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West Virginia Mountaineers at Oklahoma State Cowboys Betting Preview

The No. 9 West Virginia Mountaineers look to bounce back from a loss against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Monday. The Mountaineers are one-point favorites on the road, with the over/under set at 143 points.

Despite being so highly ranked, West Virginia is 1-2 in Big 12 play and losers of two of their last three games. The Mountaineers were blown out by Kansas and lost a close game in Oklahoma over the weekend. West Virginia’s only win inside the conference came against last-place Iowa State, although non-conference wins over Richmond and Georgetown carry a little weight.

The Cowboys began Big 12 play with a pair of close losses to TCU and Texas. However, Oklahoma State pulled off an upset win over No. 13 Texas Tech over the weekend. The Cowboys also beat Marquette during the non-conference season, so it’s no fluke that they were able to beat a ranked team.

The Chosen One

The Cowboys’ Cade Cunningham began the season expecting to be one of the best freshmen in the country, and he’s lived up to the hype thus far. The 6’8’’ guard is scoring 18.4 points per game while leading the team with 3.8 assists per game and chipping in 5.8 rebounds. He’s already had four games with 20 points or more, including 25 points in a losing effort against Texas right before Christmas.

The problem for the Cowboys is they aren’t giving Cunningham enough support. The team’s interior scoring is lacking due to a profound lack of size outside of Cunningham.

In fact, he and fellow guard Isaac Likekele are Oklahoma State’s best rebounders, not to mention the only Cowboys who average double figures. Oklahoma State isn’t a great passing team or a great shooting team, relying on Cunningham to score and create space for everyone else.

Short-Handed

The Mountaineers are still adjusting to the loss of forward Oscar Tshiebwe, who has left the program for personal reasons. Tshiebwe was only West Virginia’s fifth-leading scorer, but he was their second-best rebounder.

Without him, there is a lot more pressure on Derek Culver to carry the frontcourt. In fairness, Culver is averaging close to a double-double per game.

In the backcourt, Miles McBride is the star, averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game. However, the rest of West Virginia’s offense outside of Culver is inconsistent at best. Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil are averaging double figures, although both are prone to off-nights.

The Mountaineers are built more to win tight, low-scoring games than to outscore opponents with a potent offense. Of course, that has been problematic against some of the better teams on their schedule.

Built for This

West Virginia’s defensive prowess should be enough to survive their trip to Stillwater. The Mountaineers will throw multiple defenders at Cunningham to slow him down.

Even if Cunningham can score, the Cowboys don’t have enough scorers to threaten the Mountaineers. Oklahoma State also lacks the size inside to deal with Culver.

With the spread at just one-point, it’s safe to bet on West Virginia to win and cover.

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