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Published Jan 7, 2023
Quick Recap: Kansas passes by West Virginia 76-62 in Morgantown
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Conner Becker  â€¢  JayhawkSlant
Staff Writer
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@ctbecker

No. 3 Kansas earned its third consecutive Big 12 win on Saturday, defeating West Virginia 76-62 on Saturday in Morgantown. The Jayhawks grabbed the lead early in the first half and never looked back.

Gradey Dick led the Jayhawks (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) with 16 points, shooting 4 of 6 from three-point land. Jalen Wilson and KJ Adams each contributed 14 points. Kevin McCullar added 12 points and Dajuan Harris finished with 11 points. Wilson led KU with 14 rebounds, good for a double-double performance.

Kansas finished the night shooting 24 of 57 (42%), including 11 of 24 (46%) from three-point range. The KU defense held the Mountaineers to 20 of 57 (35%) shooting and forced away 11 turnovers and three steals.

Kansas starting five: Dajuan Harris, Gradey Dick, Jalen Wilson, Kevin McCullar Jr., and KJ Adams Jr. West Virginia: Emmitt Matthews Jr., Tre Mitchell, Joe Toussaint, Erik Stevenson, and Jimmy Bell Jr.

Four three-point makes, including two by Gradey Dick, guided Kansas toward a 14-8 lead by the first media timeout. Both, Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris, also knocked down 3s during this opening stretch with 15:36 still to go in the first half.

Continued success from behind the arc, featuring two more 3s by Harris and Kevin McCullar Jr., saw Kansas dig a 12-point hole for the Mountaineers by the 12:59 mark. Consecutive layups by West Virginia’s Tre Mitchell and Seth Wilson trimmed Kansas’ lead down to eight points shortly before the third media timeout.

Back from the timeout, the Mountaineers began heating up from three-point land, too. Joe Toussaint and Emmitt Matthews Jr. rocketed a pair of 3s to bring West Virginia within six points, 30-24, with 6:22 remaining in the first half.

A made-3 by Dick, his third of the game, reestablished a 12-point lead for the Jayhawks with 2:35 left in the first half. Behind Mitchell, the Mountaineers stacked up a 7-0 run to make it a five-point contest with 35 seconds before the break. Two free throws by KJ Adams distanced Kansas out front 42-35 heading into the locker room.

Kevin McCullar Jr. and Tre Mitchell traded three-pointers to open the second half. Kansas scored just once more through the next three minutes, maintaining a nine-point lead at the first media timeout of the second half.

A 10-2 run, boosted by 3s from Wilson and Dick, lifted the Jayhawks further ahead 52-41 nearing the 15-minute mark. Kansas followed up the stretch with 10 more points, consecutively, that included six from Dick. Down 62-43, West Virginia struggled to slow down the KU scoring and called a timeout, now trailing by 20, with 7:07 left.

McCullar and Bobby Pettiford combined for seven consecutive points following the WVU timeout, as the Jayhawks looked to sustain the momentum leading 71-49 with little over six minutes left on the clock. Down the final stretch, West Virginia went on a pair of runs, one spanning 10 points, but couldn’t manage to dent its deficit to make a clean cut at the KU lead.

We will have more to come in our postgame coverage.

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Updated: Feb 19, 2025 1:18 am
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