KU has benefited from ‘a ton of breaks’ against West Virginia in Allen, Bob Huggins says

Bob Huggins’ West Virginia Mountaineers are 0-10 against Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse in the history of the 25-game series between the Big 12 Conference teams that started in 2013.

Hall of Fame coach Huggins raised some eyebrows during Friday’s pre-KU-West Virginia game Zoom call with reporters who cover WVU when asked if KU’s shot-making ability has been a major factor in the Jayhawks’ dominance of the Mountaineers. KU, which hit 11 threes in a 14-point victory on Jan. 7 in Morgantown, leads the all-time series between the teams 19-6 heading into Saturday’s 3 p.m. contest at Allen Fieldhouse. It will be shown live on ESPN.

Games between West Virginia and Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse have included some KU blowouts (26 points in 2013 and 2022; 25 in 2019; 14 in both 2014 and 2021) as well as some close encounters (four points in overtime in 2017; seven points in OT in 2015, seven points in 2020; eight points in 2018 and 10 points in 2016).

“I think their shot-making ability affects everybody. They make shots. They make shots, but they’ve also got a ton of breaks,” Huggins said Friday. “If you want to look back over the history of the deal, I mean, come on. They’ve gotten incredible breaks that nobody else has got (that) nobody else gets outside of there.

“Its kind of like … eh, well they just get breaks nobody else gets,” Huggins added.

KU has a 305-17 record in Allen Fieldhouse in the 20-year Bill Self era.

“It’s a little bit like going down and buying lottery tickets and you know what the outcome is,” Huggins said. He was asked by a reporter in a follow-up question if the Jayhawks play at home as if they know they have a winning lottery ticket.

“Seems that way doesn’t it?” Huggins added.

”What we ought to do,” Huggins noted, “is we ought to go back and look at a lot of the games that were played there and then you would know. I mean, you’d seen it with your own two eyes and then I think you could make quite a case of why they win there all the time.”

Asked if there was anything that could be done about it, Huggins said: “It’s been a lot of years and it (visiting teams winning in Allen) hasn’t happened much.”

It should be noted Huggins’ Mountaineers are 6-5 versus KU at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Huggins — his Mountaineers led by 14 points with 2 minutes, 43 seconds to play in an overtime loss to KU in February of 2017 that could have been the most painful of all Mountaineer losses in Lawrence (his team trailed by 18 in a loss at KU in 2015) was asked if the second half of KU’s 87-71 win over Baylor last Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse was the best half played by any team all season. KU outscored the Bears 55-26 the final 20 minutes.

“Probably so,” Huggins said. “They were real good. I’ve seen them have better halves but not because they were making shots, because of everything else that happens in that building.”

It should be noted that in Huggins’ comments Friday he did not once mention officiating in any way.

The Jayhawks, who have won five straight games, enter Saturday’s game with a 23-5 record overall on the season, 11-4 in Big 12 Conference games. KU is 13-1 at home this season. West Virginia enters 16-12 overall and 5-10 in the league. West Virginia is 2-7 in road games.

“They are very good. (Jalen) Wilson is I think probably the best player in the league, will be MVP of the league,” Huggins said. “They make shots. They shot the heck out of it when they came here (in KU’s 76-62 win on Jan. 7 in Morgantown). They’ve shot it well all year (42.1%. 11 of 24 threes compared to West Virginia’s 35.1%, 4 of 20 threes). They are not as big and imposing as they have been in the past, but they really make shots. (Dajuan) Harris does a terrific job at point guard. He has a lot of experience. He’s been through the league many times,” Huggins added.

Huggins was a bit more gracious in his comments about KU’s Allen Fieldhouse and the atmosphere in Lawrence during an interview with the Mountaineers’ radio network on Friday, that, like the Zoom call, also is available on West Virginia’s official website.

“It’s loud,” Huggins said of Allen. “And they (fans) sit on top of you. People come in here (WVU Coliseum) and say the fans are close, not comparatively to them. They literally are kicking your seat from their seat on the bleachers. They are kicking under your seat as you are sitting there on the bench.

“I don’t know ‘old school’ it’s just old,” he added of Allen, which opened in 1955. “But it’s kind of a sacred building. When you think of the guys they’ve had come through there and the careers they’ve had and the coaches who have come through there. … I mean when Dr. James Naismith is in there and he’s teaching phys ed in the building and coaching ball it goes pretty far back. They are proud of it and really ought to be,” Huggins noted.