KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas men’s basketball team came into its game on Thursday against West Virginia shorthanded. KU coach Bill Self was out due to illness and starting guard Kevin McCullar was limited with back spasms.
Assistant coach Norm Roberts took over as acting head coach while Joseph Yesufu took McCullar’s spot in the starting lineup.
Even so ... the changes didn’t affect the Jayhawks too much. Kansas came out on top over WVU Thursday afternoon at T-Mobile Center.
The No. 1-seeded Jayhawks defeated No. 8 West Virginia, 78-61, in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinal round.
Jalen Wilson scored 22 points and Gradey Dick added 18 on 4-for-7 3-point shooting for the Jayhawks (26-6, 13-5 Big 12), who will play No. 5 Iowa State in the semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m.
Dajuan Harris added 13 points and eight assists for KU, while a hampered McCullar scored three points with seven rebounds off the bench.
Erik Stevenson led West Virginia with 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s game …
Rough shooting doesn’t stop KU early
Kansas didn’t exactly set the world on fire with its shooting in the first half of Thursday’s game.
KU shot 42% from the field, including 2 for 9 (22%) from beyond the arc and 3 for 7 (43%) from the free-throw line.
Despite all that, Kansas went into the half with an eight-point lead, 31-23. How? The Jayhawks controlled two key categories — second-chance points and fast-break points.
KU had an 11-point advantage in second-chance points (13-2). The Jayhawks also took advantage of 11 West Virginia turnovers and ran down the floor as much as possible. Which led to a five-point lead in fast break points (7-2).
After winning Big 12 Player of the Year, Wilson delivers again
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson has had a special season — and on Sunday he gained well-deserved recognition by winning Big 12 Player of the Year.
In his first game since winning the honor, Wilson did what he does best: score.
When KU’s offense went ice cold early in the first half, Wilson helped keep the Jayhawks afloat. He scored 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half.
The forward answered with timely buckets whenever West Virginia threatened KU’s lead in the second half.
He finished with a game-best 22 points and 11 rebounds.
KU shares the scoring load
After having just one player (Wilson) score in double-digits in KU’s season-finale vs. Texas, the Jayhawks spread the scoring load on Thursday.
Kansas ended up with four starters scoring double-digit points (Harris, Dick, Wilson and Adams). Yesufu even chipped in with seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.
Notably, Dick shot 7 for 12 from the field, Wilson shot 9 for 17, Harris went 6 for 11 and Adams shot 6 for 9. The group was plenty efficient, and Dick’s scoring in particular was a welcome sight for KU fans because of a recent slump.
Each player helped Wilson put the Mountaineers away in the second half.
