Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma basketball: What fans should know about OU at home vs. West Virginia

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma Sooners forward Tanner Groves (35) goes past West Virginia Mountaineers forward Isaiah Cottrell (13) during a men's Big 12 basketball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the West Virginia Mountaineers at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Oklahoma won 72-59.Ou Vs West Virginia
Oklahoma Sooners forward Tanner Groves (35) goes past West Virginia Mountaineers forward Isaiah Cottrell (13) during a men's Big 12 basketball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the West Virginia Mountaineers at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Oklahoma won 72-59.Ou Vs West Virginia /
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On Saturday, the West Virginia Mountaineers come calling at Lloyd Noble Center, the home of Oklahoma basketball, where they’ve lost in their last four visits and eight out of 10 trips overall.

Oklahoma is coming off back-to-back road games that brought a first Big 12 win at Texas Tech and a game that the Sooners probably should have won against 2nd-ranked Kansas. The Sooners, 10-6 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12, are looking to snap a two-game Big 12 losing streak at home, falling to Texas and Iowa State to open the conference schedule.

This is not a must win for the Sooners, but a game OU needs to win to avoid falling further behind in a conference that is far and away the strongest basketball league in the country this season.

West Virginia comes into the game with Oklahoma still looking for its first Big 12 win after four consecutive losses. The Mountaineers are averaging 78.3 points a game and holding opponents to 10 points less per contest (68.9).

Bob Huggins’ crew has three starters who average double digits in scoring, led by fifth-year senior Erik Stevenson, a transfer from South Carolina, who averages 13.8 per game. Tre Mitchell averages 13.4 a game and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game, Emmitt Matthews Jr. averages 10.4 Three Mountaineers, including Stevenson and Matthews, are averaging over 40 percent from three-point range.

Despite four straight losses in the Big 12 and a 10-6 overall record, which is identical to Oklahoma’s, Iowa State is No. 29 in the NET rankings. The Sooners are No. 41 this week using the NET evaluation tool.

Grant Sherfield is the scoring leader for the Sooners. The Nevada transfer averages 17.4 points per contest and has exceeded the 20-point level in seven of his 16 games, including a game-high 25-point performance against Kansas in his last outing. Sherfield’s 45.5 three-point percentage ranks 15th in the nation.

The game on Saturday will air at 11 a.m. on ESPN2 with Chuckie Kempf and Tim Welsh on the call.

Key statistical factors

  • Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (49.1), opponent three-point percentage (27.2) and free throw percentage (74.0) and is second in three-point field goal percentage (36.8).
  • West Virginia ranks in the top 50 in five NCAA statistical categories: 16th in free throw attempts per game (24.2), 17th in made free throws per game (17.0), 41st in turnover margin (+3.2), 42nd in bench points (27.1) and 47th in turnovers (15.6).
  • Oklahoma also ranks in the top 50 in five NCAA categories: 7th in three-point percentage defense (27.2), 17th in field goal percentage (49.1), 21st in effective field goal percentage (55.8), 33rd in scoring defense (62.7) and 49th in fouls per game (14.9).
  • The last time West Virginia beat Oklahoma in Norman was February of 2018, when the Mountaineers eked out a 75-73 win.
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