WVU Basketball: West Virginia Opens Up Big 12 Tourney Against Oklahoma State
Mountaineers look to avenge March 6 loss to Cowboys
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For the first time since 2019, the West Virginia men's basketball team is back in the Big 12 Championship tournament -- and the Mountaineers are opening against a familiar foe.
After last season's tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, No. 4 seed WVU begins its tournament run at 11 a.m. Thursday against Oklahoma State (ESPN). The Cowboys, ranked 12th in the last Associated Press Top 25 poll, handed the Mountaineers, who ranked 10th, a regular-season-ending loss March 6.
"Last game is done with, (and) we can't change anything about it," forward Jalen Bridges said on Tuesday. "We just got to focus on getting better today and practice getting better tomorrow, and coming out like a different team on Thursday."
This game tips off on a different stage. Instead of the historic WVU Coliseum or Gallagher-Iba Arena, the teams will hit the floor at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center, the first time that numerous Mountaineers play at the home of the Big 12 Championship.
"It's going to be a different atmosphere," WVU sophomore guard Miles McBride said. "It's still postseason basketball, so I think things are gonna mean a little bit more every possession, especially playing against other Big 12 teams. Going into the tournament, everything's gonna mean just a lot more."
The Cowboys (18-7, 11-7 Big 12), who enter as the tournament's No. 5 seed, will likely return guard Cade Cunningham, who is the team's scoring leader with an average of 19.7 points per game. He missed last week's game with an ankle injury.
Against the Mountaineers (18-8, 11-6 Big 12) on Jan. 4, Cunningham scored a game-high 25 points. He enters Thursday as the conference's leader in scoring with 19.7 points per game.
"He's really poised as a player," McBride said of Cunningham. "I think he understands that he's a lot bigger than most guards so he knows when to take guards down into the post.
"We know he can step out and make shots and really controls the ball," McBride added. "He really finds the open man really well.
"He just knows how to play the game really well. You can tell you he's been doing it for a while, and they have a great system for him to really shine."
Along with the return of guard Isaac Likekele, who averages just under 10 points per game for Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers will work to contain an offense that, despite scoring 85 points against WVU last week, has added two offensive playmakers to the rotation.
"I think we really have to come and set the tone early," McBride said. "I think in that last game, I think we came off flat and gave them a lot of confidence.
"You know, guys that really don't get to have the ball in their hands with two of their best players out stepped up and made a lot of plays that game," he added. "So I think we need to come out and set the tone, and set it early."
McBride played his part in trying to turn things around last week, scoring 12 points, but the Mountaineers faltered defensively. Oklahoma State guard Avery Anderson scored a career-high 31 points, highlighting flaws in WVU's defensive unit en route to the 85-80 victory.
It's safe to say that, in a one-and-done tournament, the Mountaineers are out for vengeance.