The WVU Mountaineers men’s basketball team got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon with a victory over the Kansas State Wildcats.
While their previous outing with TCU was postponed, they lost their eight-game winning streak to Texas in the prior tilt.
Although the Mountaineers didn’t cover the spread at West Virginia sportsbooks, they did earn their 12th win of the season, including their first within the Big 12.
Now, on Tuesday night, WVU hosts the Oklahoma State Cowboys, looking to keep up with the top of the conference.
The Mountaineers are once again favored in this one. According to PointsBet Sportsbook WV, they’re laying -3 in the point spread in their matchup with the Cowboys.
Mountaineers Beat KSU To Reach 12-2
It was looking like two straight losses to open up conference play for WVU as it headed into halftime on Saturday. It trailed by a score of 40-27 and appeared poised for the upset in front of the home fans.
Senior guard Sean McNeil stopped Kansas State from leaving with a victory with a monster performance. He led all players in scoring with 26 points to go along with five rebounds.
McNeil shot efficiently throughout the contest, hitting nine of his 15 shots, including four from beyond the arc. He also connected on all four of his free throws, with the last two occurring in crunch time.
As usual, Taz Sherman contributed, even though he didn’t have his best showing, with 14 points. Kedrian Johnson was the only other Mountaineer to reach double digits, with 11 points.
Johnson provided help in plenty of other areas as well, grabbing six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
WVU didn’t have the lead until McNeil buried a three with around eight minutes remaining. It held on down the stretch and got a conference win against a team it should beat.
Kansas State drops to 8-6 overall but with an 0-3 record against the Big 12.
The Mountaineers improve to 1-1 in the conference and 12-2 altogether before playing Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
WVU Basketball Odds At WV Sportsbooks
Head coach Bob Huggins and his squad attempt to secure win No. 13 against Oklahoma State at the WVU Coliseum tonight.
The Cowboys enter the Mountain State with a record of 8-5 so far.
While they’ve had a difficult run in their last few, they won their last time out against Texas. The 13-point triumph at home should give the Cowboys some momentum following losses in four of their last five.
OSU had two contests canceled or postponed in a row, then fell to No. 6 Kansas by 11.
It recovered quite well, as Texas was playing great until it met with OSU. It held the Longhorns to just 51 points and handed them only their third defeat of the year.
This is a stark contrast to when WVU played in Austin, losing by 15. It shot well throughout the game but couldn’t limit Texas on the other end. The Longhorns scored 74 points on their way to an easy W.
OSU receives the majority of its scoring from a couple of guards, junior Avery Anderson III and senior Bryce Williams. Both average more than 11 points per game and show up on the defensive side, too.
Each is responsible for over two steals each night, ranking Anderson 26th and Williams 38th in the country in takeaways per game.
DraftKings Sportsbook WV shows WVU’s moneyline available at -145, compared to Oklahoma State with odds of +125.
Since this game is looking like it will come down to just a few possessions, rebounding could impact the outcome. This would be terrible news for the Mountaineers, who have been struggling in this department for much of the season.
The Cowboys aren’t spectacular when it comes to rebounds, but they do rank inside the top 100, tied for 86th.
WVU is much further down the list, currently in 263rd in rebounding out of 358 schools.
Additional WVU Vs. OSU Odds
The Mountaineers will need to show improvement inside the paint as the year goes on or they will have a tough time winning consistently in the Big 12.
Bettors considering putting action on this contest have a few other options outside the standard game lines.
Interestingly, DraftKings shows WVU with the same moneyline odds of -145 to take the lead into the half, but the spread is only -1.5. The online sportsbook has Oklahoma State available at +115 to own a lead at halftime.
Of course, the game total is always a popular choice. This matchup is at 135 points at the moment, with the first-half total sitting at 63.5.
There are a couple of props on the online sportsbook that may catch your eye. One provides odds of +950 for the game to go into overtime. DraftKings gives you the ability to bet on the no option as well, at -4000.
WVU hasn’t been involved in overtime this season yet, but it did have two a year ago. Somehow, OSU has participated in two overtimes this year already, earning the win against both Oral Roberts and Cleveland State.
