Nothing is for certain when West Virginia and Oklahoma State meet on the court

MORGANTOWN — It is a world of unknowns, it would seem, anytime West Virginia and Oklahoma State meet up on a basketball court.

A world where up is down, in is out, and what is unexpected has somehow become expected.

And there is no explanation for it.

“No,” was about all Bob Huggins could muster when asked if he could explain the oddity of the WVU-Oklahoma State series.

WVU STATS

Since WVU has joined the Big 12 in 2012, Baylor has been ranked No. 1 in three different seasons and won the national championship in 2021. Kansas has been the mainstay power and Texas has had five first-round NBA picks.

None of those schools have been as successful playing at the WVU Coliseum as the Cowboys (8-5, 1-1 Big 12), which enter Tuesday’s game with a 6-3 mark in Morgantown.

The flip side to that is WVU (12-2, 1-1) is 6-3 playing at Gallagher-Iba Arena, and while the two schools are an even 10-10 in their all-time meetings, it doesn’t come close to displaying the sometimes shocking scores produced by the series.

Like West Virginia erasing a 19-point deficit in the final 11 minutes just last season at Gallagher-Iba in pulling out an 87-84 victory.

Or Oklahoma State playing without an injured Cade Cunningham — the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft — and still pulling off an 85-80 victory in Morgantown.

In 2018, WVU appeared to be contending for the top spot in the Big 12, but those plans were derailed, in part, because an underdog Cowboys team came to the Coliseum on a Saturday afternoon and pulled off an 88-85 upset in what was head coach Mike Boynton’s first season at Oklahoma State.

“I think it all kind of started when Brad (Underwood) was there and they had the point guard (Jawun Evans), and we just couldn’t keep him in front of us,” Huggins said.

That came in 2017, when the Mountaineers finished in a three-way tie for second in the Big 12, yet the Cowboys pulled out an 82-75 victory at the Coliseum.

Unexpected heroes? There’s been a few of them in this series.

In 2017 at Gallagher-Iba, Teddy Allen came off the bench to score 15 points, as WVU erased a 46-39 halftime deficit for an 85-79 victory.

Last season in Morgantown, Avery Anderson scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Cowboys to the win while Cunningham watched from the sidelines.

Anderson’s career since then? He scored 29 points earlier this season against Cleveland State and had 26 in a loss against Xavier, but his overall shooting percentages and scoring average have dipped compared to last season.

Was it an anomaly last year in Morgantown with Anderson? Possibly, but if it was, it fits perfectly with the storylines produced by WVU and Oklahoma State.

“I watched them play earlier this season against Xavier and they just couldn’t make a shot,” Huggins said. “That happens to the best of teams. You have days, for whatever reason, they don’t go in. Other days, seemingly everything goes in.

“I don’t know how you predict that. We’re going to try and guard him, but we never not tried to guard him. I don’t know that a whole lot is going to change.”

The next story that is produced in the series comes at a crucial time for both schools.

This is the first of three consecutive road games for the Cowboys, who will also play at No. 19 Texas Tech on Thursday and No. 1 Baylor on Saturday. OSU will not return to campus in between any of the games.

For the Mountaineers, a gauntlet of Top 25 teams awaits them after Tuesday’s game.

WVU will travel to No. 9 Kansas on Saturday. The Mountaineers are 0-9 all-time at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Mountaineers will then host top-ranked Baylor and travel to No. 19 Texas Tech next week.

NOTE: Huggins said point guard Malik Curry did not practice Sunday, but was expected to practice on Monday and would likely see action against Oklahoma State. Curry injured his left ankle against Kansas State.

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