*******OU-West Virginia Gameday Thread*******

[OUHoops]

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=209845799

QUICK PREVIEW
No. 18/18 Oklahoma (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) travels to face No. 16/15 West Virginia (14-2, 2-1) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT at WVU Coliseum. The Sooners, who are 2-1 in true road games, had their four-game winning streak snapped Saturday in a 66-63 home overtime loss to Kansas State. West Virginia, which holds a 5-2 home record, saw its seven-game winning skein end Saturday in a 74-72 home defeat at the hands of Iowa State.

ON THE AIR
Tuesday's game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM "The Franchise" in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck calling the action. The contest will be televised by ESPNEWS with Eamon McAnaney, Malcolm Huckaby and Jeff Goodman announcing.

PREVIEWING WEST VIRGINIA
Picked by Big 12 coaches to finish sixth in the league (tied with Baylor), West Virginia is off to a 14-2 start and is 2-1 in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers, who posted 78-67 road wins over both TCU and Texas Tech, are coming off a 74-72 home loss to Iowa State. Their other home defeat came to LSU, 74-73. WVU, which went 17-16 last year, leads the nation in steals per game (12.8), turnover margin (+10.6 per game) and offensive rebounds (18.1 per game). It has outrebounded its opponents on the offensive glass by an average of 18.1 to 8.8 per contest. The Mountaineers are shooting .425 from the field (rank ninth in Big 12), .300 from 3-point range (last) and .663 from the foul line (sixth). They allow opponents to shoot .446 from the floor (ninth) and .349 from long distance (last).

Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Juwan Staten leads a trio of Mountaineers who average double figures in scoring. The senior point guard is averaging 16.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting .431 from the floor, .367 (11 for 30) from 3-point range and .758 from the free throw line (team-high 6.1 attempts a contest). Staten has scored in double figures in every game and is coming off a 23-point effort vs. Iowa State. Sophomore forward Devin Williams is averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 7.7 boards (ranks third in Big 12) while shooting .432 from the field. Junior forward Jonathan Holton averages 10.0 points and 6.4 rebounds a game.

The Mountaineers are under the direction of eighth-year head coach Bob Huggins, who owns a 164-93 record at West Virginia. The Morgantown native and 1977 WVU graduate is in his 33rd season overall and owns a 754-304 career mark.

THE SERIES
Oklahoma owns a 5-2 all-time record against West Virginia and is 2-1 in road games. The teams split the season series last year, with the Mountaineers posting a 91-86 overtime win in Morgantown and the Sooners rebounding for a 72-62 victory in Norman. Jordan Woodard averaged team highs of 16.0 points (11-for-16 shooting) and 6.0 assists in the two meetings (box scores and cumulative stats are on page 23 of the notes PDF).

 

[DenverSooner]

Re: OU-West Virginia Pregame Notes | SoonerSports.com

OU really needs to win this game. They screwed up and gave away a game they should have won. Now they need to take two road games this week.

 

[Price is Right]

I think we win this one BIG 15+ I like Huggies team but I think we come out with a ton of intensity and get them in the mouth early similar to the Texas game.

 

[DapperDan]

In fear of putting on a jinx, I'll say its a tight game with the game being decided in the last 3-5 min. Winner will probably win by 5-10 points.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Confidant we play well tonight. One thing for sure is our gang is resilient.

 

[opsooner]

I think we are the better team and if we truly are the better team we need to win this game. One thing is for sure - they will not lay down and die if we get a lead and we are going to have to play 40 minutes of good basketball. I look forward to this one.

 

[SoonerJK12]

The big question is: did the team make into town without any trouble? Don't need another ice storm causing the team to show up at tip off!

 

[stormspencer]

From reading above, I guess I am the only one who has a bad feeling about tonight. The feeling is based more on this being a bad "spot" than our actual talent/team. If WV would have won against ISU on Saturday, then I would feel a little better about tonight. I think we are catching WV at a bad time on the road. They have a lot of guys who shoot the 3 (even though they don't shoot a high %) and I hope they don't get hot. It's a tough venue, but I think we will be ready. But I do see a scenario where things could get out of hand. Sorry...I hope they prove me wrong.

 

[jerry]

Hope I'm wrong, but I think their pressure and depth bother us and we lose another one.

 

[AltSooner33]

From reading above, I guess I am the only one who has a bad feeling about tonight. The feeling is based more on this being a bad "spot" than our actual talent/team. If WV would have won against ISU on Saturday, then I would feel a little better about tonight. I think we are catching WV at a bad time on the road. They have a lot of guys who shoot the 3 (even though they don't shoot a high %) and I hope they don't get hot. It's a tough venue, but I think we will be ready. But I do see a scenario where things could get out of hand. Sorry...I hope they prove me wrong.

I have the same feelings as you. Just hoping my feelings are wrong. If we had beat ksu at home like we should have, I wouldn't feel too horrible if we were to lose this game. I feel like we need this one a lot more now.

 

[OUHoops]

...

@OU_MBBall: The #Sooners are 1 of 4 teams in country to hold each of their opponents under 70 points this season. West Virginia averages 78.4.

 

[Escape Goat]

Who is Woodward?


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[opsooner]

8-10 at under 16; sloppy start

 

[stormspencer]

10-8 WV at the under 16 TO. We have got to be strong with the damn ball when we get our hands on it!

 

[22dupree]

Nice to see Cousins off to a nice start and yeah, their pressure concerns me too.

 

[billyball]

Looks the same as last game.

 

[OUAllDay28]

Spangler looks really bad

 

[opsooner]

WV takes a timeout at 14:09; 10-14

 

[OUAllDay28]

We haven't gotten any of the 50/50 balls.

 

[opsooner]

Lattin with the long tap out to help get their fast break started. :facepalm