West Virginia @ Oklahoma preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2019 ) West Virginia 72, Oklahoma 71

Whether it was a motivational tactic after an easy win over Iowa State or genuine concern for his 11th-ranked Mountaineers, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was not overjoyed with the victory. He challenged his team to step up its play down the stretch, and the long-time coach will see how that works Saturday when they travel to Oklahoma.

West Virginia led by as many as 24 against the Cyclones in the 76-61 win Wednesday, but West Virginia turned the ball over 19 times and shot just 12-of-24 from the free throw-line. "Those are two telltale signs of guys who were just not ready to play," Huggins said on his radio show. "We're not the same guys. We're not jumping around, hugging each other and being excited. It's a long year and we're 22 games in, but this is when the good teams crank it up. That's what I just challenged them with (in the locker room)." Currently sitting as one of the last four in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, Oklahoma could use a signature win against a strong West Virginia team after a 69-61 road loss to Texas Tech on Tuesday. The teams were tied with just under five minutes remaining, but the Red Raiders pulled away with a 13-5 spurt to finish the game.

TIME: 3 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (18-4, 6-3 Big 12): Freshman Oscar Tshiebwe (team-high marks of 11.5 points and 9.1 rebounds) posted his team-best eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 boards as the Mountaineers gained sole possession of third place in the Big 12 standings, one game ahead of Texas Tech with Baylor (9-0) and Kansas (8-1) leading the way. Chase Harler (5.3 points) came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting beyond the arc. West Virginia shot a sizzling 59 percent in the first half before leveling off late in the second half to finish the game 29-of-58 for an even 50 percent.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (14-8, 4-5): Brady Manek (16.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 57 3-pointers), coming off a 30-point game in a win over Oklahoma State on Saturday when he had a career-high seven 3-pointers, scored 19 points but was just 1-of-6 outside the arc. Austin Reaves (14.6 points, 5.2 rebounds) had 16 points and scored the last eight points for Oklahoma, which shot just 6-of-24 from 3-point range. Kristian Doolittle (14.1 points, 9.0 rebounds) has failed to reach double figures in his last five games since scoring 10 or more in 10 straight games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. West Virginia has won five of the last six games in the series. The teams split during the regular season last year but West Virginia won in the Big 12 tournament matchup.

2. Manek was 20-of-40 from long-range in his previous five games prior to his struggles Tuesday.

3. Huggins got win No. 878 to move within one of Dean Smith for sixth on the NCAA all-time wins list.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 69, Oklahoma 56