March 12, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Elmarco Jackson (13) brings the ball up the court during the first half of a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Image Darryn Peterson scored 16 of his 24 points after halftime to help No. 14 Kansas survive a 78-73 victory over TCU in the final Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri.
Peterson was inefficient, going 5-for-17 from the floor, but made up for it by hitting 13 of 16 free throws in 37 minutes. He added eight rebounds and three steals for third-seeded Kansas (23-9), which faces second-seeded and fifth-seeded Houston in the semifinals later Friday.
Flory Bidunga had 13 points, 10 boards and three blocks, while Elmarko Jackson and Bryson Tiller each had 13 points to help Kansas win back-to-back games for the first time in more than a month.
David Punch led sixth-ranked TCU (22-11) with 24 points (18 of them in the second half) and 10 rebounds. Liutauras Lelevicius added 14 points and Jayden Pierre had 13 points with a team-high three 3-pointers for the Horned Frogs, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.
After a tight second half in which neither team was ahead by more than six points, Kansas scored six straight points on a Tiller dunk to take a 70-63 lead with 3 minutes, 22 seconds left.
A Kansas scoring drought lasted 2:41, but TCU failed to take advantage, missing four straight shots and turning it over five times in the final 4:20. The Horned Frogs had 14 turnovers, 11 of which came after halftime.
TCU’s Micah Robinson hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left, and Punch sank another after Kansas attempted two free throws to put the Horned Frogs up 76-73. Jackson iced the game with two free throws and went 10-for-10 from the stripe.
Kansas shot 37.9 percent from the floor overall and just 23.5 percent (4 of 17) on 3-pointers. The Jayhawks scored 26 of their 47 points in the second half from the free throw line, shooting 81.1% overall (30 of 37).
Despite trailing 9-0 at halftime, TCU took a 34-31 lead into halftime on Pierre’s 3-pointer with 13 seconds left. The Horned Frogs led Kansas 12-0 midway through the first half.
TCU turned it over just three times in the first half, but shot 39.4% from the floor and 38.5% (5 of 13) from beyond the arc.
Lelevicius was the only exception to the small shooting, making 4 of 5 field goal attempts and scoring a game-high 11 first-half points on both 3-point attempts.
Peterson led the Jayhawks with eight first-half points and helped overcome Bidunga’s early foul trouble. Vidunga committed two fouls in the first 10 minutes of play.
–Field level media
