🏀 Kansas Drops Big 12 Battle to No. 17 West Virginia, 91-79

LAWRENCE, Kan. – In a ranked matchup between Big 12 foes, No. 23 Kansas fell to No. 17 West Virginia, 91-79, inside WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday.

Kansas (12-7, 6-5 Big 12) had a tough time finding its rhythm early, while West Virginia pulled ahead to a 12-2 lead in the opening minutes.

The Jayhawks fought back to bring the score to within four points with 6:14 remaining in the first half, before the Mountaineers brought their lead back to double digits before the break as Kansas trailed 44-34 going into halftime.

Right out of the break, Kansas went on a 9-0 to help them get back into the game, as they would even the score at 47-47 just over two minutes into the second half.

The Jayhawks and Mountaineers battled back-and-forth throughout the second half, before the Mountaineers brought their lead back to double digits midway through the second half.

Kansas was led by five players in double figures in scoring, including Marcus Garrett (18), David McCormack (17), Jalen Wilson (16), Ochai Agbaji (13) and Christian Braun (11). Kansas falls to 2-1 on the season when having five players score in double figures.

As a team, Kansas shot 45% (29-of-64) from the floor, while outrebounding West Virginia, 36-34. The Mountaineers shot 50% (32-of-64) from the field in the game.

NOTES

• Kansas’ loss ended a five-game winning streak against West Virginia and made the all-time series 15-6 in favor of KU.
• The lineup of Marcus Garrett, Christian Braun, Jalen WIlson, Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack started for the 16th time this season on Satu
• Five Jayhawks scored in double figures on Saturday, marking the third time this season KU has had five players with 10+ points. Kansas is 2-1 in those games.
• Kansas junior David McCormack started his 50th career game on Saturday, including his 19th start this season.
• Junior David McCormack‘s 17 points marks his 24th career game with 10+ points, including his 11th of the season and fourth straight.
• Junior Ochai Agbaji tallied 13 points on 5-of-11 from the field, marking his 39th career double digit game in double figures and his 17th of the season. Agbaji has scored in double figures in 13 of his last 14 games.
• Agbaji connected on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, marking his 10th game this season and 18th of his career with three or more 3-pointers in a game.
• Redshirt freshman Jalen Wilson scored 16 points on Saturday, marking his 13th career game in double figures. Paired with 14 rebounds, Saturday also marked Wilson’s fourth career double-double. Wilson’s career high of 15 rebounds came against North Dakota State on Dec. 5, 2020.
• Senior Mitch Lightfoot drew his eighth charge of the season on Saturday, which leads the team.

UP NEXT

Kansas returns home to host Oklahoma State on ESPN Big Monday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. (Central). Kansas leads the overall series with Oklahoma State, 118-60, including a 64-12 record in meetings in Lawrence, 49-10 in Allen Fieldhouse. OSU won the first meeting earlier this season, 75- 70, on Jan. 12, 2021, in Stillwater.