Kansas Starts Big 12 Tournament Strong With 78-61 Win Over West Virginia

The Jayhawks took care of business to now take on Iowa State in the semifinals.

It was a long and stressful day for Kansas fans long before the 2 p.m. tipoff against West Virginia in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The news came out in the morning of Bill Self missing the game with an illness and soon after it was unsure if Kevin McCullar would play because of back spasms.

But once the game tipped, it was two hours of focus and strong play from the team and cheering from the large KU contingent in the T-Mobile Center as the Jayhawks moved on to the semifinals with a 78-61 win.

Joseph Yesufu started the game in place of McCullar and started out strong by burying a three for the first basket of the game. KJ Adams then answered to make it 5-0 Hawks. Tre Mitchell got WVU on the board and Jalen Wilson flew in for a tip-in to put KU up 7-2 and give a sign of things to come.

KU led 9-4 at the under-16 timeout but the Mountaineers went on a 6-0 run after Kansas hit just four of its first 14 shots. Meanwhile, WVU seemed to be knocking down difficult, fade-away jumpers from the mid-range. But that would soon change. Yesufu scored off an Ernest Udeh offensive rebound. Gradey Dick knocked down his first three of the game. Adams threw down a massive dunk off a pick-and-roll with Dajuan Harris, and Harris got in on the action in the fast break.

All told, it was a 14-0 Kansas run. Kansas broke out the lead with offensive rebounds and steals. Harris had four steals of his own in the first 10 minutes while KU turned WVU over 11 times in the first half. And Wilson was a beast on the glass, grabbing three first-half offensive rebounds and seven total to go with 10 points.

West Virginia would cut it to six late in the first half but Harris grabbed his own miss and put it back – two of his nine first-half points – to keep Kansas up eight at halftime.

Mitchell started the scoring in the second half but Dick answered for his fifth points of the game. McCullar found Adams for a driving shot and foul, which was Erik Stevenson’s third of the game. Unfortunately, Adams missed both as KU started just 3-9 from the line.

Five straight West Virginia points cut the lead to five three minutes into the second half, largely thanks to Mitchell. Adams immediately answered with an and-one, and Adams made his first free throw of the game in his fourth attempt. Again WVU cut the lead to six and Dick extended it to nine with a three. But Seth Wilson answered with a three for the Mountaineers to make it 41-35 Kansas.

The answer this time? Wilson going one-on-one with the bucket and a foul. It was also significant as it was Mitchell’s fourth foul. Stevenson hit back with his first three of the game as the teams exchanged baskets. A Toussaint layup in transition made KU’s lead four before Wilson again went right and finished at the rim.

Both offenses came alive in the second half. The lead again reached four before a Harris floater and Wilson three gave Kansas some breathing room. A Dick three and big Adams dunk stretched Kansas’ lead to 12 with eight minutes left. And a half-court alley-oop from Harris to Adams gave Kansas its biggest lead of the game.

Even though he was clearly hurting with his back, McCullar was a beast on the boards, grabbing seven, and then hit a wide-open corner three on a pass from Harris to give KU a 69-55 lead with just over three minutes remaining.

It was a balanced offensive performance for Kansas. Wilson led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but three other Jayhawks finished in double figures. Dick scored 18 on 4-7 shooting from three, while Adams and Harris each chipped in 13. Harris’ 13 points were accompanied by eight assists, four rebounds, and five steals. Yesufu scored seven as the fifth starter and KU got another five points from the bench.

Kansas will now face Iowa State at 6 p.m. Central on Friday in the first semifinal matchup.