For the first time in Big 12 Conference history, two member teams will face each other three times in one regular season. Oklahoma has already beaten West Virginia twice and will host the Mountaineers on Wednesday. The Sooners prevailed 77-70 in the third place game of the Old Spice Classic on Nov. 25 in Orlando and 67-57 on Jan. 5 in Morgantown in West Virginia's first ever Big 12 game. Oklahoma has won five of its last seven games including a 86-69 victory over visiting Iowa State on Saturday.The Sooners, who look like a lock to make coach Lon Kruger the first coach to take five different Division I programs to the NCAA tournament, tied an NCAA record for most free throw attempts without a miss by going 34-for-34 against the Cyclones. West Virginia has found the transition from the Big East to the Big 12 a difficult one. The Mountaineers, who are approaching 30,000 miles in travel this season, have lost four straight, including a 91-65 loss at Kansas on Saturday.TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (13-16, 6-10 Big 12): Offense has been a big problem for Bob Huggins' squad which ranks eighth in the Big 12 in scoring (63.1), eighth in field goal percentage (40.4) and seventh in free throw percentage (67.5). The Mountaineers don't have a single player averaging in double figures. Freshman guard Eron Harris is the team's top scorer (9.4) while big men Deniz Kilicli (8.7) and Aaric Murray (8.6) are right behind. The Mountaineers, who host Iowa State in their Big 12 finale Saturday, are guaranteed to finish Big 12 play with a losing record. It marks the first losing record in conference competition for Huggins since his first Akron team posted a 6-10 mark in MAC play in 1985.ABOUT OKLAHOMA (19-9, 10-6): The Sooners seem to be peaking at the right time, scoring at least 72 points in each of their last seven games and at least 86 in each of their last four. Senior forward Romero Osby has scored 53 points in the last two games, connecting on 15-of-24 shots during that span. He is averaging 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in Big 12 play. Senior point guard Sam Grooms is averaging 15 points and five assists over the last five games while another senior guard, Steven Pledger, ranks second on the team in scoring (11.9) and has connected on 242 3-pointers in his career which ranks him No. 2 in school history.TIP-INS1. Oklahoma is shooting 86.8 percent from the free throw line in eight Big 12 home games.2. Grooms has scored 75 points in the past five games after scoring a total of 54 in the 22 previous games this season for the Sooners.3. Huggins has 723 career coaching wins and needs one more to tie Ray Meyer for 18th place on the NCAA Division I all-time winningest coaches list.PREDICTION: Oklahoma 80, West Virginia 62
Preview: West Virginia at Oklahoma
Published: Mar 05 2013 07:37:54 PM EST
Updated On: Mar 05 2013 07:37:55 PM EST
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