–You could make a list of things that I didn’t expect to happen and West Virginia going into Allen Fieldhouse, a place they had never won and was 0-11, and beating Kansas without Tucker DeVries, Amani Hansberry and Jayden Stone would be right at the top of that list. The Mountaineers never trailed in this game and while they had to hold on down the stretch this is as impressive of a win considering the circumstances that I can remember. This team gutted this one out from start to finish and it was just a really impressive performance all the way around with some key performances all across the roster. The TV Broadcast kept repeating that Kansas hadn’t lost an opening conference road game in 33 years which was against Oklahoma Jan. 8, 1991, well now you can scrap that. Head Coach Darian DeVries did an excellent job in this one with mixing his rotations and frustrating the Jayhawks early. The Mountaineers were able to build a big lead and hang on with some massive plays down the stretch. This doesn't erase the memories of before in what has been a house of horrors, but it sure feels good to be on the other side of it.
–I thought the first half was as impressive as I’ve seen but there’s a lot to be said about the way this team found a way down the stretch. This game got as close as 50-48 with 6:18 remaining and the Mountaineers found a way to stretch the lead back out and hold on down the stretch. KJ Tenner hit a massive floater, Joe Yesufu hit a three and from there it was about showing that grit that the coaching staff has talked about all season in a very difficult place to do it. This team continues to embody those traits that West Virginia has talked about since DeVries took the job and it’s hard not to be excited and proud of what this group has accomplished at this stage of the year.
–West Virginia is now 10-2 and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference. It’s not going to get easier moving forward, but there aren’t much more difficult ways to open than getting Kansas on their home floor. It remains to be seen how long this team is going to have to play without critical pieces but this is one to just enjoy for tonight with how things have so often turned out in that building.
–West Virginia had just six turnovers and Kansas had just 4 fast break points. The Mountaineers lost the rebounding edge 33-32, but the Jayhawks had only 7 second chance points. West Virginia had 8 offensive rebounds in this game compared to just 7 for Kansas.
–The Jayhawks shot just 39-percent from the field and 25-percent from three. It was a strong defensive effort for West Virginia again against a quality club.
–Javon Small is just so good. He controlled this basketball game for the most part from start to finish and while he only had 13 points on 5-12 shooting, he played all 40 minutes and 11 rebounds and 6 assists. His shot he made from the baseline where he lost his footing but kept his dribble and then nailed the jumper was about as good as it gets. Of course, Small would be the one to ice this game as well as he was able to take advantage of the Kansas big on him and get him in the air to draw a foul and get to the line to hit one of two and get out of Phog with a win.
–Eduardo Andre was very good as well. He finished with 15 points on 7-9 shooting and had 6 rebounds along with 3 assists. He had to play 34 minutes with the injury to Hansberry and was critical defending the rim as well with 4 blocks including one massive game shifting one that stopped a layup. He led the team at +8 and while foul trouble was an issue, he was critical.
–West Virginia went to the foul line for the first time with 14:56 left in the second half. They shot only a total of 6 free throws despite scoring 28 points in the paint. The Mountaineers were -15 in free throw attempts but were able to overcome that with a win.
–West Virginia has done a lot of great things this season given the personnel and even knocked off No. 3 Gonzaga on a neutral floor, but that first half was perhaps the most impressive to date. The Mountaineers held the Jayhawks to 29-percent from the floor and shot 47-percent without Tucker DeVries, Amani Hansberry or Jayden Stone in the lineup to build a 33-20 lead. The Mountaineers held a 22-12 rebounding edge and led in points in the paint 18-10 without shooting a single free throw.
–West Virginia again got big contributions from their pair of freshmen with guard Jonathan Powell scoring 11 points on 4-9 shooting and KJ Tenner adding 2 points on 4 assists. He loves that floater. Both didn’t play like freshmen and their contributions were absolutely needed to get it done.
–Sencire Harris was at +6 in this one and hit 4-11 shots with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He did have the bad foul late but continues to play so hard on both ends of the floor. Toby Okani didn’t have his shot fall in this one as much, going just 3-11 from the floor but got after it defensively despite what I thought was a ticky tacky whistle at times.
