OU Basketball: High-Stakes Rematch With West Virginia Tonight

Trae Young and the Sooners get another crack at the only ranked team to defeat them this season when No. 19 West Virginia comes to Norman tonight. Tip is set for 8 p.m. CT.

The Mountaineers handled Oklahoma in Morgantown, 89-76, back on Jan. 6, getting 20 points from reserve forward Teddy Allen and a big, 14-point second half from sophomore Sagaba Konate. Young scored 29 but was held to a season-low five assists and shot just 8-for-22 from the field.

Since that loss, the Sooners are 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road. That amplifies the importance of tonight’s matchup which will likely be the last chance to beat a ranked opponent in Norman. Four of OU’s final seven games are on the road and Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State are the remaining teams coming to Lloyd Noble Center.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Oklahoma as a 4-seed trending downward in his latest Bracketology report. Getting a quality win against WVU could help the Sooners maintain their spot as a top-4 seed, while a loss would likely drop OU to a dangerous 5-seed, 6-seed range.

And NCAA seeding isn’t the only thing hinging on tonight’s contest. The winner keeps pace with Big 12 leaders Kansas and Texas Tech, while the loser will be firmly ensconced in the middle of the conference pack.

Big 12 Standings

Texas Tech 7-3 (19-4)

Kansas 7-3 (18-5)

West Virginia 6-4 (17-6)

Oklahoma 6-4 (16-6)

Kansas State 5-5 (16-7)

Texas 5-5 (15-8)

TCU 4-6 (16-7)

Oklahoma State 4-6 (14-9)

Baylor 3-7 (13-10)

Iowa State 3-7 (12-10)