KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sean McNeil scored 21 points, Malik Curry added 17 points and No. 9 seed West Virginia beat eighth-seeded Kansas State 73-67 in the opener of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
West Virginia advances to play top-seeded Kansas on Thursday. The Mountaineers lost at Kansas 85-59 in January and again at home 71-58 about a month later.
Neither team led by more than nine points in this one.
McNeil scored four points during a 10-2 run that gave West Virginia a 69-60 lead with 3:29 left. Curry and Taz Sherman made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions during the run.
Nijel Pack led Kansas State with 18 points.