Kedrian Johnson scored a game-high 20 points to lead eighth-seeded West Virginia to a 78-62 win over ninth-seeded Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday at Kansas City, Mo.

Johnson shot 7 of 16 from the field, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds for the Mountaineers (19-13), who face top-seeded Kansas (25-6) in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Erik Stevenson added 18 points and a game-high six assists, while Tre Mitchell chipped in 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds for West Virginia. Emmitt Matthews Jr. finished with 13 points.

Texas Tech (16-16) was led by Pop Isaacs’ 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Kevin Obanor had 14 points and six rebounds. De’Vion Harmon added 14 points.

Leading by eight at halftime, West Virginia stretched its lead to 67-46 on Stevenson’s jumper with 6:49 remaining. Texas Tech didn’t get closer than 12 the rest of the way.

West Virginia shot 27 of 66 (40.9 percent) from the field, including 9 of 26 (34.6 percent) from 3-point range. The Mountaineers outrebounded the Red Raiders 39-35.

Texas Tech shot 20 of 55 (36.4 percent) for the game, but just 7 of 30 (23.3 percent) in the second half. The Red Raiders made just six of their 23 shots from beyond the arc, including just three of their 14 attempts in the final 20 minutes.

Trailing 24-23 with 8:07 left in the first half, West Virginia took control of the game by closing on a 20-11 run to take a 43-35 halftime advantage.

Stevenson had 13 first-half points for West Virginia, while Texas Tech was led by Harmon’s 10.

The Red Raiders scored the game’s first six points and held a 9-2 lead after Isaacs drained a 3-pointer with 16:36 left in the first half. Mitchell answered with a trey of his own 34 seconds later for the Mountaineers’ first field goal of the contest.

–Field Level Media