OU Looks to Rebound at West Virginia

16/15 West Virginia (14-2)

18/18 OU (11-4)

January 13 | 6 p.m. CT | WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, W.Va.

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.

FIVE TOP STORYLINES
• 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).

• West Virginia leads the nation in steals per game (12.8) and is averaging an astounding 24.7 points off turnovers per contest. OU, meanwhile, is allowing just 9.5 points per game off turnovers and has committed nine or fewer turnovers in five of the last seven outings. The Sooners have outscored their opponent off turnovers in each of the last eight games (147-58 during the stretch; 18.4-7.3 average).

In Big 12 play, OU's Buddy Hield (21.3 ppg) and TaShawn Thomas (16.7 ppg) rank first and third in the league in scoring.

• In Big 12 play, OU's Buddy Hield (21.3 ppg) and TaShawn Thomas (16.7 ppg) rank first and third in the league in scoring. Hield also leads the conference with his 3.3 3-pointers per game and his 12-for-12 free throw shooting. Thomas ranks second in the Big 12 in league play with his 10.0 rebounds per contest and first with his 7.0 offensive boards per outing.

• OU is 2-1 in true road games this year and has led by as many as 18 points in all three games. The Sooners lost 65-63 at Creighton in the season's second game on Nov. 19, a contest in which they led by 18 early in the second half. They were ahead by as many as 25 in an 87-68 win at Tulsa on Dec. 13 and by as many as 28 in a 70-49 victory at Texas last Monday. The win at Texas was OU's first true road game victory against an AP top-10 opponent since 1993.

• Oklahoma's defense has been stellar all season, as the Sooners are one of just four teams nationally (out of 351) that have held opponents to 69 points or less in every game. OU has held 14 of 15 opponents below their season average in points. On the year, the Sooners are holding foes to 59.4 points a game (ranks 35th nationally) and limiting them to .363 field goal shooting (10th) and .280 3-point shooting (24th). Through 15 games last year, opponents averaged 79.1 points on .430 field goal and .327 3-point shooting.

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.

SATURDAY'S KANSAS STATE RECAP
• In the 200th series meeting, No. 16/18 Oklahoma led by four points with less than a minute left in regulation but lost a 66-63 home overtime contest to Kansas State. The defeat snapped OU's 10-game home winning streak (was 7-0 this season).

• Kansas State's Marcus Foster hit a runner to tie the game with six seconds left in regulation and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds left. TaShawn Thomas' sideline 3-pointer at the buzzer was long.

• OU was outshot at home for the first time this season (.455 to .404). The Sooners entered the game as the Big 12 leader in free throw percentage (.741) but went 12 for 19 on the day (.632). K-State's .455 field goal mark was the second best against OU this season (Washington shot .490).

• Only three Sooners scored more than five points. Buddy Hield netted a career-high 31 on 11-for-20 field goal shooting. The junior guard made all five of the team's 3-pointers (on nine attempts) and all four of his free throws while pulling down five rebounds and tying a season high with three steals. He also became the 41st member of OU's 1,000-point club.

• Thomas recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and a season-high-tying 11 rebounds. He was 5 for 8 from the field. Junior forward Ryan Spangler finished with nine points, nine rebounds and career highs of four blocks and three steals.

Head Coach Lon Kruger

SOONER TIP-INS
• The Sooners have won their 11 games by an average of 20.3 points (all by double digits). Their average margin of defeat is 5.0 points (three losses have been by three points or less).

• OU has outscored its opponents by 6.7 points per game off turnovers on the year (16.2-9.5). The Sooners have outscored their foes off turnovers in each of the last eight games and in 13 of 15 contests on the year.

• The Sooners have held 11 of their 15 opponents to 40-percent-or-lower field goal shooting. They have held four foes (three of the last five) to 30-percent-or-lower field goal marks.

• The Sooners averaged 15.1 turnovers per game through the season's first eight contests. Over the last seven games, however, they are averaging just 9.7 turnovers. OU has committed single-digit turnovers in five of the last seven outings.

• Oklahoma led the Big 12 in free throw shooting each of the last two years (.749 last season and .756 in 2012-13) and is shooting .734 this year to again pace the league.

• OU returned 68 percent of its scoring, 70 percent of its rebounding and 73 percent of its assists from last season's 23-10 squad that finished in sole possession of second place in the Big 12 (12-6). The Sooners welcomed back four starters (each started all 33 games) in juniors Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler, and sophomore Jordan Woodard. Senior TaShawn Thomas started all 33 games last year at the University of Houston. Those five players have started every game this season.

• Each of OU's five starters has scored at least 20 points three or more times in their careers.

• Oklahoma and TCU are the only Big 12 teams to start the same five players every game this season. OU was one of seven teams nationally last year that started the same lineup every game.

• Cousins has shot at least 50 percent from 3-point range in eight of 15 games this year, including in seven of the last 11 contests. He ranks third in the Big 12 with his .444 season 3-point mark and fifth with his 1.9 treys per game. Cousins shot .250 from 3-point range as a freshman and .404 last year.

• Woodard posted a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio in OU's first seven games (29 assists and 23 turnovers), but over the last seven outings owns a 3.6 ratio (40 assists and 11 turnovers).

• Cousins (6.1) and Hield (5.5), who both stand 6-foot-4, rank second and third among Big 12 guards in rebounds per game. Woodard ranks second among Big 12 point guards with his 3.9 rebounds an outing.

UP NEXT
OU hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT (televised by ESPN2). The Sooners have won 10 straight Bedlam home games and lead the overall series 131-95. OU has won four of the last five meetings and 13 of the last 20.