Tyshawn Taylor drives against Davidson in the second half Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City, Mo. ? Kansas University senior guard Tyshawn Taylor started and played 33 minutes just eight days after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

“He felt fine. The doctors said he was fine,” KU coach Bill Self said after Taylor scored 15 points with seven assists, three steals and five turnovers. “The medical staff says he looks super.”

Not fired up: KU junior Elijah Johnson said the Jayhawks were not ready to play.

“We’ve got to start the game with all five people on the same page every game. We can’t have one person 90 percent in it,” he said, not naming any names. “We need everyone 100 percent focused. We usually are like that. Today we were a little sluggish. I don’t know if nine days (between games) took a toll. We’ll get it fixed.”

Sluggish: Self said his team looked “tired” and that was not something he could explain. “We’ll practice hard but not long the next couple days,” he said. KU will meet USC at 10 p.m. Thursday at Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Award: Taylor has been named one of 65 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, it was announced Monday. The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in college basketball.

Taylor was one of 20 finalists for the award last season.

Other Big 12 players on the list: Pierre Jackson, Baylor; Michael Dixon, Missouri; Myck Kabongo, Texas; and Dash Harris, Texas A&M.

This original list of candidates will be narrowed to a final 20 by Jan. 1, final 10 by Feb. 1 and final five by March 1.

Faces in crowd: Former KU players Matt Kleinmann, Christian Moody and Alonzo Jamison attended Monday’s game.

Stats, facts: Thomas Robinson had a career-high 18 rebounds. … KU is 13-3 at Sprint Center. It was KU’s first loss in the building since a 61-60 decision to UMass on Dec. 13, 2008. … KU’s 58.1 percent from the free-throw line was its worst of the season. The Jayhawks shot just 40.3 percent from the field, which is their second-lowest percentage of the year … Davidson’s 80 points tied for the most points allowed by the Jayhawks this season (Long Beach State), while the Wildcats’ 47 second half points tied the most points in half by a KU opponent this year (Kentucky). … Travis Releford had a career-high four steals.