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FINAL SCORE: 62-61 West Virginia. What a win, they rushed the court, and understandably so. What a finish. Congrats to West Virginia, and with that, we bid you adieu. Goodnight, and thanks for joining us. Once again, West Virginia SHOCKS Kansas, 62-61.

Juwan Staten has been needing to be the real leader all season. He did what he needed to do in the clutch, and West Virginia has put the Big 12 into a frenzy.

LANES WERE OPEN, STATEN, DRIVES TO THE RIM, AND NAILS THE LAYUP, KU MISSES ON OTHER END!!!!!!! WEST VIRGINIA HAS DONE IT!

FINAL!!!!!!! STATEN WITH THE DRIVING LAYUP, KU MISSES ON OTHER END!!! 62-61 WEST VIRGINIA, COUNTRY ROAAAAAAADS ROAR

2nd Half: 8 Secs Left: Mason misses layup! WVU ball, with 8 secs left! Timeout WVU. However, they go to moniter to check if the ball was off of KU or WVU. Looks like WVU ball.

2nd Half: 30 Secs Left: WVU needs defensive stop then bucket, it's 61-60.

2nd Half: 30 Secs Left: MISSED 1-1, does Kansas. Adrian misses long 3. KU ball, 6 second game clock shot clock difference.

2nd Half: 57 Secs Left: KU turnover! Staten comes back down the court. But, missed it, and Devin Williams fouls out of the game in the process.

2nd Half: 1:38: Staten misses long floater. KU ball.

2nd Half: 2:00: Mason to the Rim! Jayhawks 61-59. Timeout WVU, the Eers need a defensive stop, plug up the lanes.

2nd Half: 2:27: Carter pulled a muscle. The little man is on fire, they can't lose him.

2nd Half: 2:27: CARTER STEALS IT, THEN THE CARTER THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!! 60-59 WVU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2nd Half: 3:00: HUGE needed open 3 by Carter! Down to two.

2nd Half: 3:15: Ellis has a look in his eyes. Wanted to dunk it, but is fouled, nails both from the charity stripe. 19 for the big man!

2nd Half: 3:28: Gary Browne fouled, makes the 2 critical shots. 57-54 KU.

2nd Half: 3:45: Ellis taking over, another floater. 5 point KU lead.

2nd Half: 3:58: Holton ANOTHER foul, very silly there by Holton. Williams and Holton both on bench with 4 fouls.

2nd Half: 4:24: Carter misses front end on 1-1. Big miss there. Holton gets called for dead ball foul.

2nd Half: 4:49, Mason gets open jump shot, nails long jump shot. Then Oubre fouls Carter on other end.

2nd Half: 5:03: Foul on Devin Williams, his 4th, and he's injured.

2nd Half: 5:34: Poor shot by Browne. KU ball, up 1.

2nd Half: 6:11: Ellis and Holten battling. Ellis again, with little jumper. Timeout West Virginia, 53-52, Carter and Staten check back in.

2nd Half: 7:00: Ellis OVER WVU defender, easy shot. KU takes lead back. Then again, Holten down other end, gets layup after o rebound.

2nd Half: 7:18: Holten 1-2 at the line. Mountaineers lead.

2nd Half: 7:30: WVU eating clock, a lot of benchmen out there. Foul on KU, Holton to the line. Scrappy Eers. 19 offensive rebounds, tied 49-49.

2nd Half: 8:14: TRAYLOR offensive foul, Jayhawks all out of sorts. However, Juwan Staten is suffering cramps.

2nd Half, 8:38: LAYUP just before the shot clock goes out by Holten, TIED at 49 a piece. Building is rocking.

2nd Half, 9:10: Another poor shot by Kansas. WVU slowing pace down.

2nd Half, 9:20: Traylor misses shot, WVU ball, down 4. NOW down 2, as Staten gets his 18th point! 49-47 Kansas. Staten is the machine.

