WVU Looking for Oklahoma Road Trip Split Against Cowboys Monday

After a dramatic loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, the West Virginia Mountaineers will try to salvage their Sooner State road trip with a win against Oklahoma State on Monday. The relatively short trip from Norman to Stillwater will give the No. 9 Mountaineers (8-3, 1-2 Big 12) suitable time to prepare for Cowboys (7-2, 1-2) with a day off Sunday.

With freshman superstar Cade Cunningham, The Cowboys started this season with six straight wins, but hit a snag at the beginning of conference play, dropping both of their first two Big 12 matches against TCU and Texas. OSU rebounded following the holiday break, however, defeating No. 13 Texas Tech on Saturday.

Cunningham, the top high school recruit in the nation last year, has not disappointed through the first nine games of his college career, leading the Cowboys with 18.4 points per game, the second-best mark in the Big 12. A 6-foot-8 guard, Cunningham is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals.

Cunningham’s partner in crime this season has been junior Isaac Likekele, who averages 10.9 and 8.1 rebounds per game. Behind those two, the Cowboys also feature a deep bench with Avery Anderson III (8.8), Rondel Walker (8.2) and Bryce Williams (8.1) all averaging more than eight points per game.

The Cowboys are second in the Big 12 in rebounding, averaging 41.1 as a team, but they have the worst rebounding defense in the league, allowing 37. They are fifth in shooting percentage at 44.9%, but second-last in three-point shooting at 31.7%.

West Virginia defeated Oklahoma State in both games last season, breaking a three-game losing streak. WVU and OSU will tip-off at 9 p.m. on Monday from Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.