Cowboys Tipping Off Big 12 Play Against No. 7 West Virginia

Game Center
Opponent: No. 7/7 West Virginia (11-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Dec. 29, 2017 / 6 p.m. Central
Site: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.)
Series: WVU leads 6-5 (WVU leads 3-2 in GIA)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNU (Lowell Galindo, Bryndon Manzer)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81, XM 81 (OSU radio call)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com

Oklahoma State Game Notes

The Basics
Oklahoma State is off to a 10-2 start and for the second straight year will begin Big 12 Conference play against No. 7/7 West Virginia. The Cowboys and Mountaineers are both known for their high pressure defenses, and while they have their strategic differences, both rank among the nation's top 30 in turnovers forced and opponent turnover percentage. The two squads split their two meetings last season with the road team winning both times.

On the Air
The matchup between the Cowboys and Mountaineers will air on ESPNU at 6 p.m. Central on Friday. The play-by-play team of Lowell Galindo and former Cowboy guard Bryndon Manzer will handle the on-air duties. ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app will carry the webcast. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call.

Cowboy Quick Hitters
• OSU ranks second nationally in free throw percentage at 80.5 percent. The Cowboys trail only Central Michigan (.806) for the national lead. A single free throw make separates the two programs.
• Jeffrey Carroll is racing up the program's scoring charts. With 1,044 career points, Carroll is now just 20 points behind Boston Celtics standout Marcus Smart for 35th place.
• Mitchell Solomon has six double-digit scoring performances this season, which are already the most by an OSU player listed 6-9 or taller since Marcus Dove had 14 double-digit games in 2007-08.
• No. 7/7 West Virginia will be the fourth top-25 squad OSU has faced this year, which are the most by any Big 12 team. OSU is 1-2 against ranked opponents, and the two losses came to teams currently ranked eighth or better.
• One game after shooting just a single free throw (the fewest in GIA history) in the win over Tulsa, the Cowboys shot a season-high 34 free throws against UTRGV.

Looking For No. 50
OSU picked up its 117th victory over a top-25 opponent when it took down No. 19 Florida State on Dec. 16, but the Cowboys are currently sitting on 49 all-time wins over top-10 teams. OSU's last top-10 victory occurred the last time it faced West Virginia on Feb. 4, 2017. That day OSU defeated No. 7 WVU, 82-75, in Morgantown thanks to 20 points from Jeffrey Carroll.

High-Pressure Defense
Oklahoma State's high-pressure defense is active in passing lanes and employs half-court traps in an effort to speed up opponents to create turnovers and bad shots. OSU is forcing 17.0 turnovers per game (30th nationally) and a turnover percentage of 23.5 percent (22nd nationally), and the Cowboys turn that into 19.2 points off turnovers per game. OSU has forced at least 19 turnovers in five of their last six games (18.8 per game average). On the year, OSU's defensive pressure has allowed them to take 6.4 more shots per game than their opponents.

The Series Against West Virginia
This will be just the 12th meeting in the overall series. The Cowboys won the last matchup, 82-75, in Morgantown, W.Va. to end a five-game losing streak to WVU that saw the Mountaineers take a 6-5 lead in the overall series. WVU has won the last three meetings in Stillwater, which trails only Iowa State (four straight wins in GIA) for the longest current win streak in Stillwater. Overall, WVU holds a 3-2 edge in GIA. This will be the ninth straight meeting in which at least one of the two teams is ranked.

Press Virginia
The Mountaineers employ a full-court high-pressure defense that currently ranks second in the country in turnover percentage (28.3) and third in turnovers forced (20.9). WVU has forced 251 turnovers while allowing just 245 field goals. Jevon Carter leads the nation in steals with 3.7 per game.

830 Wins And Counting
West Virginia is led by Bob Huggins, who moved into seventh place on the NCAA Division I winningest coaches list with 830 career victories. Huggins' record now stands at 830-331 in his 36th season as a head coach. Huggins is the third-winningest active Division I coach behind Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse). On Dec. 21, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Huggins is eligible for the Class of 2018.

Mr. Carter
Mountaineer senior Jevon Carter is proving to be one of the nation's premier all-around guards. Carter leads the nation in steals at 3.7 per game, and also ranks third in Big 12 in scoring (18.2 ppg) and fourth in assists (6.3 apg). At 119 career games, Carter is nation's most experienced player. The reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year was also a unanimous pick for the league's preseason all-conference team.

Boynton vs. Huggins
This will be Mike Boynton's first head coaching matchup against future Hall of Famer Bob Huggins, but Boynton was an assistant coach for three recent meetings with Huggins and West Virginia. Boynton was on staff at OSU last season, and he was also on staff at Stephen F. Austin when the Lumberjacks defeated No. 3 seed WVU in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, 70-56, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Cowboys Tipping Off Big 12 Play Against No. 7 West Virginia

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Players Mentioned

Jeffrey Carroll

Mitchell Solomon

Oklahoma State University Athletics