The West Virginia Mountaineers earned their second Big 12 basketball victory over a top-2 team.
The 18th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers knew that they would need a complete team effort in order to have a chance to take down the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday night. And that is exactly what the Mountaineers got in their huge 85-69 victory over the Jayhawks in Morgantown.
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West Virginia (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) got contributions from 10 of the 11 players that entered the game, led by 6-foot-8 sophomore Esa Ahmad. Ahmad broke out of a four-game shooting slump by pouring in a career-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
Ahmad, the team’s leading scorer, entered the game against the Jayhawks having been held to single digits in his last four games. He was 8-of-24 from the field during that stretch.
“I’ve kind of been passive and just passing the ball around,” Ahmad said following the game. “I took it upon myself. My teammates looked for me and kept me positive. I love those guys for that.”
The forward got off to a quick start Tuesday night as he got a lot of early open looks. Ahmad scored the Mountaineers’ first eight points.
First media timeout. Kansas leads WVU, 11-10. Esa Ahmad has eight of WVU's 10 points. pic.twitter.com/4fVr2xhQOk
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) January 25, 2017
The game remained close throughout the first half. Lagerald Vick and Josh Jackson knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Jayhawks their biggest lead of the half (28-22) at the 5:49 mark. Ahmad, who had 18 first half points, scored four straight points to ignite a 16-7 spurt as the Mountaineers took a 38-35 halftime lead.
West Virginia opened the second half with six consecutive points to extend its lead to 44-35. A Tarik Phillip layup gave the Mountaineers their first double-figure lead at 55-45. But Kansas went on a 14-3 run, capped by a Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk triple, to recoup the lead (59-58).
West Virginia countered Kansas’ spurt with a run 6-0 that included a big three-pointer by Lamont West. The Mountaineers extended their lead to 70-61 as Kansas went nearly three minutes without a field goal.
West Virginia is the fourth team to beat an AP Poll No. 1 and No. 2 team by at least 15 points each in a single season, per ESPN Stats and Info. The Mountaineers defeated then top-ranked Baylor 89-68 at home on Jan. 11. They have now won four straight games against the Jayhawks in Morgantown.
Relive each of the last four home victories over Kansas, including tonight! #HailWV pic.twitter.com/fHrW9OFAsT
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) January 25, 2017
With the win, West Virginia snapped a two-game losing streak. Nathan Adrian added 11 points while Daxter Miles Jr. and Phillip each contributed 10. Jevon Carter had a great all-around game with nine points, eight rebounds, nine assists and two steals.
Kansas (18-2, 7-1 Big 12) suffered its first loss since falling to Indiana in the season-opener. The Jayhawks’ 18 game-winning streak was the second longest in the nation. Kansas now leads second place Baylor by a half a game.
Kansas, the No. 8 best shooting team in the nation, was limited to just 42 percent shooting from the field (25-of-59). The Jayhawks also were just 6-of-15 from the charity stripe.
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Jackson matched his career-high with 22 points. Devonte’ Graham had 17 points though Big-12 leading scorer Frank Mason III finished with only 15. That marks Mason’s third lowest output this season.