--Joe Yesufu had some big plays in this game as well in his return to Kansas including his late three.
–West Virginia moved the ball well in this one and often made the extra pass for easy baskets. Out of the 26 made field goals, a total of 18 were assisted.
–West Virginia will now return home to take on Oklahoma State and then will play host to Arizona before hitting the road to take on Colorado. We’ll see what the roster looks like in the coming days but what a start for this team to find a way to win this basketball game.
–I thought the first half was as impressive as I’ve seen but there’s a lot to be said about the way this team found a way down the stretch. This game got as close as 50-48 with 6:18 remaining and the Mountaineers found a way to stretch the lead back out and hold on down the stretch. KJ Tenner hit a massive floater, Joe Yesufu hit a three and from there it was about showing that grit that the coaching staff has talked about all season in a very difficult place to do it. This team continues to embody those traits that West Virginia has talked about since DeVries took the job and it’s hard not to be excited and proud of what this group has accomplished at this stage of the year.
–West Virginia is now 10-2 and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference. It’s not going to get easier moving forward, but there aren’t much more difficult ways to open than getting Kansas on their home floor. It remains to be seen how long this team is going to have to play without critical pieces but this is one to just enjoy for tonight with how things have so often turned out in that building.
–West Virginia had just six turnovers and Kansas had just 4 fast break points. The Mountaineers lost the rebounding edge 33-32, but the Jayhawks had only 7 second chance points. West Virginia had 8 offensive rebounds in this game compared to just 7 for Kansas.
–The Jayhawks shot just 39-percent from the field and 25-percent from three. It was a strong defensive effort for West Virginia again against a quality club.
–Javon Small is just so good. He controlled this basketball game for the most part from start to finish and while he only had 13 points on 5-12 shooting, he played all 40 minutes and 11 rebounds and 6 assists. His shot he made from the baseline where he lost his footing but kept his dribble and then nailed the jumper was about as good as it gets. Of course, Small would be the one to ice this game as well as he was able to take advantage of the Kansas big on him and get him in the air to draw a foul and get to the line to hit one of two and get out of Phog with a win.
–Eduardo Andre was very good as well. He finished with 15 points on 7-9 shooting and had 6 rebounds along with 3 assists. He had to play 34 minutes with the injury to Hansberry and was critical defending the rim as well with 4 blocks including one massive game shifting one that stopped a layup. He led the team at +8 and while foul trouble was an issue, he was critical.
–West Virginia went to the foul line for the first time with 14:56 left in the second half. They shot only a total of 6 free throws despite scoring 28 points in the paint. The Mountaineers were -15 in free throw attempts but were able to overcome that with a win.
–West Virginia has done a lot of great things this season given the personnel and even knocked off No. 3 Gonzaga on a neutral floor, but that first half was perhaps the most impressive to date. The Mountaineers held the Jayhawks to 29-percent from the floor and shot 47-percent without Tucker DeVries, Amani Hansberry or Jayden Stone in the lineup to build a 33-20 lead. The Mountaineers held a 22-12 rebounding edge and led in points in the paint 18-10 without shooting a single free throw.
–West Virginia again got big contributions from their pair of freshmen with guard Jonathan Powell scoring 11 points on 4-9 shooting and KJ Tenner adding 2 points on 4 assists. He loves that floater. Both didn’t play like freshmen and their contributions were absolutely needed to get it done.
–Sencire Harris was at +6 in this one and hit 4-11 shots with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He did have the bad foul late but continues to play so hard on both ends of the floor. Toby Okani didn’t have his shot fall in this one as much, going just 3-11 from the floor but got after it defensively despite what I thought was a ticky tacky whistle at times.
--Joe Yesufu had some big plays in this game as well in his return to Kansas including his late three.
–West Virginia moved the ball well in this one and often made the extra pass for easy baskets. Out of the 26 made field goals, a total of 18 were assisted.
–West Virginia will now return home to take on Oklahoma State and then will play host to Arizona before hitting the road to take on Colorado. We’ll see what the roster looks like in the coming days but what a start for this team to find a way to win this basketball game.
