MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Oklahoma’s run up the national rankings early this season was on the strength of a 12-1 start that included wins against Florida, Notre Dame, Dayton and Northwestern. By mid-December, it appeared life after Tre Young was good for the Sooners.
Oklahoma (15-6, 3-5 Big 12) has not carried that momentum into conference play.
“It’s a big concern,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. “A lot of our [inconsistencies] relate to making shots, which we’ve been inconsistent at that all year. A couple of times when we didn’t make shots, it seemed like it increased our energy level defensively. We should try to guard, regardless and then make some shots on occasion.”
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins would love to trade plces. The Mountaineers (9-12, 1-7) have lost three straight heading into Saturday’s noon game matchup.
In those three defeats, WVU gave up an average of 87 points and trailed by at least 21 points in each game.
“What would be a hell of an improvement is if we just threw it to the guys with the same color of shirt on and kept it between the black lines,” Huggins said following WVU’s 93-68 loss at No. 20 Iowa State on Wednesday. “That would be a hell of an improvement, because we don’t do that very well.”
The Mountaineers committed 19 turnovers in Ames.
“We’ve got to pass the ball, and it’s not just throwing it to the other team, which we do, but we don’t pass it to a guy when they’re open,” Huggins said. “We miss so many open guys.”
It might seem like small consolation, but West Virginia has won the past three meetings against Oklahoma.
“They’re very dangerous,” Kruger said. “Coach Huggins’ teams are always going to battle and fight and play hard. We’ve been so inconsistent with what we’re doing, so we have to go into every game on high alert. We expect them to play well and we’ll have to play well to have a chance.”
Senior guard Christian James helped ease the Sooners’ transition from the year after Young, who last season became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in both scoring and assists. A 6-foot-4, 211-pounder from Houston, James tops the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game, as well as rebounding (7.3).
He has been inconsistent as of late. He was held to season-low five points last week against Oklahoma State, before scoring 21 against Vanderbilt. In Monday’s 77-47 loss against Baylor, James scored eight points on 2-of-9 shooting.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has the Sooners projected as a No. 8 seed in his NCAA field. They won’t be entirely safe without a .500 finish in the league, though last year’s squad got in by going 8-10 in conference.
“Lon is a great coach and they’re always prepared,” Huggins said. “He does a great job of putting guys in positions where they’re good. I think he does a better job than most at letting guys do what they’re really good at doing and putting them in that position to where they really don’t do other things.”