Top-ranked Houston fell to unranked Temple on Sunday a day after No. 2 Kansas was blown out by TCU at Allen Fieldhouse, marking the first time in the AP poll’s history that the country’s top two teams lost at home on consecutive days.
Damian Dunn scored 16 points and made the go-ahead free throw, Kur Jongkuch blocked Houston’s go-ahead attempt in the final seconds and Temple held on to defeat the top-ranked Cougars 56-55 on Sunday.
‘It was a cold celebration for me because the guys threw a lot of cold water on me, so it was pretty good,’ Temple coach and former Philadelphia 76ers star Aaron McKie said. ‘It’s just always fun to see guys just so excited about a win and just enjoying this game of basketball.’
On Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas, the Jayhawks were annihilated by TCU, 83-60. It was Kansas’ second-largest loss at home under coach Bill Self. The Jayhawks fell 84-59 to Texas on January 2, 2021.
Jarace Walker #25 of the Houston Cougars and Tramon Mark #12 walk off the court after losing 56-55 to the Temple Owls at Fertitta Center on Sunday
TCU guard Shahada Wells (13) comes in for a dunk past Kansas guard Joseph Yesufu (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday. TCU defeated Kansas, 83-60
Temple improved to 3-18 against No. 1 ranked teams. The Owls (12-9, 6-2 American Athletic Conference) earned their first win over a No. 1 ranked team since a 77-69 win at No. 1 Cincinnati on Feb. 20, 2000.
‘Any time you get the opportunity to beat the No. 1 team in the nation on their home floor, it was a great atmosphere and a really good win for our guys,’ McKie said.
Tied at 55, Dunn made a free throw with 1:06 left to give Temple a one-point lead. Jamal Shead missed a 3-pointer and Nick Jourdain grabbed the rebound. Dunn missed a layup with 8 seconds left, and Jongkuch grabbed the rebound, but the Owls were whistled for a shot clock violation upon review.
‘I was trying to attack the rim,’ Dunn said. ‘I was not really searching for (a call), but was trying to be aggressive and go downhill and putting the pressure on the referee.’
Trailing by one, Shead drove to the basket but Jongkuch blocked it out of the bounds with 1.3 seconds left. Tramon Mark’s tip-in attempt fell short at the buzzer to give the Owls the win.
Dunn said Jongkuch ‘really won the game for us.’
‘I saw my teammate get beat, and I’m like ‘We have to do something’ because at that [point], all bets are off, so I just went up and got the block,’ Jongkuch said.
Tramon Mark #12 of the Houston Cougars missed a shot at the buzzer as Kur Jongkuch #15 of the Temple Owls defends at Fertitta Center
TCU center Eddie Lampkin Jr. (4) works his way inside against Kansas center Ernest Udeh Jr. (23) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday
A day earlier in Lawrence, Shahada Wells scored 17 points for TCU in the upset win over Kansas.
‘Obviously it was a great win for our program,’ TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. ‘What I’m most proud of (was) how we responded. We didn’t play very well the other day (in a 74-65 loss at West Virginia). But we responded.
‘I’m really proud of our bench. I don’t think I’ve done a great job of getting them ready. I knew they were good, and we had to get them in their groove.’
The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak at home for Kansas. The Jayhawks (15-3, 5-2 Big 12), who lost 83-82 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday, had not lost consecutive games in the state since 1989, when it had home losses on Jan. 28 to K-State and on Feb. 1 to Missouri.
‘Everything they did was perfect today,’ Self said of TCU’s effort. ‘They played great. They’re so fast and so athletic off the bench. We actually got a ton of good looks in the first half. We missed a lot of layups. We have to be able to defend somebody, and we never defended them today.’
Kansas trailed by 10 at halftime and never closed the gap within single digits. TCU extended the lead to as many as 24 points. The Jayhawks shot only 32.1 percent in the second half.
‘We couldn’t score,’ Self said. ‘We didn’t guard very well and the good looks we had we missed.’
TCU (15-4, 4-3 Big 12), which shot 54.4 percent (31 of 57) from the field, got 15 points from Mike Miles Jr. and 11 from Damion Baugh.
‘We came off a tough loss at West Virginia where we didn’t play hard enough,’ Miles said. ‘We knew coming in that to beat a team like KU we had to play harder than them. We did that. We kept our lead and played harder than them.’
The Temple Owls celebrate after defeating the top-ranked Houston Cougars on Sunday
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