No. 6 KU cruises past West Virginia 87-63 in Big 12 quarters

Ochai Agbaji led sixth-ranked Kansas with 18 factors, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins picked up two technical fouls and was ejected 10 minutes into the sport, and the Jayhawks cruised previous the Mountaineers 87-63 on Thursday within the Huge 12 Match.

The highest-seeded Jayhawks (26-6), who additionally beat the Mountaineers twice within the common season, will play fifth-seeded TCU on Friday evening for a spot within the title recreation. The Horned Frogs rallied from 20 all the way down to beat No. 22 Texas earlier within the day.

Christian Braun added 11 factors and 15 rebounds for Kansas, which jumped out to a 41-19 lead by halftime and was by no means critically threatened down the stretch. Jalen Wilson had 15 factors and Mitch Lightfoot completed with 10.

Malik Curry led West Virginia ( 16-17) with 19 factors. Taz Sherman had 10 factors however was simply 3 of 14 from the sector.

A lot of the pleasure within the Huge 12 Match’s second quarterfinal got here within the first 10 minutes.

The Jayhawks roared to a 19-4 lead because of Agbaji and Lightfoot, whose alley-oop bucket despatched a T-Cell Heart filled with red- and blue-clad followers right into a frenzy.

On the different finish, Sherman missed a bucket — the sixteenth miss within the Mountaineers’ first 17 pictures — and complained to referee Doug Sirmons concerning the no-call. Sirmons instantly gave him a technical foul, and when Huggins roared off the bench in protection of his participant, the Mountaineers’ Corridor of Fame finalist bought two technicals of his personal.

Huggins’ longtime affiliate head coach, Larry Harrison, took over when he headed to the locker room.

Wilson took the free throws for the Jayhawks, making 5 of the six from the three technical fouls, and that gave the Huge 12 regular-season co-champs a 24-4 lead.

The lead swelled to 41-19 because the Mountaineers went 5 for 31 from the sector within the first half.

And in contrast to the opening quarterfinal Thursday, when the Horned Frogs dug out from an 18-point halftime gap to beat the fifth-seeded Longhorns, the Jayhawks offered a solution each time West Virginia tried to mount a run.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia once more bought a giant efficiency from Curry, who got here off the bench to attain 17 in a first-round win over Kansas State. However the remainder of the Mountaineers’ backcourt continued to wrestle, an issue compounded by their lack of a dependable presence within the put up. They had been outrebounded 48-27 and outscored 48-22 within the paint.

Kansas shot higher than 50% from the sector in every half, usually attending to the bucket for simple baskets down low. Nevertheless it figures to have a a lot harder time towards Eddie Lampkin and the Horned Frogs.

UP NEXT

The Jayhawks meet the Horned Frogs, who’ve by no means performed for a Huge 12 title, in Friday evening’s semifinals.