WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia is one of the most difficult places to play in the Big 12, but it was no problem for the Oklahoma basketball team on the penultimate weekend in the college basketball regular season.
The Sooners came to West Virginia needing a win in the worst way over the 20th-ranked Mountaineers. As things turned out, that is precisely the way the game played out, with Oklahoma taking charge in the opening half and keeping the pedal to the floor throughout the final 20 minutes.
Oklahoma took a four-point 25-21 lead into halftime and slowly expanded on that, nearly doubling its first-half output in a 48-point second half. West Virginia made a couple of brief runs late, but the Sooners had this one well under control, finishing out a 73-62 victory.
Before OU arrived in Morgantown, the Mountaineer had won 13 of 14 games at home this season. Their only loss had been to Kansas, and the Jayhawks had to come from behind before winning by nine.
West Virginia took 17 more shots than Oklahoma (70 to 53), but made just 24 of them for 34.3 percent and also had 14 more second-chance opportunities than the visitors from Norman.
The win gives Oklahoma a sweep of the season series with West Virginia and the tiebreaker should the two teams tie in the final conference standings.
Here are some other compelling numbers that help tell the story of this game:
0 — None of the five West Virginia starters scored in double figures. Four of OU’s five starters reached double digits
1-6 — West Virginia’s record in its last five games.
2:30 — Time in the game during which West Virginia held the lead.
4 of 25 — Made three-pointers by West Virginia (16.0 percent).
14 — Points scored off of turnovers by both teams.
21 — Oklahoma’s biggest lead, 59-38, with 7:08 remaining in the game.
34 — Points scored by the West Virginia reserves, compared with six by the Oklahoma bench.
35:05 — Time played in the game by OU’s Kristian Doolittle, who had surgery on his broken nose two days ago. Doolittle was the high scorer in the game with 19 points.
49.1 — OU’s shooting percentage in the game, including 61.5 percent in a 48-point second half.
14,044 — Attendance at the WVU Coliseum for the game.