West Virginia Basketball: Mountaineers escape, advance to title game

West Virginia downs San Diego St., wins Las Vegas Invitational - College Basketball Highlights

Its officially March and the madness has begun. The West Virginia basketball team was able to narrowly escape Oklahoma after watching an 11 point lead slip away in the final six minutes, defeating the Sooners 69-67.

The Mountaineers dreams of a Big 12 title looked all but over until Jaysean Paige nailed a 16 foot jump shot to give WVU a one point lead with 13 seconds to go. Buddy Hield would miss a layup on the other end and forced OU to foul with just under two seconds to play. Jonathan Holton split his pair of free throws and then near magic happened. Hield caught the inbounds pass, dribbled to half-court and sunk what appeared to be a game winning buzzer beater to give OU the victory. After further review, the shot was still in his hand as the horn sounded and elation from the West Virginia side ensued.

Mar 11, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jevon Carter (2) shoots a jump shot as Oklahoma Sooners forward Khadeem Lattin (12) defends in the second half during the Big 12 Conference tournament at Sprint Center. West Virginia won 69-67. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Jevon Carter carried most of the offensive load for the Mountaineers. He came out of the gates scorching hot, knocking down five three pointers in the first half and shooting 6-9 for the game from behind the arc. Paige wasnt his normal self offensively, finishing with 10 points on 3-10 shooting, but he still showed why he was the Big 12s Sixth Man of the Year by knocking down the eventual game winner.

Another scorer who didnt look like himself was Hield. After coming off his 39 point performance the night before, he was held to six points for the game. This was the first time all season he was under ten points for the game and it was the first time it had happened since late February of last season when he scored eight against Texas Tech.

The victory now gives the Mountaineers a chance at the Big 12 title with only Kansas standing in their way. The two teams split during the regular season, each winning on their home floor. The game is in Kansas City, so KU will have a substantially larger fan base, but it wont be anything like Allen Fieldhouse.

Perry Ellis has been his usual self throughout the tournament thus far. Hes recorded over 20 points in both games while shooting well over 50% from the field. Holton, who did not play in the WVU loss to KU, will most likely be assigned to the task of shutting him down once he checks into the game.

Devonte Graham has also been playing well of late for the Jayhawks. The sophomore has been scoring in double figures, five out of his last six games, providing a consistent scoring threat from the guard position.

Regardless of the outcome, both these teams are locks for the tournament, with Kansas being a one seed if not the top overall seed. West Virginia will probably be either a two or a three, with a slight chance of jumping to a one depending on how all the other games play out.

The game will tip off Mar. 12 at 6pm EST on ESPN.

Source: http://isportsweb.com/2016/03/12/west-virginia-basketball-mountaineers-escape-advance-title-game/