West Virginia Stunned in the Second Round of the Big 12 Championship

The Mountaineers were knocked out of the Big 12 Championship by the last place Colorado Buffaloes

Mar 12, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) and Colorado Buffaloes forward Andrej Jakimovski (23) collide under the basket during the first half at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY – West Virginia built a 13-point first half lead, but the16th-seed Colorado
Buffaloes (14-19) never folded and battle back in the second round of the Big 12 Championship, shoot 60.9% in the second half to knock off the Mountaineers (19-13) Wednesday afternoon 67-60.

West Virginia senior guard Javon Small started the game with a three and sophomore guard Sencire Harris followed with a short one-hander, then a steal and the lay-in, but the Buffaloes kept pace and tied it at seven after a three from sophomore forward Bangot Dak in the opening three minutes.

After Colorado started 3-5 from the field, the West Virginia defense held the Buffaloes to 1-12 while Small complied 13 first half points to build a 27-14 lead with 8:02 remaining in the half.

Colorado switched to a zone defense, and it slowed the WVU offense, holding the Mountaineers scoreless for over five minutes of play before senior guard Toby Okani hit a one-hander in the paint. However, the Buffaloes stormed back into the game. Senior forward Andrej Jakimovski produced seven of Colorado’s nine points in the final seven minutes to guide the Buffaloes back within six, 29-23, at the half.

West Virginia and Colorado were off to a slow start to begin the second half, but Colorado cut it to three after sophomore guard RJ Smith buried a three from the left wing to cut the WVU lead to three, 31-28, at the 16:39 mark.

West Virginia stretch its leads to nine with a 5-1 spurt with senior center Eduardo Andre throwing down an alley-oop and freshman guard Jonathan Powell stepped in front of the pass and raced to the other end, got the bucket and the foul for 42-33 lead near the midway point of the second half.

West Virginia would go on another five-minute scoring drought as the Buffaloes went on a 15-0 run with freshman guard Felix Kossaras and Smith combining for 10 points to take a 52-46 lead with 5:15 remaining in the game.

Sophomore forward Amani Hansberry pulled the Mountaineers within three, but senior center Elijah Malone fought his 12th point of the second half in the post and Smith hit a three for 11 second half points to push the Colorado lead to eight with just over a minute to play.

Small hit consecutive threes to cut the deficit to four and for a game-high 23 points but missed the next two as Colorado finished the game from the free throw line to pull off the upset, 67-60.