Huggins was the most upset by the situation.
Self may have been close.
“Nobody wants that. Self stated that the sixth-ranked Jayhawks won a major break, but not one they wanted. It’s not something I like and it’s not for me.”
There were many things to love about everything else.
Ochai Agabji had 18 points for the Jayhawks (26-6), which built a 41-19 halftime advantage and never lost it. Christian Braun scored 11 points, with a career-high of 14 rebounds. Jalen Wilson had 15 points.
TCU is next up, fifth-seeded. TCU rallied from 20 down and beat No. 22 Texas in the semi-finals Friday night.
Braun stated, “It’s really nice to get a win such as that. We started off quickly, and then we got up a bit.” “We can now focus on the next game. Everyone was involved. We felt confident going into the next round.”
West Virginia (16-17) was led by Malik Curry with 19 points. Taz Sherman scored 10 points, but was only 3 of 14 on the field.
The Big 12 Tournament’s second quarterfinal was dominated by the first 10 minutes. Jayhawks surged to a 19-4 victory and had a T-Mobile Center packed with red-and-blue-clad fans in a frenzy.
Sherman then missed a bucket, the 16th in 17 Mountaineers’ shots. He complained to Doug Sirmons about his no-call. Sirmons gave Sherman a technical foul immediately. Huggins, who roared from the bench to defend his player, received two technicals.
“He was trying to defend us. Mountaineers guard Sean McNeil stated that it’s what he has done all year. “It’s not mine to decide if the calls were correct or wrong. My job is to be a player.”
Larry Harrison, Huggins’ long-time associate coach, assumed control when Huggins left for the locker room.
Huggins, in a momentary levity, said that “they need to put larger TVs in there”. Huggins said, “The TVs look terrible. It was difficult to get a clear picture of the TVs’ true capabilities. They need to upgrade this system.
Wilson made five of six free throws from the technical fouls and gave the Jayhawks a 24-4 advantage. Halftime saw the lead grow to 41-19.
The Jayhawks were able to answer any run West Virginia attempted to mount, unlike Thursday’s opening quarterfinal, when the Horned Frogs fought back from an 18-point halftime deficit to beat the fifth-seeded Longhorns.
Mitch Lightfoot scored 10 points and provided rest for David McCormack, an ailing big man. “We got everyone out there, the majority scored; it’s great to see the ball go in. We are confident going into the next match.
OH, OCHAI
Agbaji, the Big 12 player-of-the-year, started off hot scoring nine of the Jayhawks first eleven points. The senior started to slow down after that and was only 1 of 6 from beyond arc with 3 rebounds and no assists.
BIG PICTURE
Curry came off the bench and scored 17 points for West Virginia in a win over Kansas State. The Mountaineers’ backcourt struggled, which was compounded by their inability to provide a consistent presence at the post. They were outrebounded by 48-27 and outscored in the paint 48-22.
Kansas shot more than half of the field in each half and often got to the basket for easy baskets. The Jayhawks will have to contend with Eddie Lampkin and his Horned Frogs. Their size was a problem when they split a matchup last week.
UP NEXT
In Friday night’s semifinals, the Jayhawks will face the Horned Frogs who have never played in a Big 12 championship game.