2nd Half: 10:34: ANOTHER offensive rebound, the 17th for WVU! Staten makes KU pay with little jumper.

2nd Half: 11:09: Oubre fouls. No FTs. Miles misses 3. Another offensive rebound.

2nd Half: 11:38: Offensive foul on West Virginia, this is just too sloppy. Then again, Lucas does the same for Kansas on other end.

2nd Half: 11:46: Juwan Staten will be back in the game after this TV timeout.

2nd Half: 11:46: West Virginia not looking for open shooters right now, taking too many ill-advised shots. Lucky to be down 6.

2nd Half: 12:42: Jaysean Paige travels for WVU, missed opportunity for West Virginia. Mason AGAIN for three on other end, 6 point Jayhawk lead.

2nd Half: 13:26: Selden misses both!

2nd Half: 14:12: Staten, ROARS down lane, easy layup, but WVU doesn't get back, lets Oubre get easy 3. Williams shoots the THREE, good! 46-43 Kansas. Now Selden heading to line for KU.

2nd Half: 14:30: KU misses contested jumpshot, then a turnover for West Virginia other end. Hard to watch basketball.

2nd Half: 15:00: Ahh, Williams misses an open layup. That's a killer for WVU.

2nd Half 15:50: Mason, demoralizing WVU from deep, another three. WVU ill-advised shot on other end. KU offensive foul on other side. Timeout, sloppy basketball. 43-38 Kansas Jayhawks.

2nd Half: 16:30: Adrian FAKES out the defender, gets open jump shot, good. 40-38, KU.

2nd Half, 17:30: Ellis' pocket is picked, then he fouls. WVU ball, Eers need a response. Mason III fouls.

2nd Half: 17:40: Implosion for the Eers! Ellis in the corner for THREEEEEEEE. However, Staten gets a big THREEEEE himself on the other end. 40-36.

2nd Half: 18:45: Another poor offensive possession for West Virginia. On the other end, Ellis with the spin move, GOOD shot, 37-33 KU.

2nd Half: 19:18: West Virginia's poor defense in the paint has caught up to them, continually giving up easy layups. Then they forget to cover the open kickout three, and now Kansas leads.

2nd Half, 19:18: OUBRE FOR THREE! KANSAS FINALLY LEADS, 35-33!

2nd Half: 20:00: We are back! KU ball, Ellis attacks and gets the easy layup to start things out.

HALFTIME: Not far away from the 2nd half. Adjustments needed for both teams: Defensive rebounding. Kansas has 8 offensive rebounds, while WVU has a whopping 11. Poor job on defense by both teams in that spectrum.

HALFTIME: A very interesting, topsy-turvy half, but Kansas never led. West Virginia has responded for nearly every Kansas run, but the Mountaineers' press has not worked. Kansas has broke it for the most part, but their defense is what is hurting them. Devin Williams has been what West Virginia needed, having 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Juwan Staten leads WVU in scoring, with 7 points, hitting some critical jump shots. On the other end, Frank Mason has been the energy Kansas has needed, and Jamari Traylor has been good for KU off of the bench. Sit tight folks, as we're in for a wild 2nd half.

HALFTIME: 33-30 West Virginia lead over Kansas.

1st Half, 18 Secs Left: Staten, with the rushing layup! They needed that.

1st Half: 33 Secs Left: Perry Ellis is a BRUTE! Gets the layup, then WVU gets a poor shot other end. Mason III for THREE, BOOM. 31-30 West Virginia, lead hanging by a thread! Bob Huggins is furious about some non-calls. WVU ball, though.

1st Half, 1:55: Nathan Adrian missed another jump shot, KU turns it over on other end, WVU  ball again, Carter unloads, BANG for 3.

1st Half, 2:15: Williams, ZOOM to the rim again, X Factor so far tonight. Graham steps out of bounds on other end, WVU ball, 28-25 in their favor.

1st Half: 3:20: Mason makes 1-2, 26-25 Eers.

