RaeQuan Battle, Pat Suemnick lead West Virginia over No. 3 Kansas, 91-85

Last updated: 2024/01/21 at 12:37 AM

BigP Published January 21, 2024

RaeQuan Battle scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Pat Suemnick added a career-high 20 points and West Virginia beat No. 3 Kansas, 91-85, on Saturday.

Fans stormed the court after the Mountaineers (7-11, 2-3 Big 12) improved to 7-5 against Kansas in Morgantown and broke a six-game losing streak in the series.

West Virginia set the pace with an early 3-point shooting barrage and outhustled the Jayhawks to get key free throws in the end.

Kansas (15-3, 3-2) trailed for most of the second half until K.J. Adams hit two free throws for an 81-80 lead with 2:41 remaining. Suemnick answered with a bank shot over Hunter Dickinson 35 seconds later to give the Mountaineers the lead for good.

West Virginia sealed the win by making nine of 10 free throws in the final 34 seconds.

Kerr Kriisa added 15 points for the Mountaineers.

Kevin McCullar led Kansas with 24 points and Dickinson scored 19. Freshman Johnny Furphy hit three 3-pointers and grabbed three rebounds in the first four minutes but went 22 minutes before scoring again and finishing with 13 points.

The Mountaineers, the Big 12’s worst 3-point shooting team, made 12-of-21 (57%) from beyond the arc, including nine of their first 11.

Kansas could drop several spots in the AP Top 25 poll. It’s the most points allowed this season by the Jayhawks, which ran into a determined team that has beaten two straight ranked opponents at home.

With West Virginia center Jesse Edwards still out with a broken wrist, interim coach Josh Eilert stressed the importance of rebounding. The Mountaineers out-rebounded Kansas 31-22, the Jayhawks’ lowest total this season.

Kansas hosts Cincinnati on Monday night, while West Virginia plays at UCF on Tuesday night.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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