MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 1 Kansas turned sloppy, West Virginia sixth man Jaysean Paige played inspired and the No. 11 Mountaineers seized early control of the Big 12.
Paige closed the night with a steal and breakaway dunk to give the guard 26 points, and forward Devin Williams contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds in a 74-63 upset that ended with students swarming the floor. West Virginia (15-1, 4-0 Big 12) knocked off the Jayhawks for a third straight season.
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“I was ready to play,” said Paige, who made five steals and sank 14-of-17 at the foul line. “When I had the opportunity, I drove it. That was the game plan, to take it at them.”
Forward Perry Ellis’ 21 points weren’t enough to save Kansas (14-2, 3-1), which didn’t approach its 88 points-per-game average, had a 13-game win streak snapped and sabotaged itself with a season-worst 22 turnovers. Point guard Frank Mason committed seven of those to offset his 12 points, while guard Wayne Selden fumbled away six turnovers while scoring 11.
Some mistakes surfaced from West Virginia’s full-court pressure, others were born of carelessness.
“We were atrocious offensively as far as taking care of the basketball,” said Kansas coach Bill Self.
BOXSCORE: West Virginia 74, Kansas 63
Mountaineers guard Jevon Carter played harassing defense on Mason and scored 10, including a curl-around 3 that put West Virginia up 55-44 with 9:23 left. The Jayhawks didn’t close to within single digits again until the final minute.
The attacking Mountaineers enjoyed a 47-21 edge in free-throw attempts, and thanks to Paige, a 40-10 edge in bench scoring.
“We beat a heck a basketball team. They’re No. 1 in the country for a reason,” said Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins. “This isn’t going to happen to them very often, if ever again. They’re good.”
The game was a near-sellout, though for the second straight year, an untimely snowstorm and icy roads meant thousands of no-shows. The 12,000-plus who trudged in—some not arriving until halftime—made ample noise as their team remained the only unbeaten in conference play.
“There’s going to be a lot of teams that lose here,” said Self.
Paige, held to a combined seven points and six turnovers in two previous games against Kansas, scored 17 in the first half to spark a 37-29 lead. He scored 11 during an 18-5 run that put WVU ahead for good.
The Jayhawks had 12 turnovers by intermission, surpassing their per-game average. After one sloppy bounce pass from Mason caromed out of bounds, Self screamed at his point guard and stomped down the sideline.
“(Carter) was tremendous at taking Frank out of the game,” Self said.
Ellis scored 11 and guard Devonte’ Graham beat the halftime buzzer with a straight-on 3 to keep Kansas close, before West Virginia used three point-blank baskets to go up 43-30 early in the second half.
“They were so much more aggressive and quicker,” Self said. “They played high above the rim and we didn’t. They beat us off the bounce whenever they wanted to.”
West Virginia was committing 24.4 fouls per game, third-most in Division I, yet Kansas was whistled for 32 and West Virginia only 20.