Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) fights for a ball with Indiana guard Xavier Johnson (0) during the first half on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas City, Mo. — Kansas point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. was convinced that his teammate, senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr., was going to win the Big 12’s defensive player of the year honor this season.

Harris’ stance made sense given McCullar’s inclusion on a couple of national defensive player of the year finalist lists. It also kept him off guard for the news that came his way earlier this week.

“It really shocked me,” Harris said Wednesday after KU’s practice at T-Mobile Center ahead of the Big 12 tournament. “I thought Kev was going to win it. Then coach called me and told me that I won it and I was just shocked. I was just happy for myself. I showed a lot this year, that I can really guard and I’ve just got to keep proving myself.”

A member of the Big 12’s all-defensive team a season ago, Harris said it was a goal of his to win the individual honor this time around.

“I was trying my hardest to win it,” Harris said. “They gave it to me so I’m going to accept it and just keep playing my game how I usually do.”

Said McCullar: “He definitely deserves it. Every night he’s out there, he’s picking up the ball full court, using energy. I call him Mr. 94 Feet. He’s up there causing havoc, getting steals and just creating tempo. It makes it easier on all our guys to lock in and take away the other scorers.”

Harris and McCullar are tied for the team league in steals, with 63, and the junior point guard leads the league and ranks sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.28 while also ranking second in the league and sixth nationally at 6.3 assists per game.

McCullar said he has one trick for his matchups with Harris when the two get paired up in practice.

“Every time he guards me, I try to go to the post and mess with him,” the 6-foot-6 McCullar said of 6-1 Harris. “It’s always fun competing against him. We play against each other all the time and it’s always a great battle. He’s going to get up on you and pressure you; you’ve got to make sure you’re taking care of it. You can’t turn your back on him (or) he’ll come around and get a steal.”

Round 1 in Kansas City

The Jayhawks are slated to face the winner of Wednesday’s the 8-9 matchup between West Virginia and Texas Tech at 2 p.m. Thursday at T-Mobile Center.

Asked about facing one of those teams for a third time this season, Harris said the key for Kansas was about what happens in their huddle far more than what the opponent does.

“Really, we’ve just got to come out with our same game plan, just come out and play hard with some energy,” Harris said. “If we don’t have that, we usually don’t end up too well. When we do come out with some energy, we’re probably one of the best teams in the country.”

The winner of KU’s quarterfinal matchup on Thursday will face the winner of Thursday’s Iowa State-Baylor matchup at 6 p.m. Friday in the Big 12 semifinals.

McCullar dealing with back spasms

KU coach Bill Self said Wednesday that McCullar was limited in practice on Wednesday while dealing with back spasms.

At the time, Self said he did not know for sure whether McCullar would be available to play in Thursday’s quarterfinal game, but he said he was hopeful he would play and expected the senior guard to do everything he could to be out there.

KU women to face TCU

A few hours after the men’s game goes final, the Kansas women’s basketball team will take on TCU in the 7-10 matchup at Municipal Auditorium, with both teams vying for a spot in the women’s quarterfinals on Friday.

Brandon Schneider’s team finished the season with a 9-9 record in conference play and 19-10 overall mark.

The Jayhawks enter the postseason on three-game winning streak and with a NET ranking of 35, which puts them in a favorable position for inclusion in this month’s NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

The Jayhawks are 14-25 all-time at the Big 12 tournament, in-cluding a record of 10-9 in first-round games. KU has dropped its last three games at the event, including a 75-72 loss to TCU in the first round in 2021. The last win for Kansas in the Big 12 tournament came over Oklahoma State in 2019.