fuller‘s steal. The Jayhawks called timeout, then responded with a 12-2 run that put them up by double digits the rest of the game.

Wilson started the KU spurt with a 3-pointer, and the freshman from nearby Denton also had a breakaway layup after getting a rebound on Mike Miles‘ 3-point attempt that didn’t even make it to the rim. A strong inside move by the 6-foot-11 McCormack around TCU big man Samuel stretched the lead to 40-26 with just over five minutes left in the first half.

The Jayhawks still led by 14 at halftime before McCormack had five free throws, one as part of a three-point play, and Agbaji made a 3-pointer in a quick 10-2 run to start the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: An impressive bounce-back for the Jayhawks, who are 98-13 after a loss in coach Bill Self’s 18 seasons. After last season becoming the first Big 12 team to go 9-0 on the road in the same season, they have won their first two league road games this season — they won 58-57 at No. 18 Texas Tech in their conference opener on Dec. 17. Their previous 11-game Big 12 road winning streak was between Feb. 25, 2001 and Jan. 6, 2013.

TCU: A frustrating night for the Horned Frogs, who were looking to build on the momentum of their winning streak. Miles was averaging 14.8 points per game, already with three 20-point games. He was scoreless while missing all eight of his shots, although did have only one turnover in his 28 minutes.

UP NEXT

Kansas is home Saturday against Oklahoma.

TCU hosts its second consecutive Top 10 opponent when No. 2 Baylor visits Saturday.