Ochai Agbaji helps lead Kansas Jayhawks to road win over West Virginia Mountaineers
Kansas senior Ochai Agbaji desperately wanted to win Saturday night’s Big 12 basketball battle against West Virginia at WVU Coliseum, and not just because the Jayhawks needed one to keep their two-game lead over Baylor and Texas Tech in the league standings.
“This meant a lot more (to me),” said Agbaji. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound senior guard out of Oak Park High School hit three three-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points to assure KU a 71-58 victory and assure himself a 2-2 record in a building in which the Jayhawks possess a 4-6 mark in the Bill Self and Bob Huggins eras at their respective schools.
“I only won here once. My sophomore year … that one was crazy with Marcus stealing the ball (several times down the stretch),” he added of a Marcus Garrett-led 58-49 KU win in the 2019-20 season in Morgantown.
Last year, KU lost at WVU, 91-79, and the Jayhawks also fell in Morgantown during Agbaji’s freshman campaign, 65-64.
“This was more a convincing statement win,” noted Agbaji, who hit 8 of 15 shots and was 4 of 4 from the line on a night KU hit 18 of 22 free throws to the Mountaineers’ 11 of 15.
It also was a battle between the league’s first-place and last-place teams, meaning the No. 6-ranked Jayhawks (22-4, 11-2) were able to avoid a letdown against WVU (14-12, 3-10).
“I came in with a free mind, free heart, “ KU senior center David McCormack said after scoring 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting with 11 rebounds. McCormack said he had extra incentive going against his former AAU teammate Gabe Osabuohien.
“I preach the same message to the team every game … everything between the floor lines is about us (not the foe),” McCormack added.
KU coach Bill Self appreciated the work of his players on the boards. McCormack had 11 rebounds as did Jalen Wilson (to go with 10 points) and Christian Braun (to go with nine points).
“He rebounded the ball. He scored the ball. I thought Dave played great,” Self said after the Jayhawks out-rebounded the Mountaineers 49-32.
WVU coach Huggins seconded the notion.
“McCormack’s a pro,” Huggins said. “He’s a very good player.”
WVU’s Sean McNeil went 4 of 12 on three-pointers and scored 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Taz Sherman was 2 of 6 from three (6 of 17 overall) and scored 16 points.
“It has been a tough place for us. This by far is our worst record of any building in the league,” Self said. “We’ve had a hard time here. When you start the season, this is one you always say will be a difficult game.”
On Saturday, KU received a lift from guard Joseph Yesufu, who scored four points with two assists (no turnovers on a night KU had 15) in 13 minutes. His second-half minutes were needed since starting point guard Dajuan Harris battled a case of cramps in his leg.
Harris had two points, four assists and two turnovers with two steals in 33 minutes.
“He had great energy. He guarded. The steal he had was big,” Self said of backup combo guard Yesufu.
Yesufu stole an inbounds pass and laid it In to give KU a 48-43 lead with 11 minutes, 11 seconds left in the game.
It was a huge steal as KU had led by as many as 12 points with West Virginia cutting into that margin.
“He brought us energy,” Agbaji said of Yesufu. “The play he stole the ball … nobody saw it (because they were running downcourt), but it’s two big points for us.”
Of power forward McCormack, Agbaji said: “He was a presence. Going through Dave is really important to us.”
The Jayhawks’ victory came on the same day the NCAA Tournament committee named KU a No. 1 seed (if the season ended Saturday).
“I saw it,” Self said of the announcement. “I’d rather be 1 than 2 or 3. It doesn’t mean anything. There’s so much ball left,” he added.
“It worked out fine,” Self concluded of Saturday’s win, one in which KU hit 48.1% of its shots (3 of 11 threes) to WVU’s 27.9%. “We were about as poor as you can be handling the ball to start the game, but we were pretty clutch tonight.”
Of the result, Huggins said: “It’s hard to win when you don’t make layups. It’s hard to win when you have 1-footer after 1-footer after 1-footer and you don’t make any of them.”
Self, by the way, said he went with backup forward Mitch Lightfoot over freshman Zach Clemence because of the experience factor. Clemence did not play, coach’s decision.
KU defeated WVU by 26 points (85-59) on Jan. 15 at Allen Fieldhouse.
KU will next meet Kansas State at 8 p.m., Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.. West Virginia, meanwhile, will meet TCU on Monday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
This story was originally published February 19, 2022 at 9:31 PM.
