Wiggins, No. 8 Kansas pull away from WVU
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Andrew Wiggins poured in 19 points and Kansas freshmen contributed 52 in No. 8 Kansas' 83-69 triumph over West Virginia on Saturday.
Wayne Selden, Jr. netted 17 on 5-of-7 shooting and Joel Embiid posted 11 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks for Kansas (18-5, 9-1 Big 12), which has now beaten 111 straight unranked foes at Allen Fieldhouse. Tarik Black needed just three field goal attempts for 11 points, and Frank Mason handed out a game-high five assists.
"We have good chemistry as a team," Black said. "You look at our stats; we are an unselfish team and we all play well together when we get out there on the floor."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Juwan Staten and Eron Harris provided most of the offense for WVU (14-10, 6-5), which had won three straight tilts. Staten scored a game-high 22 points while Harris donated 17.
West Virginia shot just 6-of-23 from 3-point range and was outrebounded, 37-28, in the setback.
Kansas led by five after Black's three-point play 6 1/2 minutes in and 17-11 on a Jamari Traylor layup, but Harris shot WVU back in it. The sophomore gunner made three straight from the arc to keep it tight.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Jayhawks came alive trailing 30-27 late in the period. Selden drained a pair of 3s to highlight a 14-2 Kansas surge. The Mountaineers got four back from the free throw line, but Wiggins' putback slam in the final seconds put the finishing touches on a 43-36 Jayhawks halftime edge.
Twice WVU got back within two, on Nathan Adrian's 3-pointer 3:47 into the second half and Brandon Watkins' jumper minutes later, but the visitors never got over the hump.
The Jayhawks' lead reached double figures on Selden's free throw at 7:47. Perry Ellis followed with a jam from Selden for a 68-56 margin.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was back down to four after two Harris free throws capped a 9-1 WVU sprint, but again Kansas had an answer. Wiggins split a pair at the line, Embiid converted two and at 2:45, Naadir Tharpe calmly sank a triple from NBA range to make it 77-66.
Kansas led comfortably the rest of the way.
"We were attacking the basket and hitting open shots," Harris said of his squad hanging tough. "I think there was a certain point in the game that we couldn't hit shots when we had open opportunities, but that happens though."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Wiggins has gone to the free throw line at least 10 times in three of his last six games ... Kansas outscored WVU 46-18 in the paint ... The Jayhawks' last five wins have all been by double figures ... Staten and Harris each had four turnovers.