Kansas State Hands WVU Third-Straight Loss, 81-67

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kansas State handed WVU their third-straight loss on Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum, winning by a final score of 81-67.

West Virginia (5-10, 0-2 Big 12) struggled throughout the night defending the paint against Kansas State (12-3, 2-0 Big 12). The Wildcats finished with 44 points in the paint. K-State won the rebounding battle 35-22.

KSU G Cam Carter led the way in scoring with 23 points, going a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Kansas State had four players score in double figures against WVU.

Battle started off hot out of the gates, scoring 12 points in the first seven minutes. K-State fouled Battle beyond the arc three times during the first half. Battle, who struggled with four points vs. Houston, bounced back with 21 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

This was the first time Battle played against Kansas State since the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, where the 6-foot-5 guard finished with 27 points for Montana State.

WVU G Seth Wilson found Kobe Johnson for three to give the Mountaineers a two-point lead heading into the break. Johnson gave West Virginia a spark in the second half when the offense couldn’t get anything going. Johnson, a junior guard, finished with nine points.

Pat Suemnick and Josiah Harris entered the starting lineup against K-State. Suemnick recorded his first career start with the Mountaineers after averaging 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds over the past two games. Quinn Slazinski and Akok Akok came off the bench on Tuesday.

The Mountaineers were without big man Jesse Edwards for a fifth-straight game on Tuesday. Edwards has been out with a fractured right wrist, which he had successful surgery on Dec. 20. At the time, his recovery timeline was about four weeks.

West Virginia will take a few days off before hosting No. 25 Texas on Saturday. The Mountaineers and Longhorns will tipoff at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The theme for the game is a gold rush.