KU-TCU notes: Freshman Bane beats Jayhawks with late free throws

Desmond Bane drifted to the corner, accepted a pass from Alex Robinson, and launched a possible game-winning three with just under three seconds left in Thursday’s Kansas-TCU Big 12 tournament quarterfinal game at Sprint Center.

The shot never reached its target.

The 6-foot-5 freshman from Richmond, Ind., was fouled by KU’s Svi Mykhailiuk and calmly drilled three free throws with 2.5 seconds left to give the Horned Frogs an 85-82 win over the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks.

“We ran a high ball screen for one of our better penetrators, Alex Robinson, and I know he likes to throw that drift pass to the corner and I was spotting up, hands free, ready and he found me and I shot and luckily I got fouled, stepped to the line, all my teammates came to me, tried to calm me down, make sure everything was cool and I stepped up to the line and knocked them down,” said Bane, who scored 16 points.

Mykhailiuk thought he blocked Bane’s shot, but hit him with his body resulting in both players hitting the deck.

“Obviously that’s a play we work on over and over again and Desmond got to the right spot. I was just hoping he was OK,” said TCU coach Jamie Dixon, whose team entered the Big 12 tourney on a seven-game losing streak. “He got knocked, he got hit so hard I was wondering if he was going to be able to shoot the free throws. He’s the guy we wanted shooting.”

After wins over Oklahoma and KU, his team is in the semifinals and will meet Iowa State at 6 p.m. Friday at Sprint Center.

T talk

Dixon received a technical with 4:20 left in the first half. It followed a Lagerald Vick bucket off a pass from Landen Lucas.

“Compared to what Bill’s was, I mean he got his money’s worth. I didn’t get mine, that’s for sure,” Dixon said.

KU’s Bill Self received a T for yelling at an official after a goaltending call on Mykhailiuk on a shot by Brandon Parrish with 16:59 to play.

“It’s just part of the game. It’s not an easy game to ref, two teams were playing hard and it’s just part of the game. But I’ve gotten more Ts in this league than in the ACC and Big East combined,” Dixon said.

Of his own technical, Self said: “First of all it’s fine he gave me a T. I wasn’t cussing or anything but it’s fine. He gave Jamie one earlier. He probably had to give me one. I was under the impression and was told I was wrong. …

“I didn’t realize at the time but if it’s a rule, it’s a rule. In the NBA, if the ball’s off the backboard, it’s automatic goaltending. In college and high school, it’s always been if the ball is going up even if it’s hit the backboard, it’s not goaltending. I was told after I got a T the rule has been changed. If that’s the case, which I’m sure it is, then obviously he made the right call. It had no chance to go in (but) he obviously made the right call.”

KU’s bench was outscored 34-3.

“It seemed like there was such a dropoff when we made any substitutions today,” Self said. “I’m not being critical on purpose with our guys but I think that’s pretty factual. We had our five straters out there and were pretty good. Whenever we had to go to the bench, it wasn’t very good today.”

Defense rests

Self was not pleased with KU’s defense. The Frogs hit 49.2 percent of their shots, including 6 of 16 from three. KU was 10 of 30 from three and hit 44.6 percent overall.

“We didn’t play bad offensively, we just weren’t good defensively,” Self said. “We’ve got to tighten some things up. We’ve got to get more guys making positive contributions.”

Long distance

KU’s 30 threes were a season-high. KU attempted 29 in a loss at West Virginia, making 13. KU hit 10 on Thursday. The school record for three-point attempts is 34 versus Alcorn State in 2009 and Temple in 1995.

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 8:51 PM with the headline "KU-TCU notes: Freshman Bane beats Jayhawks with late free throws."