QUICK PREVIEW
Oklahoma (9-3) begins Big 12 Conference play on the road for the sixth time in eight years when it travels to face West Virginia (7-5) on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT inside WVU Coliseum. The contest will mark the first-ever Big 12 game for the Mountaineers. The Sooners have won two straight and are coming off a 72-42 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday. West Virginia's 74-67 win over Eastern Kentucky on Sunday was its third in a row.
ON THE AIR
Saturday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Ed Murray and Mike Houck calling the action. The game will be televised by the Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 24 in OKC; KMYT Ch. 41 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Dave Armstrong and Stephen Howard announcing.
PREVIEWING WEST VIRGINIA
• In its first year as a member of the Big 12 Conference, West Virginia enters Saturday's game with a 7-5 overall record and a 5-0 home mark. It began the year with a 4-5 record but has won three straight home games since, including a 74-67 decision over Eastern Kentucky in the most recent outing on Sunday. WVU posted a 39-28 rebounding advantage and made 26 more free throws (32-6).
• The Mountaineers are shooting .405 from the field, .275 from 3-point range and .718 from the free throw line to rank ninth, ninth and fourth in the Big 12, respectively. They are allowing opponents to shoot .429 from the field (ranks ninth in league) and .347 from behind the 3-point line (eighth). WVU is outrebounding its foes by 4.0 a contest and averages a +2.8 turnover margin (ranks second).
• Sophomore guard Juwan Staten averages a team-high 11.1 points per game to go along with 3.3 rebounds and team highs of 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 32.0 minutes per game (nobody else averages more than 23.9 minutes). Junior center Aaric Murray is averaging 10.7 points and team highs of 7.8 rebounds (sixth in Big 12) and 1.7 blocks (fifth) in 23.0 minutes per outing. The La Salle transfer averages 3.0 offensive boards a contest. Sophomore guard Gary Browne has come off the bench to supply 9.0 points in 21.4 minutes an outing. Browne (46) and Staten (45) have combined to make 91 free throws on 109 attempts (.835).
• The Mountaineers are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Bob Huggins, who owns a 127-61 record at West Virginia. The 1977 WVU graduate is in his 31st season overall and owns a 717-272 career mark.
