West Virginia vs. Kansas: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

Welcome to college basketball in March.

The Kansas Jayhawks outlasted the West Virginia Mountaineers in overtime Tuesday, 76-69, clinching yet another outright Big 12 regular-season title in front of 16,000-plus overjoyed fans. The game featured a blown 18-point lead, emotional swings in both directions, a raucous crowd in one of the best atmospheres in the entire sport and an incredible block to end regulation and force the extra period.

Kansas found itself behind by 14 at halftime but gradually chipped away at the lead until a late charge in the final minutes tied it up. The Jayhawks then took care of business in front of their home fans in overtime.

Frank Mason III led the way with 19 points, but Jamari Traylor scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds while making a number of critical baskets down the stretch in overtime. Daxter Miles Jr. spearheaded the West Virginia attack with 23 points.

NCAA March Madness summarized the proceedings:

Rock Chalk described just how difficult of a win it was for Kansas:

"

Kansas lost their best player, Perry Ellis, due to injury, were already without Cliff... & were down 40-26 at halftime. They came back & won

— Rock Chalk (@RCJH_GoKU) March 4, 2015"

Despite facing a Jayhawks team trying to clinch a Big 12 outright title at home, West Virginia got off to the hotter start. TD Dery of Waiting for Next Year noted part of the problem for Kansas was the Mountaineers' full-court press:

Before the crowd even fully settled into its seats, it was 17-6 in favor of Bob Huggins' squad. Bloguin's The Student Section pointed out the slow start was nothing new for Kansas, while C.J. Moore of Bleacher Report described the offensive issues for the home team:

The Mountaineers cooled off in the middle of the first half, but Kansas couldn't make progress at all, as Dave Hickman of the Charleston Gazette noted:

Tom Keegan of the Lawrence Journal-World pointed out that West Virginia's relentless effort on the glass was one reason Kansas struggled to cut into the lead:

Things only got worse for Kansas when Perry Ellis went down with an injury and had to leave the game. David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest passed along the news:

West Virginia rode its momentum into the half and seized a 40-26 lead by intermission. Kansas coach Bill Self couldn't have been pleased with the way his team played given his pregame comments to reporters: "We'll have a chance to clinch ... against a team that plays just as well on the road as it does at home. Hopefully, everybody will be fired up about it.''

Ellis remained in the locker room when the Jayhawks started the second half, which didn't help their chances of starting a comeback attempt.

However, that didn't stop Kansas from grabbing all of the momentum before the first media timeout of the second half. KUSports.com described the action, while The Student Section noted why the Mountaineers had some trouble in the early going after intermission:

The Jayhawks continued to chip away and cut the lead to as little as seven. John Antonik of WVUSports.com put it simply but effectively:

Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World noted the Jayhawks deserved plenty of credit for the surge:

However, things took another negative turn for Kansas when Wayne Selden rolled an ankle and limped to the locker room. The Jayhawks were suddenly in some injury trouble, as Jeff Rosen of The Kansas City Star pointed out:

West Virginia responded with a pair of Jonathan Holton three-pointers to push the lead back to 50-39 with just under 12 minutes remaining. Benton Smith of KUSports.com acknowledged perimeter shooting was definitely working in the Mountaineers' favor:

However, Selden soon returned to the floor, and Kansas once again made a spurt. Hickman described just how quickly things can turn in the course of a possession or two as the Jayhawks trimmed the lead to 50-44 via the charity stripe, while Antonik bemoaned the lack of experience on the floor for West Virginia:

One reason Kansas climbed back into the game was an improved effort on the glass, as Smith pointed out:

It seemed like the Mountaineers had an answer for every Kansas push, and the lead hovered between six and nine for a few minutes late in the second half. The crowd certainly did its part after Kelly Oubre Jr. made a fantastic play to once again cut into the lead, via Kansas Basketball:

However, West Virginia did what it had all game and weathered the storm to push the lead back to eight points with just more than two minutes remaining. Part of the problem for Kansas was its inability to hit threes, as Smith noted: 

The Mountaineers then got sloppy with the basketball, throwing an inbounds pass away and traveling in two consecutive possessions with just more than a minute left. Kansas responded and cut the lead to 57-55 with 45 seconds left, setting the crowd on fire.

Ubben described the West Virginia meltdown:

On the ensuing possession, the Mountaineers missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw sequence, grabbed the offensive rebound and then made one of the next two from the charity stripe. The Jayhawks responded by going straight to the rim to cut the lead to 58-57 with 20 seconds left.

The Student Section praised Kansas' strategy because West Virginia was not coming through in the clutch: 

West Virginia guard Jevon Carter only hit one of his next two free throws, and with 11 seconds remaining, backup guard Tarik Phillip fouled Kansas' Devonte' Graham. The meltdown continued, and Graham tied the game up at 59 on the charity stripe. West Virginia had a chance to win it at the buzzer on the other end, but Landen Lucas came away with an incredible block, as Moore pointed out:

Much to the electric crowd's delight, the game headed to overtime tied at 59.

Incredibly, Kansas took its first lead since the opening minutes when Graham scored the opening basket of overtime to make it 61-60. The teams then traded points to tie it at 65 before Traylor nearly brought the house down with a thundering slam in transition to give the Jayhawks another lead with three minutes remaining. 

Fox Sports Live summarized things nicely:

"

JAMARI TRAYLOR. #The1

— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) March 4, 2015"

Kansas then broke the West Virginia press repeatedly heading into the stretch run of overtime and extended the lead to 70-66 with a minute remaining. Mason added two free throws to make it 72-66, but Miles drilled a three-pointer from somewhere in Topeka to make it 72-69.

Mason came through in the clutch at the free-throw line, though, putting the game away with four consecutive makes in the closing moments to win 76-69. Brett Edgerton of ESPN.com passed along the biggest problem for the Mountaineers in the loss:

It was ultimately an insane, back-and-forth game that appropriately took place in March. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports summarized the Big 12 at the conclusion:

Buckle up, because March is just getting started.

What's Next?

David Purdy/Getty Images

Kansas travels to Oklahoma Saturday in what will be a difficult road game to get up for after this emotional victory. The Jayhawks are still trying to improve their seeding as the Big Dance approaches, and a win over a Top 15 team on the road would go a long way.

As for West Virginia, it returns home Saturday to play Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are still squarely on the bubble and would love to pick up a monumentally important victory over a quality Mountaineers squad. West Virginia will certainly get Oklahoma State's best shot.