MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The bubble question, or rather the potential bubble question, was all but buried when West Virginia earned its 20th win by knocking off Kansas on Big Monday.
Sky-is-falling chatter was replaced by students storming the court. From wondering who left on the schedule could WVU beat to WVU beating the best team left on its schedule, that 62-61 upset of the Jayhawks sure brightened some moods.
“With a very challenging scheduling coming up that was the most important thing it did,” said coach Bob Huggins. “It gave us some confidence back.”
Now, it’s back to the grind for the Mountaineers, who continue their stretch against NCAA tournament teams by visiting Oklahoma State, which had a late-game experience of the opposite ilk in Stillwater this week. The Cowboys, among the least-efficient offensive teams in the Big 12, lost 70-65 when Iowa State closed out the final three minutes on a 9-0 run.
“Not the way you draw it up, for sure,” said coach Travis Ford.
That was a gut-punch loss, not unlike the four OSU has levied against West Virginia the past two years. Now the teams meet twice in this season’s final 15 days, a home-and-home whose impact will stretch beyond the conference standings and into NCAA tournament seedings.
West Virginia’s defensive attention will spotlight 6-foot-7 forward Le’Bryan Nash, who produced a career-high 29 points and nine rebounds during last season’s matchup in Stillwater.
“He killed us a year ago,” said Huggins. “He’s hard to guard, a lot like Georges Niang. He’s a four guy who can really bounce the ball and he passes it. He can play with his back to the basket and he rebounds.”
The Cowboys are a mercurial bunch, having gone 6-6 against the RPI top 50 while also losing by 26 at South Carolina and twice to teams outside the top 100. One of those, a 15-point loss at TCU, preceded the Iowa State game.
“That’s life in the Big 12,” Ford said.
No. 23 WEST VIRGINIA (20-6, 8-5) at No. 22 OKLAHOMA STATE (19-7, 7-7)
Tipoff: 2 p.m. Eastern at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. (ESPNews)
Scouting the Cowboys: Le’Bryan Nash (17 points, 5.7 rebounds), once revered as a one-and-done recruit, is now a senior and perhaps on the verge of an All-Big 12 season. … Phil Forte (16.5 points, 1.7 assists) shoots 40 percent from 3 and 85 percent from the foul line—both good for No. 2 in the conference. He tops the Big 12 at 33.9 minutes per game. … 6-8 forward Michael Cobbins (6.7 points, 5.7 rebounds) ranks second in blocks to Texas freshman Myles Turner. “He’s probably as good a rim protector as there is in the league,” Huggins said. … The other starting guards are transfers: Jeff Newberry (6.7 points, 2.4 rebounds) from junior college and Anthony Hickey (9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds) from LSU. … Though OSU sometimes goes 10 deep, its reserves play only marginal minutes.
Coaching the Cowboys: Travis Ford (265-201 overall in 15 seasons) stands 142-86 in his seventh season at Oklahoma State. He helped resurrect Eastern Kentucky and UMass—despite making only one NCAA tournament in a combined eight seasons—and has enjoyed only moderate success in Stillwater, going 1-4 in the NCAAs and missing out two other seasons. Yet his job doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy because of a regrettable 10-year contract extension signed in 2009 that pays him $2.25 million this season and $2.4 million for each of the four years.
Mountaineer musings: Juwan Staten (14.5 points, 4.2 assists) became one of 16 finalists for the Bob Cousy award this week. … WVU upset Kansas despite a relatively quiet night from Devin Williams (11 points, 8.1 rebounds) who fouled out with eight points and four rebounds. … Brandon Watkins (strained MCL) is day-to-day after missing the past two games. … The other projected starters include Jonathan Holton (8 points, 5.9 rebounds), Daxter Miles (6 points, 1.2 steals) and Gary Browne (6.8 points, 1.5 assists). But starters only tell part of the story at WVU, where Jevon Carter (8.3 points, 1.8 steals) was a co-hero against Kansas. … After allowing four straight opponents to shoot 54 percent or better, WVU held Kansas to 49 percent, a baby-steps improvement. The Mountaineers still rank last in the Big 12 in field-goal defense (46.3 percent) and 321st nationally, though they continue to lead the country in steals (11.8) and forced turnovers (21.0). … WVU ranks second in the Big 12 in made free throws despite ranking ninth in free-throw percentage. … The Mountaineers are fifth in points per possession and efficiency, ninth in 3-point shooting (30.2 percent) and No. 2 in scoring (74.5 per game). … Huggins (760-306 overall in his 33rd season) is 19 wins behind Lou Henson for 11th place on the NCAA wins list. He’s 170-97 at West Virginia.
RPIs: West Virginia 25, Oklahoma State 28
Line: Oklahoma State favored by 5
Prediction: Oklahoma State 67-60