Notebook: Frank Mason III’s foot bothering him

Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) floats a shot to the bucket past West Virginia forward Devin Williams (41) during the first half, Saturday, March 12, 2016 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City, Mo. ? Kansas junior guard Frank Mason III played on a severely bruised left foot on Saturday night, while passing out a team-high seven assists in the Jayhawks’ 81-71 Big 12 title game win over West Virginia, at Sprint Center.

“This morning, he said, ‘Coach I don’t know if I can go.’ Prince (Taurean, Baylor) stepped on it or fell on it (Friday in semifinals),” KU coach Bill Self said.

“X-rays were negative (Friday). He’s fine,” Self added.

“He broke his neck one game earlier this year, too. At least that’s what he made everybody feel. Maybe his foot is not as bad as we thought,” Self joked.

Miscues: West Virginia forced 20 KU turnovers. The Mountaineers had 14 steals.

“We did have a lot of turnovers, but I feel like sometimes we had unforced turnovers,” sophomore Devonté Graham said. “We could have done a much better job. Coach had a nice little game plan of throwing it over the top and Wayne inbounding and cutting through. It was a lot of wide-open floor, so I felt we did a pretty good job.”

Added Self: “We flirted with the 10-second call a couple of times, but for the most part I thought our guys attacked it pretty well and were able to basically play through the traps.”

Free throwing: Graham went 10-for-10 from the foul line on a day KU hit 22 of 25 free throws to West Virginia’s 17 of 24.

“Free throws are big, especially in a game with a lot of fouls and a physical game,” Wayne Selden Jr. said. “When he can step up and make all 10 of them that really boosted us.”

Stats, facts: KU is 6-3 all-time against West Virginia, including 2-1 this season… Self is 6-3 against West Virginia, while WVU’s Bob Huggins is 3-10 all-time versus KU. … KU has won 14 straight games. … KU has won 30 games for the 13th season, including five of the last seven years… KU is 31-6 all-time in Sprint Center, including 4-0 this season… Graham had a season-high four steals for the second straight game. … Perry Ellis was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team for the second time and first time since his freshman season (2013). Ellis ended the tournament shooting 18-for-19 at the free-throw line to set a KU Big 12 Tournament record for free throw percentage (.947, minimum 10 free throws made).

— See what people were saying about the Big 12 title game during KUsports.com’s live coverage