West Virginia
RaeQuan Battle, Pat Suemnick lead West Virginia over No. 3 Kansas 91-85 – WTOP News
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia can finally enjoy some positives after going through the ringer the past eight months.…
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia can finally enjoy some positives after going through the ringer the past eight months.
The Mountaineers have endured Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins’ exit following a drunken driving arrest that led to a roster makeover.
Add to that a preseason health scare for forward Akok Akok, a nine-game suspension for guard Kerr Kriisa, Jesse Edwards missing the past month with a broken wrist, and an ongoing court fight with the NCAA that had temporarily sidelined multiple-transfer players RaeQuan Battle and Noah Farrakhan.
Tipping the scale in the other direction was Saturday’s euphoria. Battle scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Pat Suemnick added a career-high 20 points and West Virginia beat No. 3 Kansas 91-85.
“It’s a surreal moment, man,” Battle said. “It’s hard to win games like that, especially doing it at this level and being a few steps behind because we had a crazy offseason. I’m just proud of this team and the coaching staff.”
Fans stormed the court after the Mountaineers (7-11, 2-3 Big 12) improved to 7-5 against Kansas in Morgantown and broke a six-game losing streak in the series.
“That one felt good,” said West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert, who took over a week after Huggins’ arrest.
“That’s what our guys needed,” Eilert said. “I’m going to savor it tonight, I promise you that. We’ve been through a lot. This fan base has been through a lot. But tomorrow it’s right back to it to figure out a game plan for Central Florida.”
The win came a week after the Mountaineers beat then-No. 25 Texas, also at home.
West Virginia set the pace Saturday with an early 3-point barrage and outhustled the Jayhawks to get key free throws in the end.
Kansas (15-3, 3-2) trailed for most of the second half until KJ Adams hit two free throws for an 81-80 lead with 2:41 remaining. Suemnick answered with a bank shot over Hunter Dickinson 35 seconds later to give the Mountaineers the lead for good.
West Virginia sealed the win by making nine of 10 free throws in the final 34 seconds.
“I just think we wanted it more,” Suemnick said.
Kriisa added 15 points for the Mountaineers.
Kevin McCullar led Kansas with 24 points and Dickinson scored 19. Freshman Johnny Furphy hit three 3-pointers and grabbed three rebounds in the first four minutes but went 22 minutes before scoring again and finished with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Mountaineers, the Big 12’s worst 3-point shooting team, made 12 of 21 (57%) from beyond the arc, including nine of their first 11.
Shooting wasn’t a problem for Kansas, either. The Jayhawks went 32 of 60 (53%) from the floor.
“There’s going to be games like this for everybody” in the Big 12, Kansas coach Bill Self said. “It’s a monster league.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Kansas could drop several spots in the AP Top 25 poll.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas: It’s the most points allowed this season by the Jayhawks, who ran into a determined team that has beaten two straight ranked opponents at home.
West Virginia: With Edwards still out, Eilert stressed the importance of rebounding. The Mountaineers outrebounded Kansas 31-22, the Jayhawks’ lowest total this season.
“I felt like we were quicker to the ball,” Eilert said.
UP NEXT
Kansas: Hosts Cincinnati on Monday night.
West Virginia: Plays at UCF on Tuesday night.
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West Virginia has added another commitment from Wyoming defensive end transfer Braden Siders.
Siders, 6-foot-3, 252-pounds, spent four years with the Cowboys although he redshirted in his first with the football program. Over the past three seasons Siders appeared in 33 games and started a total of 26 of those.
The Colorado native is coming off a season where he recorded 21 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks but appeared in only a total of eight games. In 2022, Siders had 44 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 7 sacks.
Over the course of his three years on the field, Siders has 91 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.
Siders entered the transfer portal Dec. 6 and reported offers from UAB, Louisiana-Monroe, Tulsa, James Madison and Bowling Green.
Siders becomes the first defensive lineman to commit to West Virginia from the transfer portal and has one year of eligibility remaining in his career.
WVSports.com will have more with Siders in the near future.
West Virginia Mountaineers: Commitment 101: Daveon Walker
West Virginia continues to add pieces to the roster and the latest was from the junior college ranks with a commitment from Butler C.C. Daveon Walker.
Walker, 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, grabbed an offer from the Mountaineers Jan. 4 and then took an official visit to Morgantown where he saw enough to commit to the program a few days later.
The talented wide receiver held offers from North Carolina, Samford and a number of others.
This past season at Butler he recorded a total of 19 catches for 331 yards.
Prior to that Walker was at Vanderbilt where he spent two seasons and played in just one game before transferring to Butler. The Georgia native played at Warer Robins High school where he caught 60 passes for 1,154 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Walker is the latest addition to the wide receiver room this off season joining four transfers in Jacksonville State transfer Cam Vaughn, Eastern Michgan transfer Oran Singleton, Youngstown State wide receiver Cyrus Traugh and Jacksonville State wide receiver Jarod Bowie.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Walker and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Walker is a wide receiver with good size that understands body positioning as well as how to go up and get the football when it’s in the air. He has the right combination of size to win in contested catch situations and the ability to win down the field.
Displays good body control to adjust to the football and is used primarily as an outside wide receiver during his lone season at Butler and there is likely where he ends up in Morgantown. Given his size, Walker also is a tough tackle once he catches the football and shows the ability to make people miss.
The Mountaineers have added a nice mixture of different skill sets for the wide receiver room so far this off-season and Walker has the versatility to fit several roles.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia offered Walker and was able to close the deal in a rather quick fashion. The Mountaineers will have 12 other scholarship wide receivers on the roster outside of Walker and he will have the chance to carve out a role given his experience throughout his career.
The Mountaineers needed to increase the talent level there and Walker certainly does that.
Walker has been to campus and should be able to adjust given his comfort level with the school as well as how the coaching staff prioritized him in his recruitment. He should have at least two years remaining as well which gives him time to make an impact.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia is still in pursuit of wide receivers to add to the roster with Anderson (S.C.) Westside 2025 athlete Armoni Weaver and Fort Myers (Fla.) 2025 athlete Madrid Tucker being two high school prospecrs that the new coaching staff has extended offers to. Both plan to visit.
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