Kansas Basketball: Fate turns in Jayhawks favor

Just like that, as fate would have it, the Jayhawks are back in business. In a series of events throughout the day, Kansas Basketball now shares the conference lead.

What a day and what an evening for Kansas Basketball fans. The Jayhawks overcame superstitions and a large deficit to beat the West Virginia Mountaineers. Later that evening, the Baylor Bears defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders, giving the Jayhawks a share of the conference lead. Fate may just be on Kansas’ side.

Despite the overwhelming feeling that this season had been lost, Kansas is exactly where they are supposed to be. What a trip it has been.

If you happened to be of the superstitious type and you followed ESPN’s College Gameday, you probably convinced yourself that the game with West Virginia was lost before it started. Fans of both the Chiefs and Jayhawks groaned on social media with their own takes.

Andy Reid is here! Please don’t put him in charge of the second half coaching strategies.
— Rock Chalk Blog (@RockChalkBlog) February 17, 2018

There were literally so many.

Andy Reid is here for KU-West Virginia. There are so many Blown Lead jokes to make that my brain is jamming.
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) February 17, 2018

So with Andy Reid in the house, and Rob Riggle and his pre-game flop at the half-court shot, people took notice. These people, as I, saw the writing on the wall. The Big Jay’s head even fell off.

Oh no. Big Jay's head fell off during the pregame lineup introductions.
— Matt Galloway (@themattgalloway) February 17, 2018

The game

With 9:57 left in the game, West Virginia had a 91.5% win probability according to ESPN. Just under eight minutes left in the game the score was 61-51. Then with 2:14 left, as the phog took over, Udoka Azubuike blocked a shot. Devonte’ Graham sprinted up the court and threw a pass that Patrick Mahomes would have been proud of.

The recipient of that pass was Malik Newman in the corner opposite of the Kansas bench. Wide open, he drained the three-point shot to tie the game at 66 all. The crowd was possibly the loudest it had been since they broke their own decibel record. Turn your speakers up.

If you were wondering what it was like inside AFH after @iammaliknewman hit the game tying three then here y’all go: pic.twitter.com/EaaaCCA4EF
— Meghan Kennedy (@meg_kenn4) February 18, 2018

A couple free throws by Svi Mykhailiuk, a layup by Newman, and more free throws down the late stretch of the game found Kansas not only in control, but with a comfortable lead. Bob Huggins had seen enough and left the court with eight seconds remaining.

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Udoka had himself perhaps his best game as a Jayhawk. The kid even made 7-10 free throws. Whaaaat???? What else could this be but fate.

The After Party

After the game, Jayhawks fans turned green on the inside as they came together rooting for an upset between Baylor and Texas Tech. And you know what happened? Baylor won!

Going into the match against West Virginia there was talk about how the conference would be lost on the court today. For West Virginia, their chances are not near as great as their probability to win was with 9:57 remaining. They now find themselves sitting in third place with Kansas State, two games back.

Kansas has a game on Big Monday on ESPN against the free-falling Oklahoma Sooners. It may even be safe to say this could be a trap game for the Jayhawks. The big game will be in Lubbock, Texas next Saturday.

Next: Best seasons ever for Kansas Basketball

Kansas now controls their own destiny, as fate will have it. Oh, the Mountaineers only shot two free throws. Worth the mention.

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