West Virginia stunned No. 3 Kansas 91-85 on Saturday behind a hot 3-point shooting performance, handing the Jayhawks a Quad 3 loss. The Mountaineers were 10-point underdogs at home, but got huge performances from RaeQuan Battle and Pat Suemnick en route to their biggest victory of the season.
Kansas (15-3, 3-2 Big 12) clawed back from a 77-70 deficit to briefly take the lead with under three minutes remaining. But the Mountaineers (7-11, 2-3 Big 12) came up with three critical offensive rebounds on a single possession late in the game and made their final eight free throws.
Once the final horn sounded, West Virginia fans rushed the court. Battle led WVU with 23 points while Suemnick added a career-high 20. The Mountaineers made 12 of 21 shots from beyond the arc. While Kansas shot 53.4% from the floor, it hit just 1 of 11 attempts from 3-point range in the second half.
The outcome marks Kansas' second Big 12 road loss after KU also fell 65-60 at UCF on Jan. 10 as a 7-point favorite. It is the second consecutive Saturday that West Virginia has knocked off a ranked team at home after WVU took down then-No. 25 Texas 76-73.
In an otherwise trying season, the past two weekends have been moments of relief for the Mountaineers, who underwent an ugly ending to legendary coach Bob Huggins' tenure during the offseason and an accompanying roster implosion.
Battle comes up big
Battle came up huge off the court when his lawsuit against the NCAA resulted in a December ruling that has made second-time undergraduate transfers eligible this season. He is coming up big on the court, too. After debuting with three straight games of 24+ points against nonconference opposition in late December, Battle cooled off a bit to begin Big 12 play.
But he was hot again Saturday, making 7 of 14 shots, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, to lead the Mountaineers. His 17 first-half points set the tone, and his offensive rebound with 35 seconds left proved consequential in WVU's push to put the game away.
Kansas wilts under pressure
Kansas used a 12-4 run to take an 81-80 lead with 2:41 remaining when KJ Adams hit a pair of free throws. From there, both teams struggled to execute and the Jayhawks were particularly listless in rebounding the basketball. Trailing 82-81 and needing a stop, the Jayhawks gave up three offensive rebounds on a single possession in the final minute that led to three West Virginia free throws. Those huge boards contributed to WVU's 31-22 rebounding edge.
Kansas also got away from using center Hunter Dickinson in the second half. The seven-footer did not attempt a shot from the floor over the game's final 10:52 as the Jayhawks neglected their most-reliable offensive option. With Kansas ice cold from the outside, it could have used Dickinson more. He still finished with 19 points, despite attempting just three shots in the second half.