The outcome of Wednesday night's Big 12 matchup between No. 12/11 Kansas (14-4; 5-2) and TCU (10-8; 3-4) didn’t look promising for Bill Self and the Jayhawks with 9:51 left in the first half.

Kansas, following a layup by Noah Reynolds, found itself down by 14 points, 24-10, and, having reached the halfway point of the first half, looked to be in danger of dropping its third Big 12 conference game.

It didn’t take long for Bill Self’s squad to respond to the double-digit deficit. Just when it looked like Kansas was on the verge of stumbling on the road, the Jayhawks responded with a run that cut the 14-point deficit to just two points, 35-33, at halftime.

It didn’t take long for Kansas to seize momentum early on in the second half. Zeke Mayo, with 19:36 left in the game, tied the game with a pull-up jump shot on the first possession of the second half. Shakeel Moore, with 18:48 left in the game, put the Jayhawks up three when he pulled up from behind the arc following a TCU turnover.

TCU, with 12:44 left on the clock, quickly regained the lead by one point, 48-47, but it would be the last lead of the game for the Horned Frogs.

AJ Storr gave Kansas the lead for good, 49-48, with 11:30 remaining in the game, with a step-back jump shot that turned out to be one of the biggest possessions of the game for Kansas.

KU’s lead increased to four points after David Coit nailed a three, and after a TCU turnover, Storr gave the Jayhawks a six-point lead with 10:01 left on the clock.

Leading by four points, 54-50, at the 8:52 mark of the second half, Moore hit another three, which put Kansas up by seven points, 57-50.

A turnover by TCU, which led to a dunk by Moore, put Kansas up by nine, 59-50, with 7:55 left in the game.

The Horned Frogs pulled to within six points, 61-55, with 5:21 on the clock, but would get no closer.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Kansas, once trailing by 14 points, had emerged victorious over TCU, 74-61.

“That’s as bad as a team can look starting the game,” said Bill Self. “We weren’t ready to play, slow, they were good, we couldn’t guard, and then, for whatever reason, the light switched and it came on. 62-35 (run) on the road, the last 30 minutes, or whatever, so that’s pretty good.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen that very many times,” he added. “TCU has got a good team; they just won at Baylor, and we actually defended them pretty well. Our guards, I thought, took a challenge the second half and guarded their guards one-on-one, as opposed to letting them get downhill.”

For the first time this season, or at least one of the few times, the pieces constructed by Self and his staff appeared to all be in place against TCU.

Hunter Dickinson scored a game-high 16 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and dished out four assists. In 33 minutes of action, Dickinson hit 7-of-10 field goals and was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

Zeke Mayo, in 32 minutes, scored 13 points, pulled down two rebounds, and dished out two assists.

Mayo, against TCU, was 6-of-9 from the field and 1-of-3 from behind the arc.

One might say that AJ Storr had his coming out party against TCU on Wednesday night. After struggling for much of the season, Storr, in 22 minutes, scored 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.

Storr also pulled down six rebounds, dished out one assist, and had three steals..

Shakeel Moore came up big for Kansas with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. He also pulled down two rebounds, dished out two assists, and had two steals in 24 minutes of action.

Flory Bidunga, KU’s final double-digit scorer, added 10 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks, while David Coit finished with five points (a big three and two made free throws) in nine minutes of action.

“I’m proud of everybody,” said Self. “I thought Flory was great, and I thought he was the best player in the first half, without question. I thought Hunt (Hunter Dickinson) had a solid game. I think he can play better, but I think he had a solid game. Zeke (Mayo) and Juan (Dajuan Harris) obviously struggled, but Diggy (David Coit) made a big shot, which was a bonus.

“AJ (Storr) and Shak (Shakeel Moore), it was their night tonight,” he added. “They were both terrific.”

Kansas doesn’t win in Fort Worth without Storr and Moore having big-time performances.

When looking back at the second-half performance of each, it's easy to see how big both were against the Horned Frogs

AJ Storr (second half at TCU)

14:46 — His steal puts Kansas up by 4-points

14:43 — His dunk puts Kansas up 4-points

12:04 — Steal

11:30 — His jumper puts Kansas up 1-point

10:07 — His steal leads to a 6-point Kansas lead

10:01 — His jumper puts Kansas up 6-points

7:13 — His jumper puts Kansas up by 11-points

4:05 — His layup puts Kansas up by 10-points

3:20 — His assist puts Kansas up by 10-points

Shakeel Moore (second half at TCU)

18:48 — His three-pointer puts Kansas up by 3-points

10:29 — His assist puts Kansas up by 4-points

8:22 — His three-pointer puts Kansas up by 7-points

7:55 — His dunk puts Kansas up by 9-points

5:01 — His three-pointer puts Kansas up by 9-points

Storr and Moore, without question, were big-time difference makers in the second half.

“He (AJ Storr) played to his athletic ability,” said Self. “That lob he caught, where he came down with it, you know, that was a big-time, athletic play.

“Then he got a couple of steals, also,” he added. “I thought he played really well, and it was great to see. We desperately need him to give us that.