1st Half: 3:20: West Virginia smothered down low. Kansas is on the run, WVU looks lackadaisical, then fouls Mason III on the other end.

1st Half: 4:24: West Virginia getting owned all of the sudden, not getting defensive rebounds. KU getting used to WVU's pressure, breaking it. WVU goes down the other end, timeout. 26-24. West Virginia has to tighten up soon, or they will lose this lead.

1st Half: 5:00: West Virginia turnover, KU returns the favor as Lucas passes it directly to the other team.  Staten's 3 rattles out. Traylor misses dunk on other end, then WVU's Holten BLOCKS Traylor.

1st Half, 5:50: Traylor again, offensive rebound and putback. Then the great Staten for WVU, for THREE. Selden breaks WVU press immediately afterwards to get easy layup. 26-22 WVU.

1st Half, 6:00: KU Makes both, 21-18 WVU. Williams with a GREAT surge, gets layup, 23-18.

1st Half, 6:44: Macon with a blocking foul, Devin Williams comes in to replace the struggling Macon. Bad sign for West Virginia.

1st Half, 7:05: Macon misses both!

1st Half, 7:05: Elijah Macon, the freshman, heading to foul line for West Virginia. However, the pace is in the favor of Kansas right now, WVU standing around on offense. Timeout.

1st Half, 7:12: Staten taking over, Staten with the deep 2, impressive jumper. KU goes down uses Oubre in the lane, then the get steal, Oubre again with DUNK. 21-16 WVU, KU tightening up.

1st Half: 8:31: Ellis then fouled, West Virginia not getting defensive rebounds. Ellis nails both.

1st Half, 8:46: 3 second violation on WVU, KU then breaks WVU press, runs, but Devin Williams has to foul. KU not in bonus.

1st Half: 9:34: Blocking foul, Staten. Then a pretty shot off the glass to make this a nine point game, nice shot by Selden.

1st Half, 9:41: Williams, Carter, and Browne lead WVU scorers with 4 each. Mason III lead KU with 4.

1st Half: 9:41: Staten DRIVING in the lane, and West Virginia is wanting to RUN. 19-8, KU timeout!

1st Half: 11:00: KU misses contested 3, WVU with rebound. Devonte Graham steals from WVU, Ellis then misses rebound, Traylor cleans up, 14-8 WVU. PAIGE nails shot beyond the arc, 17-8. Offensive foul on Graham on other end.

1st Half: 11:10: Tarik Phillip steals from Selden, then is FOULED. WVU ball, 14-6. West Virginia keeps on getting offensive rebounds, using clock. But, Devin Williams steps out of bounds, now TV timeout. Will comeback with it being KU ball.

1st Half, 12:20: 3 offensive rebounds on that possession, then got it to Carter, NAILS the fadeaway 2.

1st Half, 13:15: Mason with the steal, drives for the layup, now 12-6 WVU. Mason speedy for KU.

1st Half, 13:32: Jevon Carter, the young WVU sharpshooter, fouled by Landen Lucas. Nails both FTs, 12-4 West Virginia. Or shall we say it, Press Virginia.

1st Half: 13:32: WVU was down to 1 sec on shot clock, missed, but got rebound. Then Staten with shot, misses. Nathan Adrian with a silly foul afterwards. Kansas goes down the floor and guess what, turns it over.

1st Half: 15:30: WVU did miss that open three. Mason Jr. goes down the floor and nails a floater.

1st Half: 15:48: West Virginia timeout. Great start by the Mountaineers, Bob Huggins couldn't have asked for more. They have found a sloppy Kansas team that looks a bit lost early. And Devin Williams is off to a great shooting start. Once again, 10-2 WVU, now their ball again.

1st Half, 16:00: Selden STEPS out of bounds, WVU ball, Kansas is getting trapped and not responding well.

1st Half, 16:40: Great pass to Oubre Jr., easy layup, they broke the press. 8-2. Then Devin Williams with the JUMPER, 10-2 WVU.

