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WVU visits Sooners today

By Joey Kittle 2 min read

MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia looks to hand Oklahoma only its second loss at home this season today when the Big 12 Conference foes battle at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Game time is slated for 2 p.m. and the action will be televised on ESPNU.

The Sooners (14-8, 4-5 Big 10) seek a victory over the 13th-ranked Mountaineers to remain in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth. They are 9-1 at home this season but have not defeated a ranked opponent since knocking off Kansas on March 5, 2019.

Three players are averaging in double figures for Oklahoma, including junior forward Brady Manek, who is hitting for 16.0 points per game. He has erupted for 61 points in his last two home games, firing in 31 against TCU and 30 vs. Oklahoma State.

Junior guard Austin Reaves is averaging 14.6 points and senior forward Kristian Doolittle chips in 14.1 per outing.

WVU, which is coming off a 76-61 win over Iowa State on Wednesday night, counters with the inside duo of sophomore Derek Culver and freshman Oscar Tshiebwe, who leads the team with 11.5 ppg.

Tshiebwe had 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory over the Cyclones.

"He gets better every day," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said of Tshiebwe. "He wants to learn. He wants to get better."

It was Tshiebwe's eighth double-double of the season.

Culver, who is averaging 11.1 points, added 12 markers, while senior guard Chase Harler tallied 14 and Emmitt Matthews Jr. broke out of a recent scoring slump by netting 12. Senior guard Jermaine Haley also reached double figures with 11 points.

Freshman guard Miles McBride, meanwhile, is scoring 9.8 points per game off the bench.

Joining Culver and Tshiebwe in the probable starting lineup will be Haley, sophomore Jordan McCabe and Matthews.

After today's contest, the Mountaineers will return home at 7 p.m. Wednesday to battle No. 3 Kansas.

Starting at /week.