LAWRENCE, Kan. _ Cole Aldrich, who went 55-0 as a player in Allen Fieldhouse, enjoyed another victory, this one as a special spectator and honoree, on Saturday in the Jayhawks' tradition rich building.
Udoka Azubuike scored 21 points _ hitting 7 of 10 free throws to go with 7 of 8 from the floor _ and Devonte Graham added 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the 13th-ranked Jayhawks rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 20 West Virginia 77-69.
It was a crazy game in which West Virginia's Bob Huggins was ejected in the final moments for receiving a pair of technical fouls as the Jayhawks were finishing off a 29-8 run to turn a 58-46 deficit into a 75-66 lead in the waning seconds.
Huggins, in his postgame media conference, mentioned the incredible disparity of free throws in the game. KU made 26 of 35 to the Mountaineers' 1 of 2.
Lagerald Vick contributed 13 points and Malik Newman added 11 in the victory, capping a red-letter day that included the halftime hanging of Aldrich's No. 45 KU jersey in the south fieldhouse rafters as well as the first-half introduction of members of the 2008 NCAA title team.
KU hit just 7 of 22 3s to West Virginia's 14 of 26 as the Jayhawks (21-6, 10-4), who entered the day second in the Big 12 race, upped their lead over third-place West Virginia (19-8, 8-6) to two games. Texas Tech, which entered Saturday 10-3, took on Baylor in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.
Daxter Miles scored 22 points, and Jevon Carter had 15 for the Mountaineers, who were picked to win the game by ESPN GameDay announcers Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams, who made that prognostication during the 10 a.m. GameDay special at the fieldhouse. Jay Bilas wasn't asked for his prediction because he was to serve as commentator in the game.
The game was tied 34-34 at halftime, but West Virginia made a statement early in the second half. The Mountaineers used a 10-1 run to turn a 40-39 lead into a 50-40 advantage at the 14:09 mark. Carter and Miles both hit 3-pointers, while Harris and Konate made buckets in the surge.
KU cut the gap to 50-44, West Virginia immediately responded with an 8-2 run and went up 58-46 at 10:10.
That is when KU started to make a dramatic move.
A 22-8 run in fact gave the Jayhawks a 68-66 lead at 1:35. Azubuike had six points, including two free throws, in that surge.
Newman hit a 3 from the corner to tie it at 66-66 after Azubuike blocked Carter's shot as he drove to the hoop. Svi Mykhailiuk, who scored nine points, hit two free throws to provide the 68-66 advantage.
Miles missed a free throw, then after a Graham miss on a shot in the lane as the shot clock ran down with 41 seconds left, West Virginia missed a 3, then suffered a turnover on a pass by Miles to the corner that was picked off by Graham, who was fouled at 24.5.
Graham hit two free throws, turning KU's two-point lead into a 70-66 advantage. After an Azubuike block on Miles, Newman made it 72-66 on a driving layup with 7.9 seconds left. Miffed at no foul call on the block, Huggins received two technicals and was ejected at that point.
Vick scored 10 points, Marcus Garrett had seven and Azubuike added six as the teams were tied at the break. Miles scored eight points and Carter had seven points with four rebounds and two assists in the initial half. West Virginia hit 6 of 12 3s and 48.3 percent overall in the half to KU's 4 of 10 3s and 50 percent overall shooting.
The game was close throughout the initial 20 minutes. KU used a 7-0 run to turn a 30-24 deficit into a 31-30 lead at 3:20. Azubuike scored four points and Garrett made a 3 in the run.
Prior to that, West Virginia used an 8-2 run to bust a 22-22 tie and give the Mountaineers a 30-24 advantage at the 5:00 mark. Miles and Carter each made 3s in that run.
KU's 2008 NCAA title team (Aldrich, Darrell Arthur, Sherron Collins, Sasha Kaun, Matt Kleinmann, Tyrel Reed, Conner Teahan, Jeremy Case and Brennan Bechard, as well as director of basketball Ronnie Chalmers) was introduced to the fans during a timeout at 11:40 and West Virginia up, 18-13. KU returned to the court and used a 6-0 run to grab a 19-18 advantage at 9:37. Vick scored four of the six points.
At halftime, Aldrich took out his temporary front tooth during his introduction to the fans and unveiling of his jersey in the rafters by KU radio announcer Brian Hanni, drawing laughter from the fans.
Then Aldrich gave a short speech that included the sentiment, "It feels great to be home. Walking into the fieldhouse this morning brought back so many memories. ... Now seeing my name in the rafters, it's humbling, really humbling."
He thanked family members, former teammates and specifically KU coach Bill Self and teammate Collins, who will have his own jersey hung in the rafters at halftime of Monday's game against Oklahoma.
