Kansas basketball: Isaiah Moss leads Jayhawks to win over West Virginia

Kansas basketball won a gritty road game tonight against a top 15 West Virginia squad, and Isaiah Moss played a big part.

What a win for the Jayhawks. Kansas basketball took down No. 14 West Virginia tonight 58-49 despite trailing for most of the game and being down as much as nine points. There was a lot riding on this game, making it that much sweeter of a victory.

Obviously, the Jayhawks needed the win to keep pace with Baylor in the Big 12 conference race. Kansas is only one game behind still, and the game in Waco this month seems very winnable after the victory over West Virginia tonight.

Kansas basketball could have also secured a number one seed in the NCAA tournament tonight, assuming they don’t have a complete meltdown to end the season. Still, the Jayhawks have road games against Baylor and Texas Tech coming up, so there’s not much room for error.

While he didn’t lead the team in points, Isaiah Moss was a big part of why the Jayhawks were able to come away with a win.

On a breakaway, Dotson drove into the paint and dished the ball back to Moss who proceeded to knock down an open three with 8:21 left in the game. The three-pointer narrowed the Mountaineers’ lead to three, and then the Jayhawks proceeded to come alive on the offensive end.

“That’s probably about as good of a road win as we’ve had since I’ve been here – not because we played great but because we grinded.” – Bill Self

The Jayhawks would go on a 15-3 run, winning the game.

Moss finished with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. Devon Dotson notched 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting, while Ochai Agbaji and Marcus Garrett both finished with nine. It was an ugly game for Kansas from an offensive standpoint, but their defense is second to none. West Virginia is the second team in a row the Jayhawks have held under 50 points, and the Jayhawks have proven that they deserve the top spot analytically on KenPom.

Despite a neutral win against Dayton, this is arguably Kansas basketball’s most important victory of the season so far. The game in Waco will be more important, but the Jayhawks have to focus on beating Oklahoma this Saturday before anything else.