1st Half, 16:56: Kansas is retreating, Miles Jr. with the jumper, GOOD! 8-0 West Virginia. TV Timeout.

1st Half: 17:30: Williams, that's what the Eers needed, jumper, 6-0. Kansas turns it over AGAIN, WVU ball.

1st Half: 17:52: Browne Jr. makes 1 out of 2. Kansas TURNS it over, now WVU ball.

1st Half, 18:10: Ball knocked away from Browne Jr., then Staten. Then Browne is fouled by Kelly Oubre Jr, great move by Browne.

1st Half, 18:37: Perry Ellis misses floater, Juwan Staten misses J on other end.

1st Half, 19:33: Gary Browne Jr., WVU captain, gets the Eers off with a deep 3.

1st Half, 20:00: And we are off! West Virginia gets the opening tip.

Crowds lower than expected, mostly due to the horrible weather around Morgantown.

Muskets are firing. Mountaineer starting lineup being introduced.

Teams are almost ready. We are almost underway.

Only a few minutes away from game time. Who do you think will win? Tweet us at @CollegeBB_VAVEL.

15 minutes till the game, and let's list some keys for both teams: Kansas- Beat. The. Press. If they can beat the press, which they have struggled with recently, they will beat West Virginia. Rip down the court in transition, and get out of the trap with some kickout threes. West Virginia- Get inside for layups by getting Devin Williams going early. He ripped Kansas last year when the Jayhawks lost in Morgantown, but he will need a repeat performance.

Now about 30 minutes until tip off in snowy Morgantown. WVU Coliseum should be near a capacity crowd of near 14,000 fans tonight looking for a fun game.

We can't leave Bob Huggins out of this conversation either when it comes to underrated yet electric head coaches. The always talkative and somewhat gruff 'Huggy Bear' has a stunning 758–305 career record, with his time at Cincinnati and WVU being his biggest accomplishments. Leading the Mountaineers to the Final Four in 2010 cemented his legacy, but he is still seeking first NCAA Championship in his 61st year of life. If the program wishes to do it this year, they have a lot of work to do, but never doubt a Bob Huggins-coached team.

In a recent article for VAVEL USA, Bo Walsh talked about the underrated nature of Bill Self. Consider this. Self is a young and energetic looking 52 years of age who will turn 53 in December. He is nearing 550 career wins, which is indicative not only of his great success at Kansas, but also excellent records at Illinois, Tulsa, and Oral Roberts. Do you know how many career wins the sublime Mike Krzyzewski had going into the season when he turned 53? 461. That's right, Self is 80+ wins (and counting) ahead of the first coach in men's D-I history to notch one thousand victories at a similar place in their careers. (Billy Donovan is also well ahead of that nebulous point of evaluation, having attained his 462nd victory at the tender age of 49) This is not to predict that Self will one day attain one thousand wins, much less surpass Coach K. (The wondrous Duke coach, a 67 year old who looks like he is about to turn 42, just might grab another thousand wins with the way he's going.) Surely, Self's critics will assert that he needs at least one more national title, if not multiple titles, to earn the consistently high praise of the other greats. That's a subjective opinion that may have merit, but is also a testament to how ridiculously high the bar is for the Kansas coach in the eyes of some. (Last comparison. John Wooden, the greatest of all the college hoop coaching legends and holder of the most national titles with a breath taking 10, didn't win his first until he was 53.)

The game Kansas Jayhawks - West Virginia Mountaineers Live will start at 9:00 PM EST, and VAVEL USA will lead you through it all on this LIVE.

This is a late time in the season to play someone for the first time in the Big 12, a league where everyone plays each other twice. In what is known as 'Hell In A Hole' for visiting teams, WVU Coliseum will be rocking tonight, and the home court advantage is massive in college basketball. Kansas should be favored to win, but never underestimate the Mountaineers, as they will be ready to compete.

