Oklahoma in the way of West Virginia going for a fourth straight trip to the Big 12 semifinals

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — A year ago, West Virginia walked into the Sprint Center in Kansas City as a young, inexperienced bunch with nothing to lose.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” said WVU forward Derek Culver, a freshman last season. “I was kind of like a deer in headlights, to be honest.”

Having already finished in last place in the conference in 2018-19, WVU figured there was nowhere to go but up.

And then …

“We definitely shocked a lot of people here last season,” WVU guard Chase Harler said.

A replay review of a buzzer-beater against Oklahoma handed WVU one upset, before Emmitt Matthews Jr. had the game of the season with 28 points in another upset of a Texas Tech team that went on to play for the national championship three weeks later.

In 2019-20, the Mountaineers finished in a four-way tie for third in the Big 12 and enter Thursday’s 9 p.m. game against Oklahoma ranked No. 22 in the country.

Not that WVU (21-10) still isn’t a tad young, but there isn’t a feeling of being the deer in the headlights, as Culver said.

“I think very few people have grasped the fact that we’re really young,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “We’re playing an abundance of new guys, be it first-year guys from junior college, be it the freshmen we had a year ago, be it the freshmen we have now. I would think we’re one of the younger teams in the country.”

So, the question becomes: Do the Mountaineers have another Big 12 run in them?

Depending on what part of the season you look at, the Mountaineers were either one of the best teams in the country or the hardest team to figure out in the Big 12.

Following victories against Iowa State and No. 4 Baylor to end the regular season, WVU feels it is on an upswing.

“It’s starting to click now,” Harler said. “Our last two games should give us a little momentum going into the game. Our confidence is back up.”

Waiting for the Mountaineers is Oklahoma (19-12), a team that already has already frustrated the Mountaineers to no end this season.

The Sooners already have two wins against WVU this season, both by double digits.

Oklahoma forward Kristian Doolittle will have a target on him after scoring a combined 46 points in those two wins.

“Doolittle is a really good player,” Culver said. “He can score at all three levels. He can score on the inside, mid-range and from three. When you have a high dynamic player like that, you have to be on your Ps and Qs, when it comes to defensive things. Me and my teammates have to do a better job of cutting off his options.”

Oklahoma shot 15 of 36 (42%) from 3-point range in those two wins and 48 of 102 (47%) from the floor.

The 6-foot-7 Doolittle teams up with 6-9 Brady Manek as a unique pair who can play inside and shoot 3-pointers.

“They can stretch the floor and create mismatches for us,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “They give us some flexibility to move some guys around and try to find mismatches, which is what all coaches do.”

West Virginia’s near-impossible run to the Big 12 semifinals last season was third consecutive trip there for the Mountaineers.

A fourth trip would mean solving Oklahoma’s offensive mismatches, and maybe would be another sign that Huggins’ younger players have taken another step forward.

“They want to win something,” Huggins said. “They want to be able to hang a banner and winning a tournament here would hang a banner. We’ve been in the finals three times. Haven’t won. We’ve almost got there. These guys want to be the ones who got there.”

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