Azubuike stars as No. 13 Kansas rallies past No. 20 WVU

In the end though, the power of Allen Fieldhouse proved to be too much for the Mountaineers. Defensively, Kansas is allowing 70.8 points per game. Kansas had a clear advantage at the free throw line, racking up 35 free throw attempts throughout the game.

The Mountaineers only came away with 4 steals over the course of 40 minutes. The last time the Jayhawks covered the spread at home against a Big 12 opponent was February of last season. The two schools originally agreed to a six-game series back in 2008. Leads the team in scoring (17.5) and assists (7.2). WVU hit numerous contested, off-balance threes to build up the lead. Again. That’s been a common theme during much of the past month and this season (WVU is minus-92 in the second half during its eight losses this season). He also played a great game, so he is not the only one that contributed to the loss. On the season, the sophomore is now shooting just under 50 percent.

Equally surprising as Azubuike’s foul shooting was Daxter Miles heating up from 3-point range for West Virginia. He is second on the team with a 5.1 rebound average, just ahead of redshirt-sophomore G Malik Newman’s 5.0 rpg. Shooting 76.5% from the field. Not causing enough turnovers and rebounding late in games have been factors plaguing West Virginia for the past month. Auburn gradually fought its way back into the game, trimming the deficit to five points in the second half. Scored two points in seven minutes.

With Kansas constantly deploying weapons around the perimeter plus an occasional boost inside, the Jayhawks are never out of a game. West Virginia’s Katrina Pardee hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left.

At this point, No. 13 Kansas is a war-torn, battle-scarred unit desperate for any sort of reinforcements. Laziness and lack of awareness also has hurt West Virginia on rebounding, as the Jayhawks’ grabbed multiple offensive rebounds that led to baskets to claw their way back into the game.

Having made multiple second-half comebacks this season, 10th-ranked Auburn dug itself an incredibly deep hole during the first half of Saturday’s game at SC.

The story of the game was the second half collapse.

However, some the same late-game woes continue to be the downfall of the Mountaineers. They can not avoid getting sucked in on penetration and leave the Jayhawks open along the perimeter.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was ejected with eight seconds remaining protesting a no-call on what he thought was a foul on Kansas. He even threw in three blocks just for good measure. Senior G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is third in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (44.4) and third in 3-point field goals made (3.2) as he is the only player in the conference to rank that high in both 3-point stats.

Marcus Garrett, a freshman guard for Kansas who’s seen his minutes increase lately, said it was the leadership that calmed the waters of a hectic environment.