Jayhawks battle TCU in Big 12 quarterfinals. Key injury updates, betting lines, and insights on the unique LED court surface revealed.
Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026
Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. CST
Location: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO.
TV: ESPN2
Announcers: Jon "Boog" Sciambi (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst), Angel Gray (sideline)
Radio: Jayhawk Sports Network
Betting Line: Kansas -5.5
Who? No. 6 Seed TCU (22-10, 11-7) vs. No. 3 Seed Kansas (22-9, 12-6)
Vitals
No. 3 seed Kansas opens Big 12 Tournament play Thursday night against No. 6 seed TCU in the quarterfinals at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
The Jayhawks (22-9, 12-6 Big 12) enter the matchup after a 104-85 Senior Day win over Kansas State and have been one of the conference’s best defensive teams all season. Kansas leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage defense (38.7%) and blocked shots (5.9 per game), anchored by Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Flory Bidunga, who averages 13.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
Freshman guard Darryn Peterson leads Kansas offensively with 19.9 points per game and has scored 20 or more points nine times this season.
Head coach Bill Self said Kansas practiced on the tournament court early to adjust to the unique glass LED surface.
“The floor was fine, but it did seem a little different from a traction standpoint compared to a majority of the courts in our league,” Self said.
Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Kansas enters as a 5.5-point favorite.
Inside Kansas Head Coach Bill Self's Comments About The Glass LED Court
Question: You mentioned practicing on the tournament court early. Why was that important?
Self: Brandon actually helped us with that. He said if he was me he’d get over there early because it’s a little bit different. I talked to the brass in the Big 12 office and they thought it was a good idea too.
The floor was fine, but it did seem a little different from a traction standpoint compared to a majority of the courts in our league.
Question: Do you have to adjust if a court has less traction?
Self: I don’t know. Football players wear longer cleats or something like that. We can’t do that, but we can put some slip-knot on the bottom of our shoes every timeout if it becomes an issue. A lot of that is in your head too.
Projected Starting Lineups
Kansas Jayhawks
Darryn Peterson
Melvin Council Jr.
Tre White
Bryson Tiller
Flory Bidunga
TCU Horned Frogs
Brock Harding
Jayden Pierre
Micah Robinson
David Punch
Xavier Edmonds
Injury Report:
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