MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In an offensive shootout, West Virginia men’s basketball never slowed down offensively, taking down No. 3 Kansas, 91-85.
West Virginia made 12 three-pointers, and show 52 percent from the field, while they made nine free throws in the final 34 seconds, sealing the win.
As cold it was outside the WVU Coliseum on Saturday evening, it was a much different temperature from beyond the arc in the first half.
Kansas jumped out to a 7-2 lead, as they hit two three-pointers in the first three minutes. West Virginia didn’t go away though, as Kerr Kriisa hit a three-pointer, but Kansas’ Johnny Furphy hit his third three within the first four minutes of the game.
Out of the media timeout, Kriisa, Seth Wilson and Kobe Johnson all cashed in on three-pointers as the Mountaineers tied the game at 15-15.
From that point on, the rest of the first half was a back-and-forth affair. Trading blows which involved quite the shooting performance from beyond the arc.
In total, West Virginia made nine three-pointers, which is more than they scored in all but one of their 17 games heading into Saturday. WVU shot 59 percent from the field as RaeQuan Battle had 17 first-half points, including a personal 7-2 run to put WVU ahead 41-35.
Following that jumper from Battle, Kansas went on their second 7-0 run of the half, using the paint and ability to get to the free throw line to their advantage, something they tried to continue early on in the second half after the first 20 minutes ended tied at, 51-51.
To start the second half, the Jayhawks made it a point to get the ball inside and try to use their size — and the lack of size on WVU’s front — to their advantage.
KJ Adams slammed home a pair of dunks, while 14 of KU’s first 15 points came in the paint. WVU kept pace though, as two triples from Seth Wilson helped WVU stay in front 67-66 with 10:30 to play.
West Virginia tried their hardest to go inside, but it was the work of Pat Suemnick on the boards which played large for the Mountaineers.
Suemnick would get a big rebound off a miss, and as he was falling out of bounds, he found Battle who hit a deep three, as WVU went in front 72-68 and Kansas was forced to call a timeout with 8:30 to play.
Battle would be called on again, with him hitting a turnaround jumper at the elbow, and he was fouled in the process, making it a three-point-play, as WVU led 77-70 with 6:49 to play.
The deficit didn’t change Kansas’ game plan on the offensive end, still working the paint, and then trying to get to the free throw line.
Hunter Dickinson made a pair of free throws, before Kevin McCullar hit a three-pointer, putting the Jayhawks down three with 5:07 to play.
Over the next almost two minutes, WVU would get sloppy on offense. Suemnick missed a free throw, and then two turnovers led to two baskets for Kansas, as the Mountaineers called a timeout with 3:24, with them leading 80-79.
Adams put Kansas in front with 2:41 to play as he made a pair of free throws at the line, but Suemnick came back with a layup on the other end.
In the final minute, each team traded turnovers, before Quinn Slazinski was sent to the free throw line. On the back end of a one-and-one, Slazinski missed, but got his own rebound before he was fouled again and proceeded to make both free throws.
Furphy was fouled and made both free throws, allowing Kansas to set their pressure defense. The Jayhawks were in a mad scramble with the Mountianeers, with Kriisa eventually getting fouled and making both his shots.
McCullar kept the Jayhawks hopes alive with 11.9 seconds left hitting a jumper, as WVU’s lead was at 87-85.
West Virginia made their final four free throws, including two from Noah Farrakhan on the inbounds pass, and then another two from Kriisa with 2.4 seconds to seal WVU’s victory.
Battle led the Mountaineers with 23 points, while Suemnick had a career-high 20 points. Kriisa finished with 15 points. WVU was able to control the boards, with a 31-22 rebounding advantage against a larger sized Kansas squad. Three of those rebounds were offensive rebounds in the final 34 seconds, all leading to points for the Mountaineers.
