Kansas opened Big 12 play for the first time in a long time as a furious comeback attempt fell short, losing 62-61 to West Virginia on New Year's Eve in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks trailed by 15 with 12 minutes to play and Flory Bidunga and Zeke Mayo almost helped Kansas come all the way back.

Bidunga had a strong half and Mayo tied the game at 61-61 with 15 seconds to play. Javon Small drew a foul on Bidunga with 1.8 seconds left, and Small made one free throw to ice the game.

KJ Adams had a look at the buzzer off a full-court pass from Hunter Dickinson and drew some contact, but he was not fouled and the Jayhawks fell to 9-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.

Mayo finished with a game-high 27 points. The Lawrence native was clutch throughout the night and made all 13 of his free throw attempts. Bidunga finished with eight points and 11 rebounds.

First half

Kansas looked sluggish coming out of the Christmas break as West Virginia got out to an early 7-0 lead. Javon Small had the ball in his hands often and initiated the Mountaineers' offense out of the pick and roll. The Jayhawks' half-court offense was rough out of the gates, unable to space the floor.

The Jayhawks started 1/9 from the floor after Zeke Mayo broke the ice five minutes into the game by hitting a contested three. Nothing came easy on either end for Kansas as West Virginia tore the Jayhawks' defense apart with high ball screens. The Mountaineers led 13-5 at the under-12 timeout after Bill Self called two timeouts in the first eight minutes.

West Virginia went cold, missing seven consecutive shots over a four-minute scoring drought. However, Kansas couldn't cut into the deficit because the offensive struggles maintained. The Jayhawks had to force up tough shots and they weren't falling, trailing 25-10 after a corner three from Jonathan Powell.

The Jayhawks saw some signs of life as they finally cut the lead under 10. They paired that with high-pressure defensive possessions to bring some energy back into Allen Fieldhouse heading into the under-four timeout.

West Virginia scored the final four points of the half to hold a 33-20 lead heading into halftime. Kansas shot under 30% from the floor and was outrebounded 22-12.

Second half

Halftime didn't provide Kansas with any semblance of a fresh start as West Virginia scored the first five points to push its lead to 18. A pair of baskets from Hunter Dickinson made it 40-26, but the Jayhawks struggled to cut deeper into the West Virginia lead.

The Jayhawks for the most part traded baskets with the Mountaineers early in the second half, which they could not afford to do while trailing by double-digits. The game quickly shortened, with Kansas needing to overcome a 15-point deficit in 11:41.

Kansas desperately needed a spark, and Flory Bidunga provided one. Bidunga checked in at the 12:35 mark and the Jayhawks outscored West Virginia over a four-minute stretch to make it a 50-42 game. Bidunga provided a rebounding presence that Kansas had to have and his energy on the defensive end helped close the gap.

Bidunga scored six straight to put the Jayhawks right back in the game. Kansas trailed 50-44 heading into the under-eight and had controlled the game since Bidunga came into the game.

Mayo made four straight free throws to make it a one-score game, 50-48. However, West Virginia had a punch left, going on a quick 5-0 spurt including a three from former Jayhawk Joe Yesufu. Kansas trailed by seven, 57-50 with four minutes to play.

The Jayhawks had West Virginia on the edge, but the Mountaineers capitalized after a big turnover to dwindle the comeback hopes. Kansas had an over-and-back call that led Javon Small to make a tough jumper at the end of the shot clock to make it a six-point game with two minutes left.

Kansas cut it all the way to one with 36.9 seconds to play. Zeke Mayo hit a three, then Hunter Dickinson followed a Mayo miss to make it a 59-58 game. The Jayhawks' pressure forced West Virginia to call its last timeout.

The Jayhawks forced a turnover, but KJ Adams couldn't finish and Javon Small extended the lead to three, 61-58 with 25 seconds to play. Mayo immediately got to the rim at knotted the game with 16 seconds with an and-one.

At the tail end of the shot clock, Small got Bidunga in the air and drew a shooting foul. Small made one of the free throws, and KJ Adams drew some contact but not a foul as the Jayhawks fell.