WVU Men’s Hoops History With Big XII Opponents
By Ken Durbin
Oklahoma (1-2 all-time)
November 22, 2012; Buena Vista, FL, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Amath M
The Sooners are West Virginia’s most storied rivalry within the Big XII conference, with a whopping 3 meetings all-time. All of the match-ups between the Mountaineers and Sooners have come within the last 8 seasons.
The Mountaineers played Oklahoma twice under former coach John Beilein in 2005 and 2007 at somewhat neutral site games. WVU snatched a victory from OU in Oklahoma City in 2005. The Sooners returned the favor in 2007, dealing the Mountaineers a loss in Charleston by a narrow 88-82 margin in 2OT.
Oklahoma and West Virginia matched-up by chance earlier this season in the Old Spice Classic consolation bracket. Lon Kruger’s team built up a 5 point lead heading into halftime on the back of strong performances by Amath M’Baye and Je’lon Hornbeak. The Mountaineers could not gain traction in the second half, falling to the Sooners 77-70 in a non-conference Big XII contest.
WVU will welcome Oklahoma to Morgantown for the first time ever on Saturday. The Mountaineers will venture out to Norman on March 6 to finish the season series.