No. 9 Kansas claims 11th straight Big 12 title with overtime win over WVU

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West Virginia's top scorer, Juwan Staten, missed all of last Saturday’s 78-66 loss at then-No. 19 Baylor with an injury. The Mountaineers also lost senior guard Gary Browne, who suffered a knee injury against the Bears.

Despite the absence of the two veteran guards, the Mountaineers visited No. 9 Kansas on Tuesday and gave the Jayhawks everything they could handle.

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Kansas forced overtime after trailing most of the game and avoided the upset with a 76-69 win. The Jayhawks claimed their 11th straight regular season Big 12 Conference title with the victory and avenged a 62-61 loss at West Virginia on Feb. 16. 

The Jayhawks (24-6, 13-4 Big 12) trailed 40-26 at halftime and then had to play the second half without leading scorer Perry Ellis. The junior forward, who is a favorite to be the conference player of the year, left the game with an apparent knee injury.

Even without their offensive leader, the Jayhawks slowly cut into West Virginia’s lead and benefited from three missed free throws by West Virginia in the final minute. Kansas’ Devonte Graham sunk a pair of foul shots with 12 seconds remaining to tie the game at 59-59.

West Virginia missed a pair of field goals in the final seconds to send the game to overtime. The Mountaineers then missed two more free throws in the extra period.

All of Jamari Traylor’s 14 points for Kansas came after halftime, and his thunderous dunk on a fast-break feed from Wayne Selden helped the Jayhawks steal the momentum. Prior to overtime, the only lead Kansas held was a 4-2 advantage two minutes into the game.

The Mountaineers (22-8, 10-7 Big 12) were led by Daxter Miles' 23 points. West Virginia also got 13 points from Tarik Phillip, and Jonathon Holton scored 12. 

On Saturday, Kansas will close its regular season at No. 15 Oklahoma, while West Virginia will play host to Oklahoma State. The Big 12 Tournament begins March 11. 

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