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West Virginia continues one of it’s toughest stretches of the season on Monday. After beating Ohio State on the road just 8 days ago, they lost to Kansas in Lawrence less than two days ago, they face-off against Oklahoma State in Stillwater tonight and then face 22nd-ranked Texas Tech Saturday.
The Big 12 is consistently one of, if not the toughest conferences in college basketball but this is a difficult what to end non-conference play and begin Big 12 play to say the least.
West Virginia is on a three game losing streak against the Cowboys, with two of those losses coming in Morgantown.
WHEN/ WHERE
Date: Monday, January 6
Tip-off Time: 9pm/ 8pm Central
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena
Tickets: tickets.okstate.com
WATCH/ LISTEN
TV: ESPN 2
Streaming Video: ESPN App.
Radio: WZST Variety 101 (100.9 FM in Morgantown) or the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG (Radio Affiliates)
Streaming Audio: Locate the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on TuneIn Radio (or the TuneIn Radio app for smartphones)
Satellite Radio: WVU XM 375, Oklahoma State XM 83
THE ENEMY
Where are they from? Stillwater, Oklahoma
Series History: Oklahoma State leads 8-7
Last Time: March 9, 2019, WVU 77, Ok St. 85
2019-20 Record: 9-4, last game lost 85-50 @ Texas Tech
Head Coach: Mike Boynton (42-39)
Key Players: G Lindsay Waters, G Isaac Likekele, F Yor Anei
KEYS TO THE GAME:
It is not unrealistic to think that we may see Oscar Tshiebwe and Derek Culver averaging a double-double on the season in the next couple of games. Oscar is currently averaging 12 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest and Culver is at 10 points and 9.6 rebounds.
For them to achieve this goal they obviously have to grab more than ten rebounds in a few more contests to make the numbers work and tonight at Oklahoma State would be a good place to keep that rebounding feeling alive.
It’s pretty reasonable to think that we will get good board work from Oscar and Culver tonight.
The key to a Mountaineer victory is to find some consistency from their guards. Miles McBride was great against Ohio State but didn’t shoot it well against Kansas, despite scoring 13 points.
WVU’s starting backcourt of Jordan McCabe, Jermaine Haley and Emmitt Matthews scored just 11 points in Lawrence on Saturday. To beat Oklahoma, someone in the West Virginia backcourt, other than McBride, has to find a way to score.
Scoring aside, West Virginia only had seven total assists on Saturday. To overcome an incredibly quick turnaround on the road the Mountaineers need to move the ball and see those assist numbers climb as well.
HOW AFRAID SHOULD WE BE (ON A SCALE OF 1-10)
8
Stillwater is a tough place to play, especially on a 51-hour turnaround. This is a should-win, but not a guarantee.
West Virginia 67, Oklahoma State 58