Five players scored in double figures Saturday as No. 14 Kansas established a 27-point halftime lead and cruised to a 78-53 Big 12 Conference win over outmatched, short-handed West Virginia in Lawrence, Kan.

Devon Dotson totaled 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Jayhawks (20-6, 9-4), while K.J. Lawson also scored 15 points. Dedric Lawson added 14, while Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack each scored 10 points.

Kansas also got a boost toward winning at least a share of its 14th straight Big 12 regular-season title when front-running Kansas State fell 78-64 at home to Iowa State. The Jayhawks, who clinched their 30th straight 20-win season, are just a half-game behind the Wildcats with a game in hand.

Lamont West and Chase Harler each scored 11 points for the Mountaineers (10-15, 2-10), which fielded just nine scholarship players, seven in their first season. Coach Bob Huggins dismissed starting forwards Esa Ahmad and Wesley Harris on Monday night, while starting center Sagaba Konate (knee) missed his 17th straight game and guard James Bolden also sat out with an injury.

Kansas hit 52.8 percent of its field goal attempts and forced 24 turnovers, 13 in the first half. It improved to 15-0 at home.

West Virginia stayed close for about five minutes, taking a 7-6 lead when Brandon Knapper drilled a 3-pointer at the 15:07 mark. But Kansas promptly ripped off the next 11 points, Dotson finishing the run with a jumper that made it 17-7 with 11:46 left in the first half.

After Logan Routt converted a layup off a Derek Culver assist for West Virginia, the Jayhawks promptly responded with 10 more points. Dedric Lawson capped that spurt by canning a jumper for a 27-9 advantage with 6:11 remaining.

The lead reached 20 for the first time when Dotson sank a 3-pointer with four minutes left to make it 32-12. Dotson finished a 13-point half by hitting a layup with 29 seconds remaining, giving Kansas a 43-16 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media