West Virginia vs Oklahoma State Prediction 1-4-25 College Basketball Picks

The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet Saturday in college basketball action from WVU Coliseum. Here’s a West Virginia vs Oklahoma State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best West Virginia vs Oklahoma State pick.

Oklahoma State Cowboys Betting Preview

The Cowboys won their first three games of the season versus Green Bay, St. Thomas-MN, and Southern Illinois before taking a loss to Florida Atlantic. Oklahoma State would go 3-1 over the next four outings with a lone loss to Nevada around wins versus Miami, Tulsa, and Seton Hall. Since then it’s been a 2-2 stretch. The losses in that time have been versus Oklahoma and Houston, centered around a pair of wins versus Tarleton State and Oral Roberts.

On Monday versus Houston, the Cowboys came out of halftime sporting a 28-18 deficit after a tough first half. Oklahoma State didn’t end up getting any closer than that in a listless loss 60-47. Leading the team in scoring was Brandon Newman, who came off the bench for 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Also in double-figures was Robert Jennings with 10 points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals. Arturo Dean played 23 minutes off the bench, contributing nine points with four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and three turnovers.

West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Preview

Over on the West Virginia side, they kicked off their season with a 4-1 run. The Mountaineers fell to Pittsburgh on November 15, but otherwise beat Robert Morris, UMass, Iona, and Gonzaga in that quintet. After another loss to Louisville, the Mountaineers embarked on another win streak. The victories in that time have come versus Arizona, Georgetown, North Carolina Central, Bethune-Cookman, Mercyhurst, and Kansas in succession.

Matched up against Kansas in their most recent matchup, the Mountaineers were ahead comfortably 33-20 at the break. West Virginia had to hang on in the second, however, getting outscored 41-29 on the way to a tight win 62-61. Leading the way in the victory was Eduardo Andre with his 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four blocks. Javon Small managed to double up with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Also in double-figures for the Mountaineers was Jonathan Powell with 11 points, four rebounds, and two steals.

Why the West Virginia Mountaineers will win

• West Virginia has won each of its last seven games at WVU Coliseum.
• Oklahoma State has lost each of its last seven games against the Big 12 Conference.
• West Virginia has won the first half in seven of its last eight day games at WVU Coliseum against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Oklahoma State Cowboys will win

• Oklahoma State has won each of its last eight day games against West Virginia.
• West Virginia has lost each of its last seven Saturday games against the Big 12 Conference.
• Oklahoma State has won the first half in five of its last six day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

West Virginia vs Oklahoma State Prediction

I’ll lean toward West Virginia. The Mountaineers played a pretty rough second half versus Kansas in their last game though, so it’d be nice to see them pull off a complete effort here. That said, West Virginia still gets a lot of credit for dispatching a good Jayhawks team. The Mountaineers shot 43.3 percent from the field in that one with 32 rebounds and 18 team assists in a pretty good all-around effort, all things considered.

Overall this year West Virginia is scoring quite well but they’ve been a bit muted over the past couple of games. The Mountaineers have a combined 129 points in the last pair, which follows just one sub-70 game in their previous 10 outings.

As for Oklahoma State, they were steamrolled by a very good Houston team in their last game. The Cowboys shot a miserable 25.9 percent from the field with 14 turnovers for 16 Cougars points along the way. The good news is that Oklahoma State rebounded well (39). Not much else went right, however.

Oklahoma State has been below 67 points in three of the last four games—a 2-2 run. Prior to that, however, the Cowboys had been putting up some pretty reliable points totals: 76 or more in every game. Oklahoma State has played two ranked teams in their last four outings, and this one will be another tough matchup. I don