West Virginia at Oklahoma Lines, Pick & TV Info

After being upset on Saturday at home, West Virginia dropped to No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 and the Mountaineers’ chances of winning the Big 12 regular-season title are slim. They will be essentially gone should WVU fall at struggling Oklahoma on Wednesday. WVU will be a slight road favorite on NCAA basketball lines.

West Virginia at Oklahoma Lines, Betting Pick & TV Info

When: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 9 PM ET Where: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma TV: ESPN2 Stream: WatchESPN Radio: West Virginia / Oklahoma Opening NCAAB Lines: WVU favored by TBA

Why Bet On West Virginia?

WVU (18-5) was upset 82-75 at home by Oklahoma State on Saturday. OSU shot a torrid 62.5 percent from the floor. A key sequence came with 5:30 left and the game tied at 64. Jevon Carter stole the basketball underneath Oklahoma State’s basket and fed it to freshman forward Lamont West, who took off from the foul line toward the basket. West was called for an offensive foul and Bob Huggins, reacting to the play, slipped and fell in front of the bench. The official who made the call issued a technical foul on the West Virginia coach, sending Will Forte to the line where he made both free throws. The four-point swing in momentum was accentuated four minutes later when Lindy Waters got a 3 to go down from the wing to make it, 74-69, Oklahoma State. Two Juwan Evans free throws pushed the Cowboy margin to seven with 2:31 left. WVU made just 12of 33 from the 3-point line, a dramatic departure from the first game back on December 30 when it scored a 17-point victory over the Cowboys in Stillwater. West Virginia did not have a starter reach double figures and Esa Ahmad, the team’s leading scorer with an average of 12.2 points heading into Saturday’s game, failed to score, missing all three of his field goal attempts. West Virginia, the worst defensive rebounding team in the Big 12, grabbed only nine defensive boards in a game consisting of 157 combined points. “I’ve never had a team in 35 years get out-rebounded 30-16, never, and that’s playing everybody that’s any good in college basketball,” said Huggins. “The shot selection and the effort to rebound the ball wasn’t there.” WVU leads the country in turnover margin (10.6), turnovers forced (22.4) and steals (11.6). WVU ranks second in scoring margin (21.9), third in offensive rebounds (15.4), sixth in assists (17.8) and seventh in scoring offense (87.6). Carter leads the Big 12 in steals (fifth nationally), while Nathan Adrian ranks third in offensive rebounds.

Why Bet On Oklahoma?

The Sooners (8-14) were a Final Four team last year but won’t be playing postseason basketball in 2017. They lost 77-69 at Texas Tech on Saturday. Two free throws by Aaron Ross capped an 8-2 run and put the Red Raiders up 70-63 with 1:49 left. Kristian Doolittle made a 3-pointer to pull Oklahoma to 71-67 with 38 second left but Ross, Keenan Evans and Justin Gray each hit 2 of 2 free throws from there to seal it. Kameron McGusty led Oklahoma with 16 points. Rashard Odomes added 13 points while Jordan Woodard and Khadeem Lattin scored 11 apiece. McGusty’s 16 points extended his streak of scoring in double figures to 10 consecutive games. His streak is the longest by an OU freshman since Jeff Webster in 1990-91. Webster, who ranks third on Oklahoma’s career scoring list, put together 22 straight double- digit performances in his freshman campaign. McGusty has scored at least 15 points in five of his last six outings. The Texas native is averaging 15.8 points per game in Big 12 play – the third most among freshmen in the conference. Jarrett Allen of Texas and Josh Jackson of Kansas are the only Big 12 freshmen averaging more in conference play than McGusty (both average 16.0 per game). Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 9-4, and is a perfect 4-0 against the Mountaineers in Norman. OU upset West Virginia in the first meeting of the season, outlasting WVU, 89-87, in overtime. West Virginia, ranked No. 7 at the time, is the highest rated opponent Oklahoma has defeated in a true road game since Feb. 17, 1993, when the unranked Sooners defeated No. 6 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse, 80-77. The Sooners have won four of the past five meetings vs. WVU, with the lone loss coming in the semifinals of the 2016 Big 12 Championship, falling, 69-67, when Buddy Hield’s would-be game-winner came just after the buzzer.

West Virginia at Oklahoma Betting Pick: West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia bounces back with a close win in NCAA betting.