No. 22 Kansas men's basketball fell on the road to West Virginia, 86-75, on Saturday afternoon at Hope Coliseum in Morgantown.
The loss drops Kansas to 11-5 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 play, while West Virginia improved to 11-5 and 2-1 in the conference. The road loss also moves the Jayhawks to 0-2 on the road to start Big 12 play. The Jayhawks were led by freshman Darryn Peterson, who finished with 23 points on 6-of-17 shooting and added six rebounds.
Kansas controlled most of the first half as the teams traded baskets throughout the opening 20 minutes. The Jayhawks led for most of the half and took a 43-39 advantage into the break after Peterson connected on a buzzer-beater.
The Jayhawks pushed their lead to eight early in the second half when senior Tre White drilled a three-pointer to make it 59-51 with 14:55 remaining. The tide quickly turned, and West Virginia quickly responded, ripping off a 16-0 run over the next five minutes to seize a 67-59 lead with 8:36 left.
Kansas attempted to rally behind buckets from senior Jayden Dawson and redshirt sophomore Elmarko Jackson, trimming the deficit to 73-67, but that was as close as the Jayhawks would get. The Mountaineers closed strong and led by as many as 14 late in the game.
White finished with 18 points for Kansas, while senior Melvin Council Jr. added 11. Sophomore Flory Bidunga recorded four blocks. Honor Huff led the Mountaineers with 23 points and knocked down four three-pointers.
Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse for two straight Big 12 home games, hosting No. 3 Iowa State on Tuesday and Baylor on Friday.