LAWRENCE, Kan. — Hunter Dickinson scored with 3.4 seconds left to lift No. 2 Kansas past TCU 83-81 on Saturday.
Dickinson, who led Kansas with 30 points, made a pair of free throws after a flagrant foul on TCU’s Ernest Udeh Jr. with less than a minute left to tie the score. Dickinson then followed up Dajuan Harris Jr.’s miss in the final seconds.
“I hope I don’t have to be elbowed [to the face] “I have a chance to win the game,” Dickinson said. “But I’ll do whatever it takes to win the game.”
“It’s really fun to hang out with guys that know how to win and how to get it done at the end of the day.”
Kansas (13-1, 1-0 Big 12) also got 18 points from KJ Adams Jr. Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 16 points and Harris scored 10.
TCU (11-3, 0-1) was led by Trevian Tennyson with 24 points. He was joined in double figures by Emanuel Miller with 20 points and Micah Peavy and Jameer Nelson Jr. with 10 points each.
“Tennyson was great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “[TCU coach] Jamie [Dixon] He has publicly said that he was his best shooter since Desmond [Bane]. “We did a terrible job protecting him, but I thought it was fantastic.”
Kansas didn’t have a field goal from anyone outside of Dickinson, McCullar or Adams until Harris scored a layup with 16:04 left in the second half.
“I’ve said this all along: We’re all for it,” Self said when asked if the Jayhawks need a fourth contributor. “Juan [Harris] He had a terrible first half. But then he makes the hardest shot of the game and managed to pass to win it.
“We’re all in favor of someone else stepping up. But you know, we’re not going to win all our games with four guys doing all the scoring, but that’s how it was today.”
The Jayhawks couldn’t shake off the Horned Frogs in the first half. Their biggest advantage was just six points (30-24). Every time Kansas tried to pull away, TCU responded. The Horned Frogs took two late leads before Kansas got a McCullar jumper to take a 41-40 halftime lead.
“I’m proud of our players, there’s no doubt about it,” Dixon said. “I love their execution, I love their intensity, I love the ball pressure we showed throughout the game. I’m proud of how the guys handled the last minute. I’m proud of everything they did. But we didn’t get the win. Disappointed that’s why.”
Dickinson led a trio of Jayhawks in double figures in the first half with 18 points.
Both teams shot over 50% in the first half. TCU was 17 of 33 (51.5%), while Kansas had the same number of hits with one less attempt for 53.1% from the field.
