Kansas basketball vs. West Virginia recap: Jayhawks win 76-74 in Big 12 Conference clash

LAWRENCE — Kansas men’s basketball’s 2022-23 regular season continued Saturday with a Big 12 Conference game at home against West Virginia.

The No. 4 Jayhawks came in after a win on the road against TCU. The Mountaineers came in after a win at home against Oklahoma State. It was the second matchup of the season between Kansas and West Virginia.

Was coach Bill Self’s Jayhawks squad able to protect home court against another conference opponent? Was coach Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers squad be able to avoid a regular-season sweep at the hands of its host? This game mattered a lot when it came to the Big 12 Conference regular season title race.

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Here's what happened inside Allen Fieldhouse:

FINAL: Kansas 76, West Virginia 74

Kansas leads 70-68 against West Virginia with 3:50 left in 2nd half

West Virginia hasn't led since there was about 16 minutes left in the second half, but the Mountaineers are still in this one. Kansas leads by just two points with a little less than four minutes left in the second half. And the Jayhawks don't look right now like they're capable of just running away with this one.

All five starters have reached double figures scoring for Kansas, though. That's usually a positive sign for this team. It's just a matter of whether or not that holds up as the final minutes tick off the clock.

Kansas leads 61-60 against West Virginia with 7:44 left in 2nd half

KJ Adams Jr. recently returned to the game for Kansas, so that's a positive for the Jayhawks here as the second half winds down. He'd gone out with what appeared to be an injury not too long ago, hopping off the court as he exited. But it seems to not be anything serious.

It's remarkable, in some respects, that Kansas is shooting 8-for-16 from behind the arc and is only leading by a point. West Virginia is shooting 5-for-17 from behind the arc, and doesn't have that much more of an advantage from the free-throw line. Second-chance opportunities for the Mountaineers have really been hurting the Jayhawks.

Kansas leads 58-53 against West Virginia with 10:37 left in 2nd half

Kansas went on a bit of a run during this stretch, but West Virginia has answered and this is a two-possession game again. The Mountaineers are benefiting today from offensive rebounds and second-chance points. West Virginia has 12 offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points, while the Jayhawks have four offensive rebounds and four second-chance points.

Something to watch, is KJ Adams Jr. may have just suffered an injury. The Kansas forward and starter hopped off the floor without putting pressure on one of his feet recently. And that would be a significant blow to the Jayhawks' chances if he doesn't return.

Kansas leads 50-44 against West Virginia with 14:44 left in 2nd half

Bill Self received a technical foul during this stretch that led to a couple points for West Virginia, but it hasn't affected Kansas much. The Jayhawks are actually up six not too long after it, their largest lead of the game. And the crowd is certainly into it, which has given them all the momentum.

Dajuan Harris Jr. leads all scorers with 17 points. He's been sensational on both ends of the court. He also has six steals and four assists.

The second half is underway

Kansas has possession to start it off.

HALFTIME: Kansas 35, West Virginia 33

West Virginia leads 29-28 against Kansas with 2:59 left in 1st half

There have been a combined 20 turnovers so far in this game, but it looks like these offenses have recently been able to start figuring things out. More possessions are ending in buckets. It's just a matter of the level to which that continues.

Not surprisingly, there's only been one point scored by a bench player in this game and that point was not by a Kansas player. The Jayhawks have gone to their bench a good amount early, but the scoring has predictably come from their starters. And Dajuan Harris Jr. has 10 points to lead Kansas.

Kansas leads 21-19 against West Virginia with 6:47 left in 1st half

Dajuan Harris Jr. already has eight points for Kansas, and while that hasn't translated to a significant lead it is a good early sign for the Jayhawks. Kansas hasn't lost this season when Harris has reached double figures scoring. And it appears that Harris will likely reach that point before halftime.

In other news, West Virginia hasn't scored in a little more than two minutes. This comes as Kansas just recently ended a scoring drought that lasted longer than two minutes as well. Both teams are shooting the ball well from the field so far, but they've also combined for 16 turnovers — eight each — as offense has not been leading the game today.

Kansas and West Virginia are tied 14-14 with 11:06 left in 1st half

Tre Mitchell has seven points to lead West Virginia and all scorers, and he hasn't missed a shot. He's 3-for-3 from the field, including 1-for-1 from behind the arc. Jalen Wilson leads Kansas with six points, and he's 3-for-5 from the field.

The Jayhawks have spent more of the first half in the lead than the Mountaineers have, but have never been up by more than three points. So far, it looks like this is going to be a battle. That wasn't the case last year when these two sides matched up inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas leads 7-6 against West Virginia with 15:54 left in 1st half

Dajuan Harris Jr. has been really active defensively early, and has already picked up three steals. Overall, Kansas has scored five points off of five West Virginia turnovers. And on the other end, the Mountaineers haven't scored any points off of one Jayhawks turnovers.

Kansas' lead, though, is still just one point. So far, the Jayhawks have had trouble finishing at the rim. The toughest shots have seemed to be the ones they've been making.

The game has started

West Virginia won the opening tip-off.

Here's an update on the two Kansas scholarship players not warming up

Some news for those watching on TV

Here are the starters

No surprises so far in who's available for Kansas

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU basketball recap: Jayhawks faced West Virginia at home Saturday