Derek Culver, No. 14 West Virginia have a score to settle against No. 12 Oklahoma

MORGANTOWN – Maybe it was the constant double teams in the paint and the grabbing and pulling that goes along with that.

Maybe it was the occasional mind game an opponents can play, like cutting a guy off when he’s running down the court, just to get into one’s head a little bit.

That was the deal West Virginia forward Derek Culver dealt with back when the Mountaineers traveled to Oklahoma on Jan. 2.

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OKLAHOMA STATS

Frustrating? Probably to no end. How did Culver handle it?

“Quite frankly, it’s hard to shrug some of that stuff off,” Huggins said Friday, as the 14th-ranked Mountaineers were preparing for Saturday’s 1 p.m. rematch with the 12th-ranked Sooners. “To think that it doesn’t get into somebody’s head, I think the hard thing is not to react to it. I think he did, under the circumstances, a marvelous job of not reacting to it, because he knew what was at stake.”

In terms of statistically handling it, Culver’s two points and six rebounds was his worst all-time game against the Sooners, a team he’s had struggles with before.

In six career starts against Oklahoma (12-5, 7-4 Big 12), Culver’s averaging 6.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

He’s recorded just one double-double against Oklahoma, and that came as a freshman two seasons ago.

“I’m not worried about his ability to understand what’s coming or be able to perform through it,” WVU guard Jordan McCabe said. “He’ll be just fine.”

After the first meeting this season, Huggins referred to the Sooners’ strategy as smart, because it got Culver out of his element.

“I just talked to the television announcers, who by chance had the first game, and the first 10 minutes of the conversation was about just that,” Huggins said. “So, I think we’ll all aware.”

That list includes the 6-foot-10 Culver, who leads the Big 12 with nine double-doubles this season.

“Believe me, Derek remembers,” Huggins said.

And so an important rematch is set, not just for Culver, but for the No. 14 Mountaineers (14-5, 7-3), who could solidify a top 10 national ranking with a win, as well as their second-place spot in the conference standings. Oklahoma has won three straight against WVU.

It does not come without its question marks.

Oklahoma hit 11 3-pointers in the first game, with junior Umoja Gibson coming off the bench and shooting 8 of 11 from behind the arc to score 29 points.

“Gibson is the one who stepped up against us,” Huggins said. “He is, without question, their best shooter. (Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger) has the luxury of putting a lot of guys out there who can shoot the ball. So, I don’t know you can say we’ll definitely guard this guy or that guy.”

Oklahoma forward Brady Manek is also a tough match-up, since the 6-9 senior may spend as much time on the perimeter as he does in the paint.

Manek has 27 3-pointers on the season and is shooting 37% from behind the line.

“When you look at us against Oklahoma, Brady Manek makes them extremely versatile,” McCabe said. “Having a stretch (center) is almost pivotal now in college basketball. We can kind of get away with not having that as much. We don’t have a (center) like Manek who can step out and shoot, even though if you gave Derek a chance, he’d probably like to get a few up.

“Derek understands the difference between him and Manek. He knows his advantage is in the low post.”

Note:

Huggins said he had no idea if senior guard Taz Sherman would be available Saturday.

Sherman is nursing a groin pull he suffered in practice before Tuesday’s win against Texas Tech. Sherman did not play in that game.

He had 19 points in the first meeting against the Sooners this season.

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