Morgantown, W.Va. — West Virginia had only made more than eight 3-pointers in a game once all season; the Mountaineers hit 14 in a loss to UMass on Dec. 16.
They scored nine in the first 14:14 Saturday afternoon against Kansas, and weren’t too shabby from inside the arc either. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded the long-struggling WVU offense was shooting 59% from the field and had earned a 51-51 tie with third-ranked KU.
“There was not a lot of things to be happy with the first half except we made shots,” KU coach Bill Self said. “But I felt like at halftime, I told them, ‘We didn’t guard them and they didn’t stop us, so let’s just — score’s 0-0, let’s just start fresh this half.’
“And that wasn’t, obviously, very good advice.”
Emboldened by the confidence from their first-half performance, the Mountaineers continued to score at will throughout the second half and upset the Jayhawks, 91-85. KU was on the receiving end of a court storm for the second time in 11 days, this time at WVU Coliseum.
Patrick Suemnick hit a go-ahead close-range shot in the post, and then the Jayhawks conceded three consecutive offensive rebounds in a three-second span in the final minute.
“That’ll cost you a ball game down the stretch if you don’t block out,” guard Kevin McCullar Jr. said. “We talk about free throw block-out all the time and we work on it all the time.”
In all, WVU outrebounded KU 31-22.
“Whenever Johnny (Furphy) is your leading rebounder with six or whatever the first half,” Self said, “and your second-leading rebounder had one, that tells you a lot right there.”
The Jayhawks, who fell to 15-3 (3-2 Big 12 Conference), had begun the game with one of their own best offensive halves of the season, but couldn’t keep up the pace down the stretch, particularly from deep as they went just 1-for-11 after the break.
“The same guys that shot it so well in the first half, we didn’t make them the second half,” Self said. “Those are shots you want to shoot. You get a good look, you should make one out of three of those at least and we didn’t do that the second half.”
Furphy picked up where he left off the last two games with a strong start, as he had nine points (three 3s), three rebounds and an assist in the first four minutes to help KU jump out to a 10-5 lead. But he was one of the players who couldn’t find his stroke in the second half and finished with 13.
Kevin McCullar Jr. had 24 and Hunter Dickinson 19 for the Jayhawks, while Raequan Battle scored 23 and Suemnick 20 for the Mountaineers.
The Jayhawks saw their early advantage evaporate when the Mountaineers first got hot from beyond the arc, as Kobe Johnson, Kerr Kriisa and Seth Wilson hit one 3-pointer apiece to draw WVU into a 15-15 tie. The Mountaineers then took a 25-24 lead on a pair of Battle free throws when McCullar was called for his second foul.
Nick Timberlake, replacing McCullar, provided energy off the bench in the form off a quick 3 off a pump-fake, then a contested layup. But Self had to call timeout with 6:53 left in the half as Quinn Slazinski connected once and Battle twice from deep, as West Virginia, which entered the game shooting 30.3% on 3s, stretched its start to an efficient 9-for-11 (82%). Battle then scored back-to-back contested short jumpers to put WVU up 41-35.
KU responded with a 12-2 run spearheaded by Timberlake, who did most of his damage in transition — passing well to set up fast breaks, taking the ball up himself and finding good shooting spots. His contested transition layup put KU up 47-43 and he had 12 points in the first half.
The Mountaineers made some headway on offense and were able to tie the game at 51-51 entering the half thanks to a pair of Noah Farrakhan free throws.
The Jayhawks did not score for the first 3:37 of the second half but didn’t fall far behind because McCullar took a pair of charges. KU briefly went ahead 57-55 before a pair of Wilson 3s allowed WVU to reassert an advantage at 67-64.
With the Jayhawks trailing 69-68, Adams missed a potential go-ahead layup. WVU’s Suemnick hustled for an offensive rebound off a Farrakhan miss, then set up Battle for a deep 3 that forced another timeout from Self. That didn’t stem the tide, as Battle made a turnaround jumper while Parker Braun was called for a foul that resulted in a three-point play. KU faced its largest deficit of the night at seven points.
The Jayhawks finally earned some momentum when McCullar hit a three with five minutes to go, then he and Adams scored one layup apiece off WVU turnovers to cut the margin back to 80-79.
Suemnick scored over Dickinson in the post to cancel out a pair of Adams free throws, then the teams traded turnovers. Battle leapt in for an offensive rebound with 40 seconds left and got fouled by Furphy, before Harris fouled Slazinski in a similar situation.
“I think Battle made an unbelievable play, and then of course Slazinski made a great play on the free throw,” Self said. “Johnny, he blocked him out and then he froze and he went around him on the long rebound on the free throw.”
Elmarko Jackson thought he had a steal against Kriisa as the Mountaineers were crossing halfcourt with an 85-83 lead, but it was ruled a foul and Kriisa made both free throws.
“I didn’t think it was a foul, but regardless if it’s a good call or bad call, it’s not irrelevant, but from a coach’s perspective, we put ourselves in that position,” Self said.
McCullar hit a contested long-range shot with 11.9 seconds left that was changed from a 3 to a 2 upon review, preventing the Jayhawks from keeping the game within one possession.
KU has a home game Monday night against Cincinnati at 8 p.m.
“We’re certainly not happy where we’re at in the league race,” Self said. “But there’s going to be games like this for everybody, and certainly it’s a monster league. It’s a great league.”
Kansas forward K.J. Adams Jr. (24) shoots while defended by West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa (3) and forward Patrick Suemnick (24) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas guard Johnny Furphy (10) is defended by West Virginia guard RaeQuan Battle (21) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) shoots while West Virginia forward Quinn Slazinski (11) and guard Kerr Kriisa (3) defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas forward K.J. Adams Jr. (24) tries to shoot as West Virginia forward Patrick Suemnick (24) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas coach Bill Self, left, reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas forward K.J. Adams Jr. (24) shoots against West Virginia during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas coach Bill Self reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas players react from the bench during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas forward K.J. Adams Jr. (24) scores against West Virginia during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) shoots over West Virginia forward Akok Akok (13) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
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