McNeil scores 16 points, No. 10 West Virginia beat K-State

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Sean McNeil scored 16 points and No. 10 West Virginia used two big second-half runs to beat Kansas State 65-43 on Saturday.

Derek Culver added 11 points for West Virginia (17-6, 10-4 Big 12).

Davion Bradford scored 11 points, and Mike McGuirl had 10 for Kansas State (7-19, 3-14). The Wildcats were held to their second-lowest points total of the season.

West Virginia scored the first seven points of the second half. Jordan McCabe, who started the game in place of leading scorer Miles McBride, then scored all seven of his points during a 17-0 run that gave the Mountaineers their largest lead, 59-34 with 5:14 remaining.

Both teams started without their point guards. Kansas State freshman Nijel Pack, the team’s leading scorer, sat out with an eye infection. McBride was banged up in practice and missed the first eight minutes of Saturday’s game. He was held to five points.

With McBride limited and teammates Culver and Jalen Bridges getting into early foul trouble, West Virginia was sluggish in the first half. Bradford took advantage of Culver’s absence with seven first-half points and the Wildcats trailed 26-22 at halftime.

In the teams' last meeting Jan. 23, Kansas State committed 28 turnovers and lost 69-47 in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats committed 18 turnovers on Saturday which led to 23 points for West Virginia.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: The Wildcats saw a two-game winning streak snapped. They were coming off a 62-57 win Tuesday over No. 7 Oklahoma but couldn’t pull off a second upset of a Top 25 team this season.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers got off to a good start as part of a four-game home blitz over eight days to finish the regular season. The Mountaineers have won six of their last seven overall, including wins over No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 12 Texas, and No. 23 Kansas.

CLOSING IN ON 900

Huggins earned his 898th career win, just behind North Carolina’s Roy Williams. Both could reach Bob Knight's 902 victories this season.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

West Virginia should take another step up after several teams ranked higher lost in the past week.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: At Iowa State next Saturday.

West Virginia: Hosts No. 2 Baylor on Tuesday night.

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