Going into Tuesday night's showdown at the WVU Coliseum, the number one ranked Kansas Jayhawks had lost to the Mountaineers in their two previous trips to Morgantown. This time things were a little bit different with Kansas being the number one overall team in the country. One thing that must be said, however, is that the Mountaineers are very good themselves this year. Both teams entered Tuesday's game with identical records, both teams 14-1 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 conference play.

When all was said and done, fans rushed the court after West Virginia prevailed, 74-63.

In the first half, West Virginia put on the full court press as they always do and turned it into "Press Virginia". The Mountaineers led the Jayhawks 37-29 at half of this contest. In the first half, rebounding and defense were the difference that put West Virginia above Kansas. In the first half alone, the Mountaineers collected ten offensive boards.

The second half started with a 6-1 West Virginia run to put them ahead by a score of 43-30. The Jayhawks responded with a 9-0 run of their own to make the game interesting. The game never got out of hand and the Jayhawks were never truly out of it. The offensive rebounds given up to the Mountaineers, which totaled 15 by game's end, was not the only killer for Kansas. Kansas had far too many turnovers with 22 on the night. This performance was one that you rarely see from a Bill Self-coached team, but a lot of that has to be credited to West Virginia and their full court press. This is a Kansas offense that ranks second in the nation in scoring, with 88.4 points per game.

With the win, West Virginia moves to first in the Big 12 standings and should see an increase in their rank this week. Senior guard Jaysean Paige led all scorers with 26 points on 6-13 shooting. To go along with Paige's 46% shooting from the field, he also made 14 of his 17 free throw attempts. The 26 points was a career-high for Paige and he also tallied four rebounds and five steals.

Kansas relied on senior forward Perry Ellis to carry the load for the Jayhawks on offense. Ellis finished with 21 points, leading all Jayhawk scorers. He also collected seven rebounds, tallied three assists and had two steals. Ellis shot 57% (8-for-14) on Tuesday night and was four for six at the charity stripe.

For West Virginia, a win as big as this one provides them with more than just a solid resume builder. While a win over a number one team provides an excellent boost to West Virginia's resume come tournament time, it also provides them with promise and hope. This is a team that has flown under the radar and now it may be their arrival as one of the top teams in the nation. West Virginia gets the number two Oklahoma Sooners in their next Big 12 matchup. Bob Huggins's group will travel to Norman to take on Lon Kruger's team, who are very well coached and are having a great year themselves, led by senior shooting guard Buddy Hield.

As for the Jayhawks, they go back home Saturday to a place where they play very well at historically. They will take on the Horned Frogs of TCU who are seventh in the Big 12 and own a record of 9-6. A loss like the one suffered at the hands of West Virginia is not always a bad thing and in this case it may be a good result for the Jayhawks. It allows the team to build and grow together. Kansas is a great team that has a solid core of guys and some intriguing freshmen pieces as well. With Bill Self being one of the best coaches in college basketball, he will take advantage of this opportunity and teach his players and enable them to get better because of it.

Now for both of these teams, they will have another meeting before this college basketball season wraps up. It looks as if Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Kansas will be battling it out for the Big 12 title this season. The Jayhawks' chance at redemption comes in about a month when the Jayhawks welcome the Mountaineers to their own home at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.