The West Virginia men’s basketball team lost to Kansas State 94-90 in overtime, after making a 25-point comeback in the second half. The Mountaineers led for just three minutes in the game and came up short in the end playing from behind for most of the overtime period.
Free Throws are Costly
WVU has had their fair share of struggles shooting free throws all season and it was a factor in the loss Monday. West Virginia ranks 11th in the Big 12 in FT percentage at just over 70%, while having the most success against them at the line at over 75%.
On Monday, the Mountaineers shot 17 of 26 from the line (65.4%) including five of eight in overtime, while the Wildcats shot 25 of 35 (71.4%) from the line in the game, including eight of 10 in OT. Jesse Edwards especially struggled from the charity stripe as has been since coming back from a wrist injury, he was three for nine on his free throws in the game.
Battle and Kriisa run the show
In West Virginia’s comeback in regulation, RaeQuan Battle and Kerr Kriisa were the most efficient offensively. In the game Battle had 28 points, shooting 10 of 20 from the field and six of nine from three. Kriisa had 25 points to go along with a team-high six assists.
Battle and Kriisa combined for just under 59% of WVU’s points with Kansas State having trouble containing the guards. In upset wins over Texas and Kansas in January, the pair produced for West Virginia helping them to victory.
Josiah Harris Keeps Showing His Potential
Sophomore Josiah Harris has had blunders across this season but played well against K-State on Monday. With Kobe Johnson playing less than usual after starting, Harris saw increased minutes (26) where he helped WVU make a comeback.
Harris ended with five rebounds, including two offensive rebounds, three steals and a block. Although he missed his two three-point attempts, he hit on his other two shots from the field and made both his free throw attempts to end with six points.
Don’t take Kansas State into OT
West Virginia led late, but two late free throws with the Wildcats in the double-bonus, knotted the game up at 79 to send the game into OT. In the 96-90 victory, Kansas State set a DI record with their seventh overtime win in a season, K-State is 7-0 in overtime games this year and 12-0 under head coach Jerome Tang.
On Monday, the Wildcats shot three of four from the field, making their only three-point attempt from the field. They also locked up WVU defensively, holding them to just two made field goals on 10 attempts, both were threes from Battle. Although they were out-rebounded by the Mountaineers seven to four in OT, they didn’t panic and stayed solid defensively, while hitting their free throws to secure the win (eight of 10).
