LAWRENCE
Lose this one, and Kansas wouldn’t have been eliminated from the Big 12 championship race, but catching West Virginia would have been a huge uphill climb.
Instead, the Jayhawks prevailed 75-65 and climbed into a first-place tie with Mountaineers and Oklahoma.
Kansas never trailed Tuesday in the battle of top 10 teams but didn’t find a comfortable margin until the final minutes.
When the Jayhawks opened a double-digit lead, the Mountaineers stormed back with their pressure defense.
The Jayhawks opened their largest lead of the game at 53-40 on Devonte’ Graham’s three-pointer in transition.