photo by: AP Photo/Kathleen Batten

Kansas guard Tre White (3) shoots while defended by West Virginia guard Amir Jenkins (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Morgantown, W.Va.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kansas had the ball and an eight-point lead when Tre White lined up a second-chance corner 3 with just under 14 minutes to go on Saturday at West Virginia.

White, who had been 3-for-5 from deep on the day, couldn’t knock it down — nor could any Jayhawk in fact knock down any shot for an extended stretch afterward. While the KU offense went silent, the Mountaineers rattled off 16 straight points, flipping the game on its head.

It was the second straight game in which the 22nd-ranked Jayhawks lost control altogether early in the second half, but this time they could produce no last-minute miracle to salvage the result. They lost 86-75 and dropped to a grim 1-2 in Big 12 play.

“We were very poor,” KU coach Bill Self said of the second-half stretch. “They backed us down, our guards down, on the post, and we didn’t give much resistance at all. They took advantage of that, and then we didn’t obviously score on the other end. They were tougher, we never stopped them the whole night — they still got 39 the first half. We never stopped them and never made them play poorly.”

White scored 18 points. Darryn Peterson led all Jayhawks with 23 points, but he got them on 6-for-17 shooting. For WVU, Brenen Lorient scored 16 of his 18 in the first half, Honor Huff added 23 with four 3s and Kansas native Harlan Obioha recorded an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double with six offensive boards.

“Their support players kept them in the game that first half and we kind of bit the bullet there, I guess, in that second half,” KU guard Elmarko Jackson said. “(Huff) started to get hot, and (Treysen) Eaglestaff kind of started to get rolling a little bit as well.”

Self called Lorient and Obioha “the key to the game.”

“I would say the way (WVU) rebounded the ball in crucial situations and the way we didn’t was probably as much as anything,” Self said.

WVU guard Huff fired away early and often from deep and hit a 3-pointer late in the clock from NBA range. Strong finishes inside by Peterson and White allowed KU to keep pace early. The Mountaineers led 9-8 at the first media timeout before a resurgent Bryson Tiller scored back-to-back buckets inside.

WVU tied the game again on a straight-on 3 by DJ Thomas midway through the first half and took a series of narrow leads that it could not extend beyond a single possession. The Mountaineers at one point made four straight shots, three of which were 3-pointers (by Lorient, Huff and Chance Moore).

Foul trouble for both Flory Bidunga and Tiller required KU to exercise some caution in deploying its big men. With Bidunga on the bench, Lorient was able to do some damage and help WVU maintain its lead at 36-34. Lorient missed an open layup that could have doubled the margin and Melvin Council Jr. was able to equalize, but then Lorient hit a 3 at the other end.

Council got blocked in transition by Lorient trying to take advantage of a steal by Tiller, but Peterson was in the right place at the right time to scoop up the ball for a layup that made it 40-39 in the Jayhawks’ favor. KU forced a bad pass by Huff with 6.3 seconds to go, and Peterson stepped confidently into a last-second 3-pointer between two defenders to give the Jayhawks, at four points, the largest lead of the game for either team.

Peterson and Lorient had 16 apiece at the break, with Lorient 2-for-2 on 3s compared to 9-for-25 through the previous 15 games. KU, meanwhile, had two 3s as a team, both from Peterson.

It was the second straight game in which the Jayhawks had scored the final seven points of the first half — and the second straight game in which they allowed a massive run not long after the break.

Lorient scored inside again immediately, but KU responded with free throws by Peterson. White and Eaglestaff hit two 3s each as the Mountaineers prevented the Jayhawks from pulling away, and then Huff drew a foul on Bidunga on a successful scoop shot.

Huff missed the ensuing free throw, however, and WVU cooled off. Council took advantage of a seal from the newly inserted Paul Mbiya to drive for a three-point play. White connected on another corner 3 to counter a layup by Thomas and make it 59-51.

That was when WVU mounted its charge. Obioha converted a three-point play against Mbiya in the post and then Jasper Floyd backed down Jamari McDowell for another bucket.

After Peterson came up short on a 3-pointer, Floyd pulled the same move on Jackson and reduced the lead to one point. Obioha’s open dunk gave the Mountaineers a 60-59 lead with 11 minutes remaining.

By the time White rattled in an off-balance shot with eight minutes to go, KU had gone seven minutes without scoring. And then the Jayhawks immediately allowed a four-point play to Huff for good measure.

“Once you come with that amount of energy going and stuff like that, shots start falling, rebounds start getting missed,” White said. “It was kind of the defensive end that kind of made it an uphill battle.”

The run went as far as 22-2 before Jayden Dawson hit a 3-pointer.

KU was able to get a little bit closer, which required a great deal of effort and four free throws by Jackson, but not for long. The Jayhawks’ chances essentially dwindled to zero when White stepped on the out-of-bounds line attempting to grab an offensive rebound with 1:13 to go.

The Jayhawks will return to Lawrence to host No. 3 Iowa State at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

“We’ve got a really good team in Iowa State coming up,” Jackson said. “Got to just focus on that, get back to playing how we play basketball and just being tougher.”

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