Courtesy of Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 9/10 Kansas Jayhawks defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 85-59 on Saturday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse. The win moves Kansas to 14-2 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 play, while West Virginia falls to 13-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Kansas senior David McCormack recorded his third double-double of the season, putting up a season-high 19 points and tying his career high with 15 rebounds. Redshirt-sophomore Jalen Wilson led the team in scoring for the first time this season, tying his career-high with 23 points. It was Wilson’s second game this season, both in the last three games, with 20 or more points. Senior Ochai Agbaji had 20 points, marking his 10th game this season scoring 20 or more points for the Jayhawks.
Junior Christian Braun and redshirt-sophomore Dajuan Harris Jr. matched Wilson with a team-high five assists each. Kansas had 23 assists which tied its season high against Tarleton State on November 12.
The Jayhawks pulled ahead 14-8 early in the first half, however the Mountaineers responded with a 14-0 run and took its largest lead of the game 22-14 midway through the first half. With just over two minutes left in the opening period, the Jayhawks tied the game at 29-29 with an Agbaji three-pointer. On the next possession, Agbaji gave Kansas the lead for good, 31-29, with a layup. The Jayhawks held a 33-31 advantage heading into the locker room.
Kansas came out of the locker room with energy, going on a 9-0 run to push its lead to 42-31. The Jayhawks continued to add to their lead and pushed it to 20 points at 75-55 on a Wilson jumper with 4:14 to play. Included in the push were back-to-back dunks by Wilson and Agbaji.
Kansas outscored West Virginia 54-20 on points in the paint. The Jayhawks also shot 51.5 percent (36-of-70) from the field and 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from beyond the arc.
