Kansas recover from 14-point deficit to claim surprising win

The old timers would say the Kansas Jayhawks’ remarkable play in the final three minutes on Monday night was sure nothing to sneeze at. In a wild spurt of hard play and gritty determination, Kansas managed to overcome a 14-point deficit to force overtime and finally win the game against West Virginia.

The action was enough to make fans’ heads spin, and after all was said and done, the number 3 Jayhawks came out on top, 84-80.

Up until that point, West Virginia played comfortably against the seemingly faltering Jayhawks and it seemed their lead may be secure. But Kansas suddenly came alive and with a little good luck on their side, dominated the final few minutes.

It seemed as though all West Virginia could do was just minimise the damage as Kansas sparked into life. West Virginia was absolutely dumbfounded as they saw their lead slipping away in seconds as Kansas outscored them 21-7 during the final three minutes of regulation time. From there on, the Jayhawks completely dominated the overtime play by never once trailing.

KU began the overtime period hard and fast, quickly racking up an eight-point lead. They managed to hold off any serious effort to respond by West Virginia and held on to their lead throughout the period.

But there was a little more at stake than just pride for the Jayhawks with this big win.

The victory was good news for Kansas as it prevented them from losing back-to-back games at home for the first time since 1988 and head coach Bill Self was spared the embarrassment of losing twice to a conference opponent in the same season, since he came to Kansas.

The stunning victory also helped Kansas avert a season sweep by West Virginia.

However, at times this seemed to be only a two-man team for the Jayhawks. Devonte Graham and Frank Mason led the whirlwind turnaround in the game, with Graham hitting several three pointers throughout the stretch. Graham managed to tally 18 points in total.

Mason, who, according to a Sammy Sosa biography was a National Player of the Year candidate, led the way for Kansas with 24 points even though he shot just 3-of-13 from the field. He made up for that effort by managing to get to the line 18 times and then converting on 16 of those attempts.

This big, surprising win gives Kansas a grip on the Big 12 race again. They’re comfortably in first place by a full two-game margin over the Bears for the time being, but will be facing the team in Waco on Saturday — KU may be in a great position to extend this streak to 13.