Oklahoma @ West Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 8, 2017 ) West Virginia 61, Oklahoma 50

Fifth-ranked West Virginia will put its 13-game winning streak -- the school's longest since the 1988-89 team won 22 in a row -- on the line Saturday night when it hosts No. 7 Oklahoma, winners of 10 in a row, with a share of first place in the Big 12 Conference at stake. Normally that would be the main story heading into the contest, just the sixth time the Mountaineers have hosted a game that has featured two top-10 teams, but the matchup takes a back seat to the amazing season being compiled by Sooners freshman guard Trae Young.

The 6-2 Young, who prepped less than two miles from the Oklahoma campus at Norman High School, leads the nation in both scoring (29.4 points per game) and assists (10.6) by wide margins and has drawn comparisons to two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry. That comparison drew even more legs this week when Curry weighed in with his assessment of Young, calling the freshman sensation "unbelievable." Curry made his comments after scoring 29 points, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing off five assists to help lead his Golden State Warriors past the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. "Just the confidence that he plays with," Curry said of Young. "I call it flair, but it seems like he's always composed and knows what he's trying to do with the ball in his hand. He shoots a lot of deep 3s and has a creativity to his game that's cool to watch."

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (12-1, 2-0 Big 12): Young had 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the Sooners' 109-89 victory over Bedlam rival Oklahoma State on Wednesday, finishing just one rebound shy of what would have been the program's first points-rebounds-assists triple-double. The Sooners shot 54.7 percent from the floor, including 15-of-27 from 3-point range, and improved to 7-0 this season when shooting above 50 percent. Junior guard Christian James, who is second on the team in scoring (13.0), added 12 points, including 3-of-4 3-pointers, while sophomore guard Kameron McGusty, who is averaging 9.9 points, had 15 points off the bench and connected on 3-of-6 treys.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (13-1, 2-0): The Mountaineers bounced back from an ugly 88-65 season opening loss to Texas A&M in the Armed Forces Classic at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to start 13-1 for the third time in four years but have defeated just one ranked team (then-No. 15 Virginia, 68-61) in the process. Senior point guard Jevon Carter leads the team in scoring (16.6) and assists (6.6) and is tops nationally in steals (52) and is the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, so his matchup with Young will be one to watch. Senior guard Daxter Miles Jr. (14.3 points), sophomore forward Lamont West (12.6) and sophomore guard James Bolden (10.9), who is shooting a team-best 42.7 percent from 3-point range, also are averaging in double figures.

TIP-INS

1. Young has scored at least 20 points in 12 straight games, the longest streak in school history and the longest by a Division I freshman since Kentucky's Jamal Murray also had 12 in a row in the 2015-16 season.

2. Oklahoma, which leads the nation in scoring (95.8), leads the all-time series with West Virginia 9-5 and has won two straight in Morgantown including a 89-87 overtime win last season when the Mountaineers came in ranked No. 7 in the nation.

3. Oklahoma F Khadeem Lattin, who leads the team in rebounding (7.3), needs one blocked shot to become the fourth Sooner in school history to collect 200 career blocks.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 89, West Virginia 84