PREVIEW: West Virginia Seeking First Conference Road Win at Oklahoma State

The West Virginia Mountaineers (14-9, 3-7) are on the road and aiming to take the regular season series over the Oklahoma State Cowboys (11-12, 4-7) Saturday afternoon with tip-off set for two o'clock and broadcasting on ESPN2.

West Virginia had control for most of the first meeting before comfortably notching the 70-60 victory. Sophomore forward Jalen Bridges tied a career-high 22 points, behind a Big 12 season-best 10-10 from the free throw line, while senior guard Taz Sherman went for 13 points.

Since then, Oklahoma has gone 3-6, including a win at Baylor and following it with a win over TCU before dropping five straight and ending the skid against Oklahoma. However, TCU got revenge on the Cowboys in Stillwater on Tuesday.

Guard Avery Anderson III leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per game. In the last nine games, the junior has averaged 10. ppg but only hit double figures in three outings with his career-high 34-point outburst in the loss to Iowa State is carrying his average as of late.

Bryce Thompson averaged 15.0 ppg in the seven games following the matchup versus the Mountaineers, but the guard has only produced 15 points in the last two games. Meanwhile, Bryce Williams, who led the team in scoring in the first meeting with 12 points, was slowed with an ankle sprain in the win over TCU, missing three games, and has averaged 5.6 ppg in his six games since.

Despite Oklahoma State losing five of its last six games, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins sees a young Cowboys squad maturing and commended OSU head coach Mike Boynton for keeping the group together during their struggles, especially going through a season not having a postseason opportunity.

"I think they're more comfortable with the system. Mike's done an unbelievable job," said Huggins. "To do what he's done with the guys knowing that they can't play in the tournament, in the conference tournament or the NCAA tournament, and for them to still compete the way they've competed – he's done a remarkable job."

West Virginia got back in the win column on Tuesday after enduring a six-game losing streak. It was also the return of team-leading scorer Taz Sherman after suffering a concussion a week prior, leading the team with 16 points as the Mountaineers beat the Cyclones 79-63. WVU shot 50% from the field and three-point range in the win and the 38-29 rebounding advantage was the first time WVU outrebounded a Big 12 Conference opponent this season.

All three of West Virginia's conference wins have come at home. The Mountaineers' three Big 12 road losses have come to teams ranked in the top 25.

West Virginia is 11-10 all-time against Oklahoma State, including winning four of the last six meetings. The Mountaineers are 6-3 in Stillwater.

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