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Strong KU Second Half Dooms WVU
March 12, 2016 08:46 PM | Men's Basketball
Highlights Final Stats
KANSAS CITY - Devonte Graham scored a career-high-tying 27 points to lift top-ranked Kansas to an 81-71 victory over West Virginia in the final of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship played here at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
The sophomore made six of 10 shots from the floor, including five of six from three, and he hit all 10 free throws to lead the Jayhawks to their seventh conference tournament title under coach Bill Self.
“We shot 13 percent from three and they shoot 60,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “We just didn’t make shots when we needed to and they did. Kansas is the No. 1 team in the country and when they shoot 60 percent (from three) and we commit 20 turnovers and only take nine more shots than they do, beating them is an impossibility.”
Kansas (30-4) used a 7-0 run to start the second half to take control of the game. Graham keyed the run from behind the arc, two of his threes coming in succession as Kansas built its lead to 12.
KU had a 14-point advantage with 9:26 remaining on layup by Perry Ellis, but West Virginia, behind Devin Williams’ career-high 31 points, began chipping away at Kansas’ lead.
A Williams jumper, two Williams free throws, and a layup by Nathan Adrian got the run started, and later, five straight points from the Mountaineers made it a four-point game, 67-63, with 4:09 left.
Then, West Virginia got the ball back on a Frank Mason III turnover and Mason fouled Tarik Phillip as Phillip attempted to score. Unfortunately, Phillip missed both free throws, and following a Kansas timeout, Landon Lucas scored close to the basket and was fouled by Jonathan Holton. Lucas made the free throw for a five-point swing.
After a Daxter Miles Jr. layup, Selden Jr. made a three with one second left on the shot clock, and then Graham added a pair of free throws with 1:33 remaining and that was it.
Graham got great support from Selden Jr, who scored 21 points on eight of 13 shooting, while Ellis contributed 17.
Contrast that with Williams, who got very little help from his teammates. Williams made nine of 12 from the floor, hit 13 of 15 from the free line and pulled down 10 rebounds for his 32nd career double-double to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
“That’s the best he’s finished all year,” Huggins noted.
“I just wanted to do this for our guys and for our program to get this win,” a disappointed Williams said. “They are a great team with some great players, but some of the shots we hit earlier in the tournament we didn’t make tonight.”
No other West Virginia player scored in double figures, the other eight guys who played shooting a combined 17-of-43.
“For the majority of the year, we have had somebody else step up and make shots (when others were missing), but that didn’t happen tonight,” Huggins said.
At the game’s outset, there were four lead changes and four ties in the first half, the Mountaineers scoring the first six points of the contest, and Kansas leading by as many as eight with seven minutes to go on a pair of Ellis free throws.
The Jayhawks used the three-ball to take their first lead, 11-10, and then Selden Jr.’s triple from the wing gave KU a seven-point lead. In the meantime, West Virginia’s guards were struggling to hang on to the ball while missing seven three-point tries.
Williams kept West Virginia in the game by scoring points on five of the team’s next six offensive possessions, and the Mountaineers’ other basket from Esa Ahmad came as a result of a double team on Williams, who passed down to Ahmad for an easy layup.
After Ellis’ conventional three-point play put KU ahead, 31-28, Ahmad answered with his third basket of the half. Then a hustling Elijah Macon put back his own miss before finishing the half by making both of his free throws.
Kansas shot 52.1 percent for the game, including hitting nine of 15 from three.
West Virginia shot a respectable 45.6 percent, but hit only two of 15 from behind the arc and also turned the ball over 20 times – the same number as Kansas – but the Jayhawks were able to outscore WVU 26-15 in points off those miscues.
Kansas is expected to be the overall No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, the field of 68 to be announced tomorrow evening on CBS.
West Virginia (26-8) was hoping to sneak onto the top seed line with an upset of the Jayhawks tonight, but still could end up with a two seed when the conference championship games conclude tomorrow afternoon.
The Mountaineers will return to Morgantown early Sunday morning and will assemble at the basketball practice facility to learn their postseason destination.
“We’ve just got to play with energy and hopefully make some shots,” Huggins concluded.
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