Big 12 Leading Sooners Take On No. 24 WVU in Morgantown Saturday

NORMAN – Big 12 leader No. 23 Oklahoma (18-6, 12-1 Big 12) looks for its 10th consecutive win and fifth top-25 victory of the season when it takes on No. 24 West Virginia (21-3, 10-3 Big 12) in Morgantown on Saturday afternoon. The Sooners hold a two-game lead over WVU, Texas and K-State in the Big 12 standings with five games to play.

Tip is set for noon CT on ESPN+ at the WVU Coliseum.

THE STARTING FIVE

OU has been one of the hottest teams in the nation since the calendar turned over to 2024. Since entering conference play, Oklahoma has won 12 of its 13 games, including nine straight dating back to Jan. 10. The Sooners are 12-1 in league play for the first time since the 2008-09 team opened 12-1 en route to a 15-1 finish and a run to the Final Four.
Oklahoma has found various ways to win during its winning streak. It's held opponents to scores in the 50s and 60s, but the Sooners have also scored in the 80s and even 91 to knock off then-No. 10 Texas. Skylar Vann and Payton Verhulst have led the turnaround after OU started the year 6-5. The two combine for 32.1 points, 12.6 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 3.8 steals per game during the Sooners' nine-game winning streak. OU leads the league in PPG (74.0) and is 4th in Opp. PPG (65.6) in Big 12 play.
Oklahoma owns a six-game winning streak in Morgantown, its longest active winning streak on the road against any team. The last loss at WVU came on Jan. 8, 2017. OU will wear its anthracite jerseys on Saturday and are undefeated (9-0) under Baranczyk in those jerseys. OU has worn anthracite in its last five trips, all wins, to the Mountain State. Overall, Oklahoma is 9-1 (5-1 this season) in its last 10 Big 12 road games and holds an 18-6 record under Baranczyk in such contests.
The Sooners tapped in at No. 23 in the AP Top and returned to the WBCA Coaches Poll at No. 25 this week. Oklahoma's reemergence in the AP Top 25 marked just the second time in program history (1994-95) that the Sooners dropped out of the poll and fought their way back into it later that season. The Sooners checked in at No. 28 in the latest NET ranking and are tabbed as a 6 seed in the latest bracketology.
A win would mark Oklahoma's 10th consecutive win, which would set a new long for the Baranczyk era (2021-present) and be the longest for OU since the 2008-09 team won 20 in a row. A win on Saturday would move OU to 13-1 in league play for the first time since the 08-09 squad went 15-1 and won the league.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday is the 26th all-time meeting between Oklahoma and West Virginia. The Sooners lead the series 16-9, including a 6-5 advantage in Morgantown where OU has won six straight and not lost since 2017. Baranczyk is 4-0 vs. the Mountaineers and OU has won the last five meetings overall.

LAST TIME OUT

Sophomore Kiersten Johnson had a career-high 20 points off the bench, Payton Verhulst had a double-double and No. 23 Oklahoma pulled away from No. 21 Baylor in the fourth quarter to win its ninth straight, 84-73 on Wednesday night. The Bears scored nine-straight points to pull within four, 72-68, midway through the fourth but Skylar Vann hit two baskets and Johnson made a layup to quickly push the lead back to 10. Baylor committed three-straight turnovers, which offset a string of six-straight baskets.

UP NEXT

The Sooners head to Cincinnati next Tuesday (Feb. 20) for a matchup with the Bearcats. OU knocked off UC, 77-64, in Norman on Jan. 6. Tip is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

Oklahoma returns to Norman on Feb. 24 (Saturday) to host Bedlam at 1 p.m. in the program's first ever game televised nationally on FOX. The Sooners then host Texas the following Wednesday (Feb. 28) on Senior Night. Fans can purchase the exclusive Rivalry Pack ticket package, which gets them lower-level seats for $15.