OU’s loss this week can help WVU basketball
If Texas Tech can beat Oklahoma, so can West Virginia.
The Red Raiders shocked the college basketball world earlier this week with a 65-63 win over the No. 3 Sooners in Lubbock.
Yes, Tech had the advantage of playing at home. But, on Saturday, the Mountaineers will have that same advantage when Oklahoma comes to Morgantown on Satuday at 4 p.m.
According to our friends at WreckEmRed.com, the Red Raiders were able to win with a strong defensive effort.
"The Red Raiders limited the Sooners to 26% from the three-point mark and took advantage off eleven Oklahoma turnovers, according to Erik Garza.The defensive effort by Texas Tech also extended down to the Sooners’ star player in Buddy Hield. Hield was held to 16 points on the night, and was a paltry 3-10 from the three-point line."
Related Story: Mountaineers fall at last second to Sooners
When the WVU basketball team faced Oklahoma back on Jan. 16, the Mountaineers controlled the Sooners just like Texas Tech did earlier in the week. West Virginia held OU to a 33.3-percent shooting performance. That alone should have been good enough for a victory, as West Virginia shot a solid 43.9-percent from the field.
But in the back-and-forth game that saw 10 lead changes, Oklahoma had one more look than the Mountaineers did as Khadeem Lattin’s last-second tip-in proved to be the difference maker in a 70-68 home win for the Sooners.
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Hield proved to be a pest for the Mountaineers, though, as he led his team with a 17-point outing that included four 3-pointers.
West Virginia will have to get out in his face, like Texas Tech did, if it wants to pull off the win. This game has huge Big 12 title implications and the Mountaineers can’t afford to be left out of the discussion. That’s what will happen if the Sooners come into a sold out WVU Coliseum and sneak out with another victory over the Mountaineers.
The Red Raiders had the luxury of a sold out crowd, dressed in all black, against Oklahoma.
WVU will need a loud crowd to get the Sooners off their game, too.
In his story, Garza wrote, “…the crowd seemed to be even more rowdy and ridiculous. Texas Tech marketing did a tremendous job galvanizing support for the team as Texas Tech has gone on its winning streak. Good basketball is back on the South Plains and its people are loving it.”
Especially after Bob Huggins called out the WVU student section, Mountaineer Nation needs to be boisterous and downright obnoxious in support of their team on Saturday.
It helped Texas Tech. It will help the Mountaineers, too.