WVU Mountaineers vs Oklahoma Basketball Preview: Get Back Up

Game Day Vitals

• #16 West Virginia Mountaineers (14-2, Big XII 2-1, NCAA RPI 18) vs. #18 Oklahoma Sooners (11-4, 2-1 Big XII, NCAA RPI 28)
• Series Record: 2-5, last matchup was last year in Norman L 72-62
• Location:  Lyons Den (Capacity: 14,000) Morgantown, West Virginia
• Vegas Lines: (-2.5) for the good guys, O/U: 140.5
• Date: Tuesday, January 13th, 2015, at 7:00PM ET
• Television: ESPNNews / WatchESPN
• Radio Affiliates

Opponent Information

• #18 Oklahoma Sooners (11-4, 2-1 Big XII, NCAA RPI 28)
• Head Coach - Lon Kruger, Third year, 69–42 with OU, career 548–346 (.613)
• Last Result - OT Loss vs. K-State at home on Saturday L 66-63 OT
• Official Oklahoma athletics website
• SBN Oklahoma site - Crimson and Cream Machine

The Internet is Fun

At first sight, you may think I'm a huge creep for going back to 2013 just to find a tweet, but Lon Kruger doesn't tweet much, so it was only a few scrolls. Not much to break down other than the idea of Kruger willingly listening to 50 Cent and Jay-Z.... but that's enough for me to laugh.

Saturday kinda sucked. Losing, in general, sucks and especially losing at home, but the way the Mountaineers lost really sucked. Going 7-29 from three isn't going to get it done. West Virginia had their chances down the stretch, but just couldn't finish the job. The two losses this team has are by a combined score of three points and both came at home. Still waiting for Listerine to make a product to wash this taste out of my mouth, but no dice. Only way to recover is to get up and fight again AND NOT LET IT CARRY OVER TO TONIGHT.

Tonight's game in the Coliseum against #18 Oklahoma is just as important as that Iowa State game was, if not more, due to the fact that the Mountaineers lost that game to the Cyclones. There is a dream of a Big 12 title in this squad and, while it is January and "must win" seems rather premature, the Mountaineers have to win their home games to have a shot at the crown.

The good news is the Sooners are coming off of a "what the hell?" moment after losing at home in overtime to K-State. They had been riding VERY high with a complete beatdown of the Longhorns in Austin, so the home loss to the Wildcats came as a shock. Now, on the road, Lon Kruger looks to keep building that RPI resume with what would be their third RPI Top 25 scalp of the season.

Oklahoma is dangerous because they have one of the best backcourts in the country with junior 6'4 guards Isaiah Cousins and Buddy Hield. Both veteran guards are extremely good at getting to the basket and Buddy Hield has been going off recently. He averages 17ppg, but he put down 20 against Baylor and 31 in a losing effort against K-State.

The Sooner bigs are no slouches either. Tashawn Thomas and Ryan Spangler get theirs averaging 12 and 10 respectively including being a force on the glass. What will absolutely matter in this game is if these two can handle and pass the ball well enough to break #PressVirginia. If they can, this game will be close. If not, it won't. My money is on they can't.

Prediction: WVU 78, Oklahoma 68