Kansas vs. WVU: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

It's difficult to win a Big 12 basketball game with 22 turnovers. Even if you are the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

Suffocating defense by the No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers carried the day as they knocked off the Jayhawks 74-63 on Tuesday. Devin Williams finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, which was more than enough to outlast Perry Ellis' 21 points and seven rebounds on the other end.

David Gardner of Sports Illustrated recognized Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins had more reason than one to be pleased with Tuesday's outcome:

"

Just a friendly reminder that Bob Huggins has a specific bonus for regular-season wins over Kansas. It's $25,000. He's about to cash in

— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) January 13, 2016"

Despite Williams' impressive effort, the game came down to the difference in turnovers, offensive rebounds and free throws. West Virginia forced those 22 turnovers and coughed up the ball only 11 times while grabbing 15 offensive rebounds and shooting 47 free throws to Kansas' seven and 21.

The Jayhawks pulled within single digits late in the game, but the Mountaineers led by a comfortable margin for the majority of the second half and moved into first place in the Big 12 at 15-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play.

Kansas may be No. 1 in the country, but West Virginia controlled the early proceedings and took a 37-29 lead into halftime. The Mountaineers' pressure defense forced 12 Jayhawk turnovers in the first half alone, which was problematic for head coach Bill Self's team considering West Virginia also controlled the boards with a 24-18 rebounding advantage.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports commented on those two aspects of the game:

Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World speculated the turnovers and lackluster shooting by Kansas (10-of-24 from the field) contributed to the team's poor body language:

West Virginia continued its relentless pressure in the second half, which opened up opportunities like this for Williams, per WVU Basketball:

Tait remarked on the difference between the two teams:

Ellis' offense kept the Jayhawks within striking distance throughout the middle portion of the second half, but the Mountaineers continued to force turnovers by the Kansas ball-handlers. Frank Mason III (seven turnovers) and Wayne Selden Jr. (six turnovers) were particularly susceptible, which prompted this comment from Matt Scott of 247Sports:

C.J. Moore of Bleacher Report weighed in as West Virginia opened a 55-44 lead with 9:23 remaining:

Perhaps the only worry for the Mountaineers was Williams' status after he took a hard hit from the Jayhawks' physical defense, as Bob Hertzel of TimesWV.com described:

Williams temporarily left the game, but he returned in time to notch the seventh double-double of his season and 24th of his career. Williams was the least of Kansas' concern, though, as the game entered the final four minutes, as Scott pointed out:

As West Virginia pulled away, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star acknowledged an issue for the visitors:

The Jayhawks hit a handful of inconsequential three-pointers in the final two minutes to trim the deficit to single digits, but the Mountaineers increased to the free-throw disparity as they closed out the victory.

That meant there was only one thing left to do, and fans poured onto the floor, as WVU Basketball shared:

What's Next?

Tuesday's game ended a grueling three-contest stretch for the Jayhawks, who won a triple-overtime classic against No. 2 Oklahoma last Monday. They now get a break in the schedule with games versus three unranked teams—TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas—before back-to-back contests against Top 20 teams in Iowa State and Kentucky.

Kansas must play Oklahoma and West Virginia again later this season, so it needs to take care of business against those upcoming opponents if it plans on locking up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Things don't get much easier for the Mountaineers, who Saturday will trek to Oklahoma to face star guard Buddy Hield and Co.

West Virginia will play No. 17 Iowa State, No. 22 Baylor and the Sooners twice each in addition to its Feb. 9 rematch at Kansas, which means there will be plenty of opportunities to prove its stellar record is no fluke before Selection Sunday.

Postgame Reaction

Jaysean Paige led the Mountaineers in scoring with 26 points off the bench—including 14 at the free-throw line. WVU Basketball passed along his postgame comments:

Self said, "The game in a nutshell is they were so much more aggressive and quicker," per Dodd.

Self also said, per Kansas Basketball, "They really exposed our perimeter defense, and offensively, we didn't take care of the ball."

Landen Lucas looked ahead for his Jayhawks, per Kansas Basketball: "You're not going to run the table in this league; you'll face some losses."

Assuming that mantra holds true for West Virginia as well, the Jayhawks will have a chance to win another Big 12 title this season.