LAWRENCE, Kan. — Frank Mason III had 24 points, including two free throws to cap a frantic comeback from 14 down in the final three minutes of regulation, and No. 3 Kansas stunned No. 9 West Virginia 84-80 in overtime Monday night to assume control of the Big 12 race.
Devonte Graham added 18 points, hitting two of his five three-pointers in the extra period, and Josh Jackson added 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Jayhawks (23-3, 11-2) avenged a loss at West Virginia on Jan. 24 while extending their lead over fourth-ranked Baylor to two games in the league standings.
Esa Ahmad scored 20 points and Tarik Phillip had 18 for the Mountaineers (20-6, 8-5), who appeared to have the game locked up when they led 64-50 with 2:58 left in the game.
But Kansas answered with some more Allen Fieldhouse magic.
Spurred on by their own version of a full-court press, the Jayhawks began forcing turnovers and turning them into easy baskets. Graham curled in a three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to cut West Virginia’s lead to 71-69. Phillip then threw the ball away on the ensuing possession and Mason made two free throws to tie the game at 71-71 with 21.6 seconds left in regulation.
The Mountaineers called a timeout with 16.1 seconds to go to set up a final play, and they managed to get Phillip isolated on the wing. But his long three-pointer clanked off the iron as the buzzer sounded.
In other games involving top 25 teams, Jalen Brunson scored 18 points, Josh Hart had 16 and No. 2 Villanova beat lowly DePaul 75-62. Mikal Bridges added 15 points, and Kris Jenkins finished with 13 for the Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 Big East). Chris Harrison-Docks had 18 points for DePaul (8-18, 1-12). … Keenan Evans scored 23 points, Niem Stevenson had 21 and Texas Tech upset No. 4 Baylor 84-78. The Red Raiders (17-9, 5-8 Big 12) opened the game with an 11-0 run and used an identical spurt late in the second half to go ahead to stay. Terry Maston led Baylor (22-4, 9-4) with 22 points. … No. 8 Louisville scored 10 consecutive points in overtime, including five consecutive points by Anas Mahmoud, to outlast Syracuse 76-72. The Orange took a 63-61 lead on two free throws by Andrew White, but Louisville (21-5, 9-4 ACC) scored the next 10 points to take control and hold on. Donovan Mitchell scored 16 points for the Cardinals. White had 22 points to carry the Orange (16-11, 8-6).