First half

•  Key play: With Kansas trailing 16-9, Elijah Johnson chased down West Virginia’s Jabarie Hinds and made a key block, a play that sparked a 20-6 Kansas run.

•  Key stat: The Jayhawks hit six of nine from three-point range.

Second half

•  Key play: Ben McLemore hit a short jumper with 5:37 left, breaking Danny Manning’s KU freshman single-game scoring record with his 36th point of the night.

•  Key stat: McLemore became the first KU freshman with three 30-point performances in one season.

Withey just misses triple-double

Kansas senior center Jeff Withey tried to take a politically correct stance after Saturday’s 91-65 victory over West Virginia. Withey may have gotten more than the nine blocks he was credited with, but he said he was happy with nine.

“I probably had 10,” said Withey, who also had 14 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s all right. Nine is a lot, and I did a lot of work for that. And as long as I get the win, I’m usually pretty happy.”

KU coach Bill Self also believed that Withey had more blocks than the official total.

“Our stat crew, I know does a great job,” Self said. “But I think that one may be worth revisiting.”

Still, Withey got at least nine blocks for the third time this season — and the first time in conference play. He had a career-high 12 blocks against San Jose State, and finished with nine blocks against Temple. After Saturday’s performance, his Big 12-record career total increased to 281 blocked shots.

“He makes it hard for everybody to score inside,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He is the best shot-blocker in the country.”

• Johnson followed up his 39-point performance against Iowa State with his third career double-double, finishing with 12 points and 10 assists. Johnson’s 10 assists tied a career high, and he also caught and finished a one-handed alley-oop in the second half, punctuating the move with an impromptu flex.

“I didn’t even realize I did it,” Johnson said. “That’s just how I felt at the time. It dawned on me like, ‘That was too strong.’ ”

Johnson was three of four from three-point range. He was nine of 14 from behind the arc in his last two games after going seven for 30 in his previous six games.

• Senior forward Kevin Young, who spent his first two seasons at Loyola Marymount, surpassed 1,000 points for his career on Saturday. His six points gave him 1,004, spread across two schools. He has 346 points in two seasons at Kansas.