Battle, Suemnick lead West Virginia over No. 3 Kansas

West Virginia can finally enjoy some positives after going through the ringer the past eight months.

The Mountaineers have endured Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins’ exit following a drunken driving arrest that led to a roster makeover.

Add to that a preseason health scare for forward Akok Akok, a nine-game suspension for guard Kerr Kriisa, Jesse Edwards missing the past month with a broken wrist, and an ongoing court fight with the NCAA that had temporarily sidelined multiple-transfer players RaeQuan Battle and Noah Farrakhan.

Tipping the scale in the other direction was Saturday’s euphoria. Battle scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Pat Suemnick added a career-high 20 points and West Virginia beat No. 3 Kansas 91-85.

“It’s a surreal moment, man,” Battle said. “It’s hard to win games like that, especially doing it at this level and being a few steps behind because we had a crazy offseason. I’m just proud of this team and the coaching staff.”

Fans stormed the court after the Mountaineers (7-11, 2-3 Big 12) improved to 7-5 against Kansas (15-3, 3-2) in Morgantown and broke a six-game losing streak in the series.

“That one felt good,” said West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert, who took over a week after Huggins’ arrest.

“That’s what our guys needed,” Eilert said. “I’m going to savor it tonight, I promise you that. We’ve been through a lot. This fan base has been through a lot. But tomorrow it’s right back to it to figure out a game plan for Central Florida.”

Tyrese Hunter’s driving layup at the buzzer sent Texas (13-5, 2-3 Big 12) to a win over Baylor, handing the Bears (14-4, 3-2) their second straight loss in the Big 12.

Hunter’s frantic basket came after Baylor’s Jalen Bridges tied it on a long 3-pointer with 5 seconds left, the Bears’ first basket in nearly nine minutes. Texas quickly inbounded the ball and got it to Hunter near midcourt, and he weaved his way around three defenders for the basket.

Hunter finished with 21 points, and Dylan Disu added 19 for the Longhorns and had the assist on the winning basket. Texas avoided a three-game losing streak in the Big 12 and earned its first conference home win of the season.

Zach Edey had 30 points and 18 rebounds to lead Purdue (17-2, 6-2 Big Ten) past Iowa (11-7, 3-4).

Lance Jones scored 17 points and Fletcher Loyer added 12 as the Boilermakerswon their third consecutive game and 10th out of their last 11.

RJ Davis scored 16 points and Harrison Ingram scored 11 with 13 rebounds to lead North Carolina (15-3, 7-0 ACC) over Boston College (11-7, 2-5), the Heels’ eighth straight win.

L.J. Cryer scored 16 points, Jamal Shead added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Houston (16-2, 3-2 Big 12) used a staunch defensive effort to beat Central Florida (11-6, 2-3).

Dalton Knecht scored 25 points to help Tennessee (144, 4-1) beat Alabama and hand the Crimson Tide (12-6, 4-1) its first SEC loss this season.

Tre Mitchell scored 23 points, Antonio Reeves added 21 points and Kentucky (143, 4-1 SEC) shot 62% to beat Georgia (13-5, 3-2).

Zvonimir Iviši added 13 points off the bench in his long-awaited debut, including 11 during a highlightheavy 13-2 first-half run that broke the game open. The NCAA declared the 7-foot-2 Croatian forward eligible earlier in the day after a prolonged screening process.

Oumar Ballo had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Pelle Larsson scored 22 points and Arizona (14-4, 5-2 Pac-12) rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat UCLA (8-11, 3-5) in the rivals’ final Pac-12 game at McKale Center.

Javian McCollum scored 16 points and Otega Oweh added 14 to help Oklahoma (15-3, 3-2 Big 12) beat Cincinnati (13-5, 2-3).

Great Osobor tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah State (17-2, 5-1 Mountain West) to a victory over Fresno State (8-10, 1-4).

Oso Ighodaro scored 17 points, Tyler Kolek had 15 points and 11 assists, and Marquette (13-5, 4-3 Big East) held off a furious St. John’s (12-7, 4-4) rally at Madison Square Garden.

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, 71, was back on the St. John’s sideline following a bout with COVID-19.

Ryan Kalkbrenner had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks to lead Creighton (14-5, 5-3 Big East) past Seton Hall (13-6, 6-2) in triple overtime.

Keshon Gilbert scored 20 points, Curtis Jones had 17 points along with seven of Iowa State’s 18 steals and the Cyclones (14-4, 3-2 Big 12) held on for a win over TCU (13-5, 2-3).

Pop Isaacs scored 23 of his career-high 32 points in the second half and Texas Tech (15-3, 4-1 Big 12) overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to beat BYU (14-4, 2-3).

Javon Bennett had 22 points and Dayton (15-2, 5-0 Atlantic 10) won its 12th straight game, blowing past Rhode Island (9-9, 3-2).