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Little did I know this tweet would be one of the highlights of the evening...
Just put in whichever twin is hot.
— bitterfootballguy (@RobertW_OkSt) January 5, 2021
Oklahoma State came out strong, playing fast and downhill, plowing to a 19 point lead even without Cade Cunningham due to some foul trouble. With a little over 11 minutes left the Cowboys led #13 West Virginia 68-49, but the Mountaineers obliterated that lead over the next three and a half minutes, cutting it to four, and would go on a 38-16 run to end the game. Cunningham reentered the game at the 6:47 mark, but the damage was done. OSU had lost all the momentum and the ‘Neers heated up from behind the arc.
With a Bob Huggins-coached squad and a John Higgins officiating crew, fouls were aplenty...
There have 36 fouls called and there is still more than 7 minutes to go.
— Phillip (@OKTXARPoke) January 5, 2021
.... gross. #okstate
While only six more fouls were called to finish the game, those went against the Cowboys 5-1. While that only resulted in three points for the Mountaineers, Oklahoma State couldn’t take advantage as both Kalib Boone and Cade Cunningham would foul out.
Cunningham led all scorers with 25 and Likekele added 22. Rondel Walker and Bryce Williams also finished in double figures with 12 and 11 respectively.
West Virginia took advantage of the Cowboys’ generally undersized lineup as Derek Culver recorded a double-double barely halfway through the first 20 minutes, eventually finishing with 22 points and 19 boards. Miles McBride and Taz Sherman contributed 21 and 20 points.
OSU was outrebounded 48-38 with most of that coming on the offensive end.
Shooting was an issue for Mike Boynton’s bunch, but NOT from inside the arc. Oklahoma State shot 61% from inside the 3pt line (25-41), but were only 24% from behind the arc (6-25), collectively ending with 31-66 from the floor (47%). While that bested West Virginia (29-70 for 41.4%), the Mountaineers made three more 3s and four more FTs.
The ‘Neers were only 20-29 from the line (69%), OSU was 16-25 (64%).
Assists, turnovers, steals, blocks, and fouls were essentially a wash.
Tough loss but this is what the Big 12 is going to look like for a young team.
Mike Boynton and Oklahoma State (7-3, 1-3) will look to rebound with a road trip to Manhattan to face Kansas State this Saturday at 6pm ET on ESPN2.