LAWRENCE, Kan. — West Virginia had an opportunity to make some history at Kansas.

Instead, the Mountaineers met the same fate as teams in the 36 consecutive games before them.

Perry Ellis had 21 points, Landen Lucas pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds and the sixth-ranked Jayhawks beat No. 10 West Virginia 75-65 on Tuesday night to forge a three-way tie atop the Big 12.

In doing so, the Jayhawks avoided the first regular-season sweep by a league opponent since 2000-01, and their first loss to the Mountaineers in four games at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I think we probably helped their cause,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “It wasn’t all them. You have to give us credit for screwing the game up too.”

Devin Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jaysean Paige also had 14 points for the Mountaineers — though their leading scorer was just 5 of 16 from the field.

“You can’t miss that many shots,” Huggins said. “You can’t miss that many transition opportunities. We had all kinds of transition opportunities and I don’t think we converted one. We missed some tips and rebound baskets. You have to score when you have opportunities. We didn’t do that.”

Frank Mason III added 14 points for the Jayhawks (20-4, 8-3).