Oklahoma State tips off against West Virginia for the second time this season Tuesday in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The Cowboys, winners of three out of their past four, look to be gaining some serious momentum while the Mountaineers come in having lost three straight, albeit against some stiff competition. Losing at home to No. 3 Kansas and on the road to No. 1 Baylor is nothing to necessarily be ashamed of, but WVU coach Bob Huggins will no doubt be looking to get his team back on track at home when the Cowboys roll into town.

Who: No. 17 West Virginia (18-7, 6-6)

Where: WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, WV

When: 6:00 p.m. | Tuesday, Feb. 18

TV: ESPN2

Streaming: WatchESPN

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network / TuneIn

Live stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com

Spread: WVU -10.5

Series record (since 2013): Cowboys lead 8-7

Previous Result: 55-41 WVU

Projected Starters

Oklahoma State

No. 13 Isaac Likekele

No. 21 Lindy Waters III

No. 1 Jonathan Laurent

No. 12 Cam McGriff

No. 14 Yor Anei

West Virginia

No. 5 Jordan McCabe

No. 10 Jermaine Haley

No. 11 Emmitt Matthews Jr.

No. 34 Oscar Tshiebwe

No. 1 Derek Culver

Previous matchup

Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

Ah yes, this was the game where the Cowboys shot 1-20 from 3-point range (5%). How could anyone forget that? This was the stretch where OSU had final scores of 50, 41, and 40 while starting conference play 0-8.

A quick glance at the stat-sheet from the previous game reveals that aside from hitting just one perimeter shot, the Cowboys actually played the Mountaineers pretty close. They were out rebounded 36-40, shot just 29.2% to WVU’s 38.8%, hit one more free-throw on equal attempts and turned the Mountaineer’s over 20 times to their own 19.

The key difference? West Virginia shot 6-24 from deep. That’s it. That’s literally the game right there. Poor outside shooting doomed the Pokes despite playing good defense and matching the physicality that the Mountaineers are so well known for.

This time around, the Cowboys are bringing a team that has become less and less reliant on the three point shot. In their last two wins, Oklahoma State has hit 6 3’s combined. That’s not necessarily a bad sign as teams who rely heavily on outside shooting are destined to go cold sooner or later and are more unpredictable.

Despite ESPN favoring West Virginia by more than 90% in this game, I actually sort-of like the Cowboy’s chances, especially considering the emergence of Laurent and Kalib Boone. Don’t forget, these are the same people who have Cade Cunningham ranked as the third best high school prospect this year. Their judgement seems a little suspect to me (of course I’m completely unbiased in that assessment).