West Virginia May Have Kicked Kansas Out Of Top 25 For First Time Since 2009
No. 17 West Virginia (13-5, 6-3) got revenge on No. 23 Kansas (12-7, 6-5) Saturday afternoon in Morgantown. When the two teams squared off on December 22, the Jayhawks dealt the Mountaineers their second loss of the season.
The tables turned, however, on Saturday when the Mountaineers' 91-79 victory marked the fifth tally in the Jayhawks' loss column over the last seven games.
After knocking down 11-of-21 shots from beyond the arc, West Virginia outperformed Kansas' defense in a way that few have been able. The Mountaineers' 91 points were the second-highest allowed by the Jayhawks defense this season, trailing only No. 1 Gonzaga who put up 102 points against Kansas on November 26.
The Jayhawks have not been withheld from the AP Top 25 for a single game since February 2, 2009. Thanks to the Mountaineers, Kansas is now at risk of seeing the first demerit on their perfect 12-year record when the new polls are released on Monday.
“We won’t be ranked next week, nor do we deserve to be ranked,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said following Saturday's game. “Now we have a chance to get back in there if we start doing some consecutive things well. It's a pretty remarkable streak.”
Kansas may find some relief over its next four-game stretch, as they'll play only teams who are not currently included in the Top 25. The Jayhawks coming schedule includes a matchup against Oklahoma State, who defeated No. 6 Texas Saturday, back-to-back games against Iowa State, and a contest against Kansas State.
“They’re all important and they all add up the same at the end," Self said of the approaching schedule. "There’s an opportunity playing at home the next two games to get some momentum. We've got to look at that as an opportunity and certainly want to make the most of that.”
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