Isaiah Moss shows rare emotion in Kansas Jayhawks’ comeback win at West Virginia
Kansas senior wing Isaiah Moss accepted a pass from Marcus Garrett in the far corner of the WVU Coliseum court, then went up strong, stroking a deep three-pointer that broke a tie with just under five minutes left in the Jayhawks’ 58-49 win over the Mountaineers on Wednesday night.
Moss, a 6-foot-5 graduate transfer from Iowa, pumped his right fist, showing true emotion during a second half in which his 10 points helped KU (21-3, 10-1) overcome a nine-point deficit and ultimately remain just a game behind Baylor in the Big 12 standings with seven games left to play.
“Isaiah big time! Big time!” a happy KU coach Bill Self said, grasping Moss’ right hand in a locker room celebration captured on tape by KU’s athletic department. Moss hugged the Jayhawks’ 17th-year coach who said Wednesday’s result was “probably as good a road win as we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Moss conceded his shot that broke the 49-49 tie and his two free throws that followed, giving KU a 54-49 lead at 4:32, were clutch.
“Definitely. I made some big shots today,” Moss said, when asked if he felt his performance Wednesday was his most important of the season.
Moss, who scored 13 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting (he was 4 of 4 from the line, finished with two steals and two rebounds. He had scored in single digits in five of his last seven games.
“I knew I had to play an all-around game. We knew coming in that it would be and up and down game. We had to lock in and keep it close until we won it at the end.”
Devon Dotson, who hadn’t practiced since the TCU game on Saturday because of a knee injury he incurred in that road victory (he iced the knee after the game but said he was “fine”), converted two free throws at 1:53 as the Jayhawks, who were sparked by Marcus Garrett’s five steals, had the win well in hand down the stretch.
“All around he was great,” Dotson said of Moss. “The defensive end he was locked in. He hit big shots for us. He was great down the stretch. I’m proud of him, excited for him,” added Dotson, who scored 15 points with three steals and two assists in 38 minutes. He played the entire second half as did Garrett (nine points, seven rebounds, five steals, four assists), Ochai Agbaji (nine points, two steals) and Udoka Azubuike (six points, seven rebounds, two blocks).
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Sign upDotson, who played basketball with and against Moss growing up in Chicago, said it was good to see emotion from the wing, who at one point after hitting one of his three threes yelled in the direction of his buddies on KU’s bench.
“(I’ve seen it) when he’s fired up at practice and back in the day,” Dotson said. “It’s rare when he does. He’ll show it. It’s cool to see and a great win.”
KU trailed by nine points in the first half and nine again in the second yet won in a building that had been a house of horrors for KU. The Jayhawks had dropped five of their last seven in the sold-out coliseum.
This current KU team is 6-0 on the road in league play.
“We do a great job of keeping teams in the game when we go on scoring droughts,” Self said. The Jayhawks trailed 30-24 at the break. “West Virginia, as good as they guard, can keep a team in a game because they go on scoring droughts. So when we are playing each other, up 10 or minus 10, it really isn’t that big of a deal as it would be with other people because we both have potential to go on droughts and so that is what we did.
“We kind of hung in there and then they hit a dry spell when we guarded really well during that time. We didn’t play great but made a couple shots (4 of 14 threes to WVU’s 4 of 17) and made free throws (14 of 21 to 7 of 11) and next thing you know you are up five or seven.”
KU won the second half, 34-19, thanks in part to the four players who played the entire half.
“In the first half we were awful. We guarded OK but we didn’t rebound it,” Self said. “Obviously we couldn’t score. In the second half I’m not saying we played great but we actually got some good looks. Then we really guarded and rebounded better but we won the game. I don’t know if we would have won it if Isaiah wasn’t in the game. He really helped us in the second half.”
West Virginia didn’t score in the final five minutes.
“Kansas got the loose balls. Every ball that got tipped in the air on a rebound they got,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said. “They beat us to the ball. We had 60 shots and made 19 (31.7% to KU’s 44.4%). We’re not making any.”
KU will meet Oklahoma at 11 a.m. Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.
Jalen Wilson to sit rest of season
Self said on the ESPN+ pregame “Gameday Live” show that freshman wing Jalen Wilson would take a medical redshirt this season. Wilson had ankle surgery after the second game of the season, then after recovering, had back spasms. “There’s just not enough time (left in the season to be important part of rotation),” Self said on the show.
After the game, Self confirmed he had spoken to Wilson and “we both were thinking the same thing. He’s still not 100%. He can still gain a lot from this season.”
Self a proud granddad … again
Bill Self is a proud grandfather for the second time. Daughter Lauren Browning and son-in-law Hayden Browning welcomed Phoebe Lynn Browning into the world at 5:19 a.m. Tuesday.
“I’m going to go to Dallas tomorrow to see my granddaughter then come back and watch some tape,” Self said.
Game notes ...
Self wore a pullover to the game instead of the customary coat and tie. He did so in honor of his buddy, WVU coach Bob Huggins, who always wears leisure attire to games. … KU leads the all-time series against West Virginia, 14-5. KU is 2-0 vs. WVU this season, winning 60- 53 on Jan. 4 in Lawrence. KU is 3-5 at WVU Coliseum. … The Jayhawks lost last year in Morgantown, 65-64. … Kansas is 7-1 in true road games this season, 11-2 in games not played in Allen Fieldhouse. … Kansas is 2,295-862 all-time. … Huggins is 878-366 in 38 seasons as a college head basketball coach. … Huggins is 5-18 all-time vs. KU; he’s 5-14 vs. KU as WVU coach. …Huggins is 72-65 at WVU.
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 8:09 PM.
