Kansas Pulls Away For Rare Win at West Virginia, 71-58

Kansas channeled its inner 90s rock band Lit when it was its own worst enemy against West Virginia on Saturday night. But even when getting in their own way with careless turnovers, the Jayhawks still left Morgantown with a 71-58 win.

Ochai Agbaji was adding another reel to his National Player of the Year resume early, both hitting three-pointers and getting to the basket as West Virginia closed out hard on shooters all game. Early contributions from Jalen Coleman-Lands and Joseph Yesufu extended Kansas’ lead to 20-9 but seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes and nine in the first half allowed West Virginia to claw back to just a six-point halftime deficit.

A missed dunk by David McCormack followed by a Mountaineer three cut the Kansas lead to 33-30 before Agbaji and McCormack put together a 9-0 run. But then West Virginia answered with a 10-0 run of its own and again it was Kansas by one.

Defense and fouls were the story of the second half. Yesufu played meaningful minutes and a heady play to get a steal and layup on a Mountaineer inbound was followed by KU forcing another TO with a layup to Agbaji. Then the foul calls and free throws came. The Jayhawks were 13-16 from the line in the second half alone, while the Mountaineers were 9-13.

West Virginia also hit six second-half threes to keep it close, but Agbaji and Jalen Wilson came up big to keep the Mountaineers at arm’s length for the remainder of the game. Kansas ended the game with 15 turnovers and hit only 3-11 from deep, but was strong from the paint, shooting 48% from inside the arc.

Agbaji led all scorers with 23 points, while McCormack (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Wilson (10 points, 8-9 from the line, 11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles. Christian Braun was a point away from a double-double with nine points and 11 boards. Yesufu played 13 big minutes as one of Kansas’ primary ball-handlers and finished with four points and two assists.

The win keeps Kansas in first place in the Big 12 by two games in the loss column. The Jayhawks will face Kansas State in Lawrence on Tuesday.