West Virginia and Oklahoma State both opened Big 12 play Saturday afternoon and both did so on the road against a ranked opponent.
Both also opened with a conference loss.
WVU and Oklahoma State face off Monday night in Stillwater, Okla., at 9 p.m.
While the Mountaineers (11-2, 0-1 Big 12) were unable to conquer their Allen Fieldhouse demons in a 60-53 slug-fest defeat at No. 3 Kansas on Saturday, Oklahoma State (9-4, 0-1) was getting throttled by No. 22 Texas Tech, 85-50, in Lubbock, Texas. The Cowboys were outscored 49-20 in the second half of their rout by the Red Raiders.
Both teams are coming off of subpar offensive performances. West Virginia shot just 32.2 percent from field and only hit 12-of-22 free throws in the Kansas loss. Like Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers struggled in the second half of their conference opening loss. WVU was outscored 36-23 in the second half after taking a six-point lead into halftime against the Jayhawks.
The Mountaineers played well defensively in the loss, holding Kansas to nearly 20 points below the Jayhawks season average. But that wasn’t enough to overcome WVU’s offensive dry spell.
The Cowboys didn’t play well in any facet of the game against Texas Tech. OSU hit just 28.8 percent of its field goals and only 11-of-18 free throws. Defensively, the Cowboys allowed TTU to hit 54.5 percent of its shots from the field in the blowout.
The Cowboys have three players averaging in double figures, led by senior Lindy Waters III, who averages 12.8 points a game. Senior Cameron McGriff leads OSU on the boards, pulling down an average of 6.8 rebounds a game. Sophomore point guard Isaac Likeele leads the Cowboys with 4.8 assists a contest.
Oklahoma State swept the season series last year, winning both games 85-77.
The Mountaineers are 1-point favorites but ESPN’s BPI gives the Cowboys the edge tonight. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
