2024-01-16 14:02:15
After dropping back-to-back road games, 15th-ranked Oklahoma will look to get on track again when it takes on West Virginia on Wednesday night in Norman, Okla.
“There is no time to be tired,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said. “You have to take care of your body, you have to recover and get your mind sharp. It’s one game after another.”
Oklahoma is coming off a 78-66 loss at No. 3 Kansas on Saturday after falling 80-71 at TCU last Wednesday.
One of the Sooners’ biggest problems in those losses was forcing turnovers.
Oklahoma (13-3, 1-2 Big 12) is averaging just 5.7 turnovers forced in conference play. In Saturday’s Sooners’ loss, Kansas turned the ball over just twice.
“We need to be more aggressive,” Moser said after Saturday’s defeat. “We couldn’t run because we weren’t getting stops.”
The Sooners also hope to get Le’Tre Darthard going again as they return home.
After scoring 11 points, including a crucial 3-pointer on Jan. 6 in Oklahoma’s win over Iowa State to begin Big 12 play, Darthard has missed all eight of his field-goal attempts over the last two games, scoring just one point.
“He can shoot,” Moser said. “And it’s my job to keep pouring confidence, get him good shots. And as long as he continues to play great defense (he’ll play). He’s an all-league defender player … and he’s done some great things defensively for us.
“Got total confidence in him.”
While the Sooners are looking to head on the right path, the Mountaineers are aiming to keep going in a positive direction after knocking off then-No. 25 Texas 76-73 on Saturday in West Virginia’s biggest win of the season.
The Mountaineers (6-10, 1-2), who broke a three-game losing streak, have yet to win back-to-back games this season. Saturday’s win was their first over a power-conference opponent this season under interim coach Josh Eilert.
“We needed that win for sure,” West Virginia’s Kerr Kriisa said. “We need a couple more wins. We needed that win mentally to show ourselves and the people of West Virginia. … We showed what we can do. If everybody keeps staying on the same page, this should be the expectation here.”
Kriisa is coming off a 14-point performance against the Longhorns, his second-best scoring output of the season.
The Mountaineers have five players averaging in double figures scoring, led by RaeQuan Battle at 20.2 points per game and Jesse Edwards at 14.8. Josiah Harris leads the team in rebounding, averaging 4.9 per game.
Edwards hasn’t played since mid-December, though, missing the last six games after suffering a broken wrist Dec. 16 against UMass. He will miss Wednesday’s game as well, though Eilert said recently he is expected to return soon.
West Virginia is last in the Big 12 in both offense and defense, averaging 67.9 points per game while allowing 71.7.
Wednesday’s game will be the only meeting of the season between the teams.
Oklahoma has won seven of the last meetings against West Virginia and five consecutive matchups in Norman.
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