WVU Hosts Sliding OU
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MORGANTOWN -- While the weight of a losing streak seems to get heavier with each passing day, the West Virginia University men's basketball team knows that being down in the dumps contributes little toward making progress
"We may feel that things are not in our favor," forward Pauly Paulicap said Tuesday, "but we've just got to stick to what we do, practice what we plan and then try to see it through."
A home date with Oklahoma this Wednesday (8 p.m., ESPN2) could snap WVU's current three-game skid, with the visitors coming to Morgantown having won only two of their seven conference matchups.
The Sooners have underachieved so far by Big 12 standards, but enter Wednesday with an overall 12-7 record, 2-5 in the Big 12.
They've dropped their last four games, with two losses coming to teams currently ranked in the top five of the AP poll.
Where Oklahoma sits is, objectively, probably a much better place than many projected during the offseason. Nine scholarship players left the program following head coach Lon Kruger's March decision to retire, forcing incoming head coach Porter Moser to outfit almost an entire roster with new players.
"He's done a great job with them, done a great job putting the team together," WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. "They had a chance to beat Kansas, they had a chance to beat Baylor -- actually, they led both of them late in the game. He's done a terrific job."
Of the team's six transfers from the offseason, one -- 6-foot-10 forward Tanner Groves -- leads the team in scoring. After transferring from Eastern Washington with his brother, Groves averages 12.7 points in just over 26 minutes per game. He's also the conference-leader in field goal percentage, making 55.6% of his attempts.
Groves also ranks second on the team in rebounding, hauling in just shy of six a game, while 6-foot-6 Jalen Hill averages roughly 6.3.
Senior guard Umoja Gibson is also a major factor offensively, averaging 12.4 points per game. He and Groves are the only two Sooners averaging 10 or more points each time out. But Gibson sees a major chunk of his success come from the free throw line, where he shoots at a 93.3% clip.
The matchup presents a much-needed break for West Virginia (13-5, 2-4 Big 12), who has faced three-straight ranked opponents -- all losses. The Mountaineers have already lost five games in the month of January, including a New Year's Day matchup against unranked Texas.
"We've been good at times and not very good at times," Huggins said. "I think a lot of that has to do with who you play, obviously, as well. Really, we haven't been able to play two bigs as much as what I'd kind of like to play two bigs, because we have to find some guys who can score and hopefully help other people score."
Despite West Virginia's up-and-down season, as echoed by many around the program this season, any Big 12 team can beat any other Big 12 team on any day. One losing streak will come to an end on Wednesday, with the Mountaineers hoping they can be the ones who remedy their long-held woes.
"Every game is definitely going to be a battle," Curry said. "You can't take any team lightly, no matter who the team is. You gotta give all-out effort every game to win the game and, right now, we haven't been winning games. It's something we're going to figure out to come out with a [W] at the end of the game."