Hunter Dickinson hits game-winning basket as Kansas escapes TCU
Kansas found itself in a tight battle with TCU in its Big 12 opener on Saturday, needing some late-game heroics from Hunter Dickinson. With the game tied and the seconds ticking off the clock, Dajuan Harris lobbed a pass to Dickinson in the low post.
With two Horned Frogs defenders closing in on him, the big man put the ball on the floor and went up for the go-ahead bucket. He banked in the shot off the backboard to give the Jayhawks an 83-81 lead with 3.4 seconds remaining. TCU called timeout after the make from Dickinson to set up one final play, but missed the potential game-winning 3-pointer as KU hung on for the win.
You can view the basket from Dickinson below.
It was a fitting end to a dominant day from the Jayhawks center, who lead all scorers with 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting. He also added 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season as Kansas improved its record to 13-1 (1-0 Big 12).
TCU managed to stay within striking distance of throughout the game. The Horned Frogs trailed only 41-40 at the half after Kevin McCullar hit a jumper with 21 seconds remaining to give KU the lead.
Things remained neck-and-neck to start the second half as TCU raced out to an early lead. The teams continued their back-and-forth battle all the way down to the final minutes of the game, where TCU found itself up 79-77 with just 1:38 remaining.
That’s when some controversy occurred involving Dickinson.
A loose ball came up quite high and TCU’s Ernest Udeh Jr. skied to rebound it. When he came down with the ball his arm flailed out and hit Dickinson, who was behind him. Dickinson dropped to the floor and officials quickly whistled play dead as TCU took the ball up the court.
Referees ruled it a flagrant foul, sending Dickinson to the line for two free throws. He made both, tying the game. CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore disagreed with the call, saying he believed it should have resulted only in a common foul.
Kansas was rewarded with the ensuing possession thanks to the flagrant, and the Jayhawks promptly converted it into a go-ahead bucket, fully capitalizing on the controversial call.
TCU answered with a bucket of its own to once again tie things up with 26 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, it would be short-lived as Dickinson went down to nail the game-winning on the very next possession.
With the win, Kansas will likely hold on to its No. 2 spot in the AP poll. The Jayhawks next have a matchup coming up against UCF on Jan. 10.