KU loses shockingly again on the road, this time to West Virginia 91-85.
West Virginia’s Morgantown Until their defeat to UMass on December 16, West Virginia had only made eight or more 3-pointers in a single game this season.
They were not too bad from beyond the arc either, scoring nine points in the first 14:14 of their Saturday afternoon game against Kansas. When the halftime siren sounded, the perennially poor WVU offense was tying third-ranked KU 51-51 thanks to a 59% shooting effort from the field.
Bill Self, the coach of KU, stated, “There was not a lot to be happy with the first half except we made shots.” However, I felt like I told them at halftime, ‘Let’s just — the score is 0-0, let’s just start fresh,’ because we didn’t guard them and they didn’t stop us.
And it’s clear that wasn’t very wise counsel.
The confidence they had shown in their first-half performance helped the Mountaineers score goals at will in the second half, defeating the Jayhawks 91-85. For the second time in eleven days, KU was the target of a court storm, this time at WVU Coliseum.
After Patrick Suemnick made the game-winning long-range jumper in the post, the Jayhawks gave up three straight offensive rebounds in the closing three seconds.
Guard Kevin McCullar Jr. warned, “If you don’t block out, that’ll cost you a ball game down the stretch.” “We practice free throw block-out and talk about it all the time.”
WVU outrebounded KU 31–22 overall.
Self stated, “That tells you a lot right there Whenever Johnny (Furphy) is your leading rebounder with six or whatever the first half, and your second-leading rebounder had one.”
The Jayhawks, who finished the game with a record of 15-3 (3-2 Big 12 Conference), had played one of their own best offensive halves of the year up until that point. They were especially unable to maintain the momentum from deep, going just 1-for-11 after the break.
We didn’t make the same guys in the second half who shot it so well in the first,” Self remarked. “You should aim for those shots.” We didn’t do that in the second half, but you get a good look, so you should at least make one of those three.”
Furphy continued his excellent play from the previous two games, scoring nine points (three 3-pointers), grabbing three rebounds, and dishing out an assist in the first four minutes to help KU take a 10-5 lead. However, he was among those who struggled to find their form in the second half, ultimately finishing with 13 points.
For the Jayhawks, Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 24 and Hunter Dickinson 19, while for the Mountaineers, RaeQuan Battle scored 23 and Suemnick scored 20.
When the Mountaineers started to get hot from beyond the arc, Kobe Johnson, Kerr Kriisa, and Seth Wilson each made one 3-pointer to tie WVU at 15 points, causing the Jayhawks’ early lead to vanish. A pair of free throws by Battle gave the Mountaineers a 25–24 lead after McCullar was called for his second foul.
After McCullar was replaced, Nick Timberlake brought energy to the game off the bench with a fast three off a pump-fake and a contested layup. With 6:53 remaining in the half, however, Self was forced to call a timeout as Quinn Slazinski and Battle each made two long 3-pointers, extending West Virginia’s lead from 30.3% at the beginning of the game to an effective 9-for-11 (82%). Subsequently, Battle made consecutive contested short jumpers, putting WVU ahead 41–35.
Timberlake, who did the most of his damage in transition by taking the ball up himself, finding open shooting spots, and passing well to set up fast breaks, led KU in a 12-2 comeback. KU led 47-43 thanks to his contested transition layup, and he finished with 12 points in the
Thanks to two free throws from Noah Farrakhan, the Mountaineers were able to tie the game at 51-51 at the half, showing some offensive progress. Despite falling behind for the first 3:37 of the second half, McCullar’s two charges kept the Jayhawks in the game. For a brief while, KU led 57-55, but two three-pointers from Wilson gave WVU the lead again at 67-64.
Adams missed a possible game-winning layup with the Jayhawks trailing 69-68. After a Farrakhan miss, Suemnick of WVU hustled for an offensive rebound and set up Battle for a deep three that forced Self into yet another timeout. That did not stop the momentum, though, as Battle converted a turnaround jumper and Parker Braun was fouled, setting up a three-point play. With a seven-point deficit, KU had its biggest deficit of the evening.
With five minutes remaining, McCullar’s three-pointer gave the Jayhawks some much-needed momentum. He and Adams then each scored a layup off a WVU turnover to bring the score back to 80-79.
After trading turnovers, Suemnick scored above Dickinson in the post to negate two free throws by Adams. With forty seconds remaining, Battle lunged in for an offensive rebound and was fouled by Furphy; a moment later, Harris fouled Slazinski in a similar fashion.
“Slazinski made a great play on the free throw, and I think Battle made an unbelievable play,” Self remarked. “Johnny blocked him out, but froze and made a long rebound to go around him for the free throw.”
With the Mountaineers leading 85-83, Elmarko Jackson felt he had a steal against Kriisa, but it was called a foul, and Kriisa made both of her free throws.
halfcourt with an 85-83 advantage, but Kriisa made both of her free throws after it was called a foul.
Self stated, “I didn’t think it was a foul, but from a coach’s perspective, we put ourselves in that position, so whether it was a good call or a bad call, it’s not irrelevant.”
With 11.9 seconds remaining, McCullar made a contested long-range shot that was reviewed and changed from a 3 to a 2, keeping the Jayhawks from winning the game on a single possession.
Monday night at 8 p.m., KU hosts Cincinnati at home.
Self stated, “We’re definitely not happy where we are in the league race.” However, there will be games like this for all players, and this is undoubtedly a huge league. It’s fantastic”
