MORGANTOWN, W. VA. _ A change in Kansas coach Bill Self's wardrobe coincided with his team snapping a four-game, four-year losing streak at West Virginia's WVU Coliseum on Monday night.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins presented Self with a Jayhawk pullover shirt prior to the game, and Self, copying Huggins, wore the leisure attire instead of coat and tie during the contest _ one in which his Jayhawks overcame a 16-point first-half deficit and a 13-point halftime margin to win 71-66.
No. 10 KU (15-3, 5-1) overcame a shot-blocking clinic by Sagaba Konate (16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks) and aggressive West Virginia press that caused nine turnovers in the first half, and stormed to victory over the Mountaineers (15-3, 4-2).
Svi Mykhailiuk, who was clutch down the stretch, scored 17 points, while Devonte Graham added 16 and Udoka Azubuike 10 for the victorious Jayhawks. West Virginia was led by Konate, Esa Ahmad (15 points) and Jevon Carter (14).
KU trailed by 13 points at halftime and nine at 60-51 at the 5:49 mark (an Esa Ahmad two was changed to a 3 a few minutes after the hoop). Mykhailiuk hit two 3-pointers and Graham one, and it was 60-59 West Virginia at 3:49. Mykhailiuk hit two free throws to give KU a 61-60 lead and Graham followed with a bucket to make it 63-60 KU.
West Virginia led 64-63 when Mykhailiuk hit a driving bucket and followed with two free throws at 1:29 to give KU a 67-64 lead. It was 67-66 KU when Mitch Lightfoot scored on a goaltending call to go up 69-66. A Malik Newman free throw at :13.8 seconds gave KU a four-point lead and the ultimate victory.
Konate scored eight points with five blocks and six rebounds in the first half as the Jayhawks trailed 41-28 at the break. KU trailed by as many as 16 points (33-17) with 5:40 left in the initial half.
Carter scored 10 points and dished out three assists for West Virginia in the first half, while the Jayhawks temporarily buried themselves early by making 3 of 9 3s and hitting just 37.9 percent overall in the half. For the game, KU hit 8 of 23 3s to West Virginia's 5 of 27.
Lagerald Vick, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Marcus Garrett, scored nine first-half points with three rebounds and two turnovers in 19 minutes off the bench.
KU, which committed seven quick turnovers and trailed 17-11 at 11:51, entered the game a perfect 3-0 in true road games to begin the 2017-18 season, and despite some shaky play early, improved to 4-0 in true road contests. KU finished with 13 turnovers.
KU grabbed a half-game lead in the standings on co-conference leaders Oklahoma (14-2, 4-1) and Texas Tech (15-2, 4-1) and a full game on the Mountaineers (15-3, 4-2).
And superstitious Self, who figures to certainly go without coat and tie again next year at WVU Coliseum following the victory, won his 200th Big 12 game in 15 seasons against 43 losses.
Konate, who hails from Mali, had five blocks at the 8:23 mark of the first half, the Mountaineers leading at that point, 22-17. He also had one block called goaltending at that point.
KU lagged just 20-17 when West Virginia went on a 13-0 run. West had five points, Miles four and Konate and Carter two in the surge.
KU's Silvio De Sousa scored his first bucket as a Jayhawk to cut the gap to 10 points, 35-25, at 2:34. However, West Virginia's Esa Ahmad and Konate and Ahmad again scored to up the lead back to 16 prior to Graham closing the scoring in the first half with a 3.
KU will next meet Baylor at 5 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
