First half

•  Key play: KU freshman Ben McLemore drilled a three-pointer with 15:27 left, extending the Jayhawks’ early run to 11-0.

•  Key stat: McLemore outscored TCU 10-9 in the first half.

Second half

•  Key play: Senior guard Travis Releford had a layup that pushed the score to 44-15 early in the second half.

•  Key stat: Kansas outrebounded TCU 32-21.

Johnson endures stomach problems

Kansas coach Bill Self revealed after the game that senior guard Elijah Johnson had been battling a stomach issue in the days leading up to Saturday’s game.

Johnson finished with seven points and four assists while knocking down his only three-point attempt.

“He’d had some stomach issues that we thought potentially may be serious about the last three or four days,” Self said. “But we know what’s wrong, and he’s gonna be fine. But he was struggling out there a little bit today.”

Johnson, who has played through a prolonged shooting slump, is averaging nearly 10 points per game in KU’s last three games and has shot just one three-pointer in KU’s last two games.

When asked to elaborate on Johnson’s stomach problems, Self said Johnson had cramps that might have been related to a bout with the flu.

• Self has a chance to reach a milestone victory — No. 500 — Monday at Iowa State. The fact the game will take place away from Lawrence led to an amusing moment at Saturday’s postgame news conference. Self was asked whether he’d rather reach the milestone at Allen Fieldhouse.

“That’s not a very good question,” Self said, adding that he had plenty of other reasons to hope for a victory on Monday.

Self, who has a career mark of 499-162, has a 292-57 record in 10 seasons at Kansas. He was 78-24 in three seasons at Illinois, 74-27 in three seasons at Tulsa and 55-54 in four years at Oral Roberts.

• It had been a while since freshman forward Perry Ellis had seen the ball go in the basket with consistency. That changed Saturday when Ellis finished with 12 points off the bench, his best performance in Big 12 play.

“It starts in practice,” Ellis said. “I’ve just been trying to practice hard every time, and Jeff (Withey) and Kevin (Young) and all them really helped me out. They’re really pushing me to step up to the next level.”