WVU moves on to Big 12 title game with narrow 51-50 win over Kansas State
No. 2 seed West Virginia (26-7) overcame a sluggish first half effort to defeat Kansas State 51-50 in Kansas City Friday night and will now play for the Big 12 tournament title for the second consecutive season.
The Mountaineers struggled from the start as poor shooting in the first half allowed Kansas State to control the game from nearly start to finish. It wasn't until West Virginia switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense when things started to turn in West Virginia's favor.
Kansas State was outscored 35-25 in the second half in a gutsy comeback effort by the Mountaineers.
Sophomore Esa Ahmad found himself back in the starting lineup in place of senior Tarik Phillip who scored 13 points off the bench. Ahmad scored 15 points himself, leading the team.
West Virginia finished the game shooting 27-percent from the floor and turned 11 Kansas State turnovers into 13 points.
A low scoring first half and cold shooting start for both teams saw Kansas State’s Dean Wade score the game’s first points after three minutes of action. West Virginia missed its first seven shots from the field until senior Nathan Adrian tied things up at two with 14:43 remaining in the first half.
The Wildcats would extend their lead to 7-2 before three-pointers by Adrian and redshirt freshman Lamont West gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the game.
Despite the three’s from Adrian and West, West Virginia’s shooting struggles continued as Kansas State went on an 11-0 run and led 18-8 at the 6:46 mark.
The Mountaineers then ended Kansas State’s run and their scoring drought with a layup by junior Elijah Macon to cut their deficit to eight points. Redshirt freshman James “Beetle” Bolden then hit a three from the left corner to bring the score to 18-13 in favor of the Wildcats with 4:30 left in the half.
A 6-0 run by Kansas State extended its lead to 24-13 late in the first half as West Virginia struggled to get any shot to fall.
West Virginia scored a season-low 16 first half points but the team still only trailed by nine points heading into the locker room. The Mountaineers also ended the first half shooting just 19-percent from the field and were outscored in the paint 12-4.
Kansas State picked up right when it left off from the first half and led the Mountaineers 32-20 at the 15:57 mark in the second half as West Virginia’s shooting continued to deteriorate.
Phillip came off the bench gave the Mountaineers the spark they needed, draining back-to-back three’s to cut Kansas State’s lead to seven points but the Wildcats would extend its lead back to double-digits with two free throws and a three-pointer from Wesley Iwundu.
Nearly seven minutes into the second half, West Virginia switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense in an effort to slow down Kansas State’s offense and top shooters in Iwundu, Wade and Kamau Stokes.
The defensive switch proved to be effective as the Mountaineers went on a 10-0 run that was capped off by two free throws by junior Jevon Carter for his first points of the game and a layup by Ahmad. Kansas State’s lead was cut to just two points with 9:52 left to play.
Both teams then traded baskets and Kansas State answered back to each point scored by West Virginia to stay ahead 48-45 at the 3:31 mark.
With Kansas State leading 50-47, it was Phillip who came up in the clutch, hitting his third three-pointer of the game for West Virginia to tie the game up at 50 with 1:45 remaining.
A loose-ball foul called on Kansas State’s DJ Johnson allowed West Virginia to take a 51-50 lead as Ahmad made one of two free throws at the line with 19 seconds left. The lead was West Virginia's first one since the first half.
A missed three-pointer by Stokes at the buzzer sealed the grueling comeback win for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers will seek their first-ever Big 12 tournament title when they face off against No. 4 seed Iowa State tomorrow at 6 p.m.