West Virginia is not favored in this game, and that is due to their system of play being shredded the last few games, and their young squad being rattled. Juwan Staten was the preseason Big 12 player of the year, but in a way has struggled to live up to those expectations. He is an explosive scorer, known to score in bunches, but the leadership has not been there in crunch time. Devin Williams will be a critical factor tonight. Usually the Mountaineers' most reliable threat in the paint, he has struggled shooting mightily in the past few games, and without him, West Virginia virtually has no paint presence. Legendary coach Bob Huggins knows his 'Eers will have to get him going early and often to have a chance tonight, while needing some production by Jonathan Holten and Brandon Watkins, non-factors the past few matchups. Kansas has struggled against the press recently, and West Virginia masters it, as they lead in the nation with at least 12 steals a game. 'Press Virginia' has gotten mixed results from their scheme, resulting in some backlash, but they should stick with it, as they're too far deep into the season to fully change their strategies. They need to make sure that they don't allow Kansas to get wide open threes by WVU getting 'trap-happy'. They need to follow Coach Huggins' orders, as he's been waiting for this game all year.

A massive reason for Kansas' success has been the production of freshmen Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cliff Alexander. Oubre Jr. is an energetic backcourt leader that takes the game into his hands when necessary, and Alexander, although is maturation has come slowly, is a monster in the paint on both ends of the floor. These are two catalysts that Bill Self has used wisely. Also, KU's bench is making a name for itself. Brannen Greene, one of the purest shooters in the nation, is their sixth man, while Jamari Traylor can impact the defense. Devonte Graham has also offered a boost for the boys of Lawrence.

The Jayhawks have boasted an average of 38.6 rebounds a game, good for 21st in the nation. This impressive stat is bolstered heavily by junior forward Perry Ellis, who leads the team in scoring and rebounds with 13.1 PPG & 7 RPG. Jayhawks scoring has been quite the team effort, as when on player struggles, another steps up. The backcourt has been led by Frank Mason III and Wayne Selden Jr., as they both score over 10 points a game. Frank Mason Jr. in particular has become a leader, as exposed by our Brendan Dzwierzynski in a recent article. Taking a look at just the most basic of statistics, Mason, a sophomore from Petersburg, Virginia, has been a leader on the team this season. He's leading the team in points, averaging just under 13 per game, he's leading the team in assists and he has the second best assist/turnover ratio on the team, only behind Devonte Graham. Mason has also truly asserted himself as a floor general and symbol of consistency, leading the team in minutes with over 33 per game. He is not a national star at this point, but Mason is having one of the best seasons that any Bill Self point guard has had. Mason III has drawn comparisons to Sherron Collins played for KU for four years, earning All-America honors in both his junior and senior seasons (being elected in 2009 and 2010, respectively).

Kansas enters frigid Morgantown solidly in the top place of the Big 12 conference, in the drivers seat for their 14th Big 12 regular season title. Bill Self has once again built his motley crew of Jayhawks into a national contender, shaking off their early season struggles to put forth a marvelous run in conference play. The team's balance in scoring and great rebounding margins have put them in this position. West Virginia has had a topsy-turvy go of it in their season, having a 12-1 nonconference record, while suffering some blow-out losses in Big 12 play to have a 19-6 overall record. Their press has caused problems for many teams, but when the press is broke, they seem to evaporate. Poor play from their big men has been a big cause of their recent 1-3 stretch.

Good evening from the beautiful mountains of West Virginia, and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE Kansas Jayhawks - West Virginia Mountaineers commentary. I'm Ben Anderson, your host for this critical matchup in the Big 12 conference. These are two teams heading in opposite directions, but the game could go either way, and we'll lead you through the big college basketball hootenanny.

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About the author
Ben Anderson
Hi, folks. I am Ben, a West Virginian, loud and proud. I've been the editor in chief of VAVEL USA since December of 2013, and continue to work hard and make the International Sports Newspaper the best on the internet.