By KEN DAVIS
All things considered, West Virginia was facing an uphill battle against Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 men’s basketball championship Thursday. Then the Mountaineers got off to a dreadful start with a lid on the basket early and finished the first half with just five field goals on 16 percent shooting.
The top-seeded Jayhawks cruised to Friday’s semifinal round with an easy 87-63 victory. It wasn’t the competitive type of game we expect from Big 12 tournament games.
But the most disappointing factor – for everyone – was the first half ejection of West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. It was wrong. It deflated the Mountaineers. And quite honestly it seemed to suck the wind out of the arena.
“I think we were all disappointed, not saying good or bad, but you hate that Bob wasn’t on the bench,” KU coach Bill Self in the postgame press conference. ”I know it was disappointing for them, but nobody wants that. We caught a big break there. It’s not a break that we wanted.”
Self in in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Huggins is a Hall of Fame finalist again this year and is likely to finally reach the promised land in Springfield, Mass.The two coaches enjoy their chess games. They have staged more than a few classic showdowns.
Everyone who entered the T-Mobile Center Thursday knew that. Despite the fact that West Virginia did not have a good season, despite the fact that the Mountaineers were playing again after defeating Kansas State last night, there was a chance for another special game.
No one buys a ticket to see referee Doug Sirmons, a guy known for his short fuse, or any other official. Sirmons should have had enough self-restraint not to toss Huggins.
He didn’t.
Kansas led 19-4 and West Virginia had missed 16 of its first 17 shots when Taz Sherman complained he had been fouled on a shot. Replay showed he might have been fouled twice. Instead, no foul was called and Sherman got hit with a technical. Huggins defended his player and also received a T. Then Huggins must have said a magic word or two and Sirmons whistled him for another T and emphatic ejection.
It all happened in a flash.
Jalen Wilson of Kansas made five of the six free throws awarded to the Jayhawks. And with 9 minutes, 55 seconds left, Huggins headed to the locker room.
“I’ve done this for 45 years,” Huggins said of the double T blast. “I’m not surprised at much.”
During those years we’ve all seen “Huggy Bear,” do worse things. In my career I’ve covered Huggins at Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia. His teams are always physical and quite often unbeatable on the defensive end. During his time at Cincinnati, I referred to the Bearcats as the Bear-thugs for the way they played.
But a guy with 900-plus victories deserves a little more respect from the officiating crew – especially in the first half of a postseason game.
Huggins provided some levity when asked what it was like to watch the remainder of the game in the locker room.
“They need to put bigger TVs in there,” he said. “We had a hard time getting the true picture of what was going on with those dinky TVs they had in there. Then need to upgrade that system.”
Maybe if the NBA returns to Kansas City one day, that problem could be corrected. If not, perhaps the Big 12 can discuss the proposal at the next league meeting.
Again, we don’t know what Huggins said. But Sirmons could have walked away instead of listening closely for the final blow. Maybe Sirmons thinks he will score a good grade to advance in the NCAA tournament with that style of officiating. Who knows?
But the ejection put a damper on the day.
“I’m going to stand up for my guys,” Huggins said. “I have never not stood up for my guys. It is what it is.”
At the best time of the college basketball season, it was sad. That’s what it was.
TCU, Again?
The Jayhawks will face a familiar foe in the semifinals. TCU rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat Texas 65-60 in Thursday’s first quarterfinal. Kansas and the Horned Frogs split a pair of games in the final week of the regular season.
Kansas and Baylor, who shared the regular-season championship, will not meet in the championship game, however. Oklahoma likely earned itself a bid to the NCAA tournament with a 72-67 quarterfinal win over the Bears Thursday night.
We will find out Sunday if that costs Baylor a No. 1 seed in the NCAA field. If so, it could also strengthen KU’s spot on the top line. Both were in the hunt for top seeds heading into championship week.
AGBAJI RETURNS TO FORM
Ochai Agbaji, the Big 12 Player of the Year, bounced back from Saturday’s dreadful shooting performance against Texas to lead the Jayhawks with 18 points against West Virginia. He was 7-for-15 from the field and thrilled the home crowd with some athletic efforts.
Agbaji was one of four Jayhawks in double figures. Jalon Wilson (15 points), Christian Braun (11) and Mitch Lightfoot (10) joined the party. Braun had a career-high 14 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end. David McCormack had nine points and five rebounds.
Maybe the best news for Self was his ability to rest players with the possibility of two more games in two days. McCormack, who played with a foot injury all season, logged just over 10 minutes. Agbaji had the rarity of playing under 30 minutes.
Self used 12 players and that might not happen again this season.
“It’s next man up,” Lightfoot said. “Enabling [McCormack] to take some time is a big thing. On days when we are going to be our best, when he’s playing his best, enabling him to be his best is my job.”
Self didn’t think McCormack got off to a good start.
“That’s about the amount he should have played knowing that we got a big one tomorrow too,” Self said. “If the game would have been different, he would have played more, but I thought Mitch played well and I would rather have Dave fresh tomorrow.”
WEBER RESIGNS
One day after K-State lost to West Virginia and Wildcats coach Bruce Weber launched into a commentary on how he did things the right way, and knocked college basketball programs under investigation by the FBI, the team from Manhattan is without a coach.
Weber resigned before giving K-State the chance to fire him.
There is no doubt Weber’s comments were at least partially aimed at Self. The two have never had a great relationship from the time Self left Illinois for KU and the Illini replaced him with Weber.
Self was asked about Weber’s comments Thursday. He said he never viewed the situation as “him against me.”
“I heard him,” Self said, “and I think this time of year everybody feels a little bit of stress, pressure, certainly can be emotional. I know that I go through those phases as well.
“I have enjoyed competing against his teams and I though he did a good job in Manhattan and I wish him well whatever he does.”
NOTES
TCU’s deficit against Texas was the largest overcome by an unranked team against ranked opponent since Illinois rallied from 20 down to beat No. 18 Clemson 76-74 on Dec. 2, 2009. . . . Mike Miles of TCU scored 13 points but injured his ankle in the game. His status will be a big factor Friday. . . . KU outrebounded West Virginia 48-27, setting a record for a Mountaineer opponent in the Big 12 tournament. . . . Agbaji surpassed 600 points for the season and now has 612. . . . Lightfoot had four blocks, tying his season-high that came against Oklahoma State on Jan. 4.
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