No. 7 Kansas Basketball Falls to Depleted West Virginia in Big 12 Opener

Tuesday's game was far from the start the Jayhawks had hoped for.

Dec 31, 2024; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Rakease Passmore (4) and West Virginia Mountaineers center Eduardo Andre (0) fight for a loose ball during the first half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

For the first time since 1991, Kansas basketball dropped its Big 12 opener, falling 62-61 to West Virginia at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday afternoon.

It was a brutal game for the Jayhawks, who never led and couldn’t close the gap, even with a furious late rally.

The game seemed like a disaster from the start for Kansas. West Virginia jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first half, going up 38-20. The Jayhawks struggled to find any rhythm offensively, while the Mountaineers capitalized on every mistake.

Kansas did claw its way back, led by Zeke Mayo’s heroic performance. Mayo poured in 27 points on 6-of-13 shooting and a perfect 13-for-13 from the free-throw line.

He hit a huge three-pointer with under a minute left to bring the Jayhawks within three, then followed it up with an incredible three-point play with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game at 61.

Flory Bidunga, Kansas’ talented freshman big man, had an impressive night with eight points and 11 rebounds, including a couple of highlight-reel lob dunks. But Bidunga’s youth showed in the game’s final seconds.

With 1.9 seconds left, Bidunga fouled West Virginia’s Javon Small on a pump fake—a call that left the crowd groaning but was hard to argue against.

Small missed his first free throw but made the second, giving West Virginia a one-point lead. Kansas had one last chance. On the inbound, they got the ball to KJ Adams Jr., who put up a contested shot in the final second.

The Allen Fieldhouse faithful were certain Adams was fouled, but the whistle never came, sealing Kansas’ fate.

The loss stung even more considering West Virginia was missing two key players, Tucker DeVries (14.9 PPG) and Amani Hansberry (10.6 PPG). Despite being shorthanded, the Mountaineers found a way to pull off the upset on the road, improving to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

For Kansas, the defeat drops them to 9-3 overall and 0-1 in Big 12 action.

While Mayo and Bidunga provided bright spots, it was a frustrating night for Bill Self’s squad. The Jayhawks will need to regroup quickly as conference play ramps up.

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