The run was valiant, but Kansas’ combination of talent, hot shooting and ability to drive and attack the bucket proved too much as West Virginia dropped an 88-74 decision in the Big 12 Championship semifinals on Friday. We take a look back at the action in The Full 40.

HOT

Derek Culver. Another superb effort by the freshman, who tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds for his 10thdouble-double in half a year of play. Culver went toe-to-toe with Kansas, and made 6-of-12 from the floor with four offensive rebounds. It wasn’t his best game, not by a long shot, but the forward battled on the interior, made decent passes at times – while also turning it over five times – and gave the Mountaineers what was really their lone inside threat. This is the building block for next season as WVU looks to have among the Big 12’s best backcourts if Sags Konate returns, especially with Oscar Tshiebwe entering.

Solid start. West Virginia once again came out of the blocks effectively, building a five-point lead over the first two minutes that would hold through the opening 10 minutes. The Mountaineers, using a trio of three-pointers and multiple mid-range jumpers paired with Culver inside, were able to lead 22-17 at the 10:41 mark. Even as Kansas gradually got back in the game, none of the fatigue was yet showing. It wasn’t until the 11-0 run inside of three minutes that the game began to slip away from WVU.