NCAAB Game Preview - West Virginia at Oklahoma State

Mon Jan 6, 2020 9:00 PM EST

West Virginia enters Monday the 16th-ranked basketball team in the country, but there isn't much difference between No. 16 and the top five.

In consecutive neutral-site and road games against top-five opponents dating to last Sunday, the Mountaineers dumped then-No. 2 Ohio State in Cleveland 67-59 and nearly outslugged No. 3 Kansas in Lawrence, but couldn't make enough shots and fell 60-53 in their Big 12 opener Saturday.

West Virginia aims to bounce back Monday night when it takes on Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.

A season after suffering an uncharacteristic 15-21 record thanks in large part to multiple injuries, the Mountaineers have re-established their identity as a team that wins off coach Bob Huggins' staples of defense, rebounding and toughness.

They held the Jayhawks nearly 20 points under their season average Saturday and owned the glass 44-30, but they struggled to hit shots. West Virginia (11-2, 0-1) made just 19 of 59 attempts from the field and 12 of 22 from the free-throw line.

"We missed so many one and two-footers and we missed step-in shots," Huggins told reporters. "We go 12 for 22 from the free-throw line, and that wasn't because we had bad free-throw shooters up there, but we continue to miss free throws. And we continue to miss two at a time, which blows my mind."

Oscar Tshiebwe collected 17 points and 17 rebounds at Kansas, boosting the freshman forward's averages to 12.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Derek Culver averages 10.5 points and 9.6 rebounds, giving the Mountaineers a considerable inside presence.

As for Oklahoma State (9-4, 0-1), it doesn't have long to stew over a poor second-half showing Saturday in its 85-50 conference loss at No. 22 Texas Tech. The Cowboys were outscored 49-20 after halftime, turning a close game into a blowout.

"We didn't play with enough maturity to deal with not making shots consistently," Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said after the game. "We made our lack of shot-making affect other areas of the game. We don't usually turn the ball over at a super-high rate, but we did today.

"We just have to figure out how to play more fluid offensively. Making sure the right guys are getting shots. What is really important for me is that we play Monday night and I cannot let what happened today affect that game."

Three players average double-figure scoring for Oklahoma State, led by Lindy Waters III at 12.9 points per game. Isaac Likekele hits for 11.9, although he managed just two points on 1-of-6 shooting at Texas Tech, and Yor Anei adds 10.5 to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots.

The Cowboys swept the season series in 2018-19, winning both games by identical 85-77 scores.

--Field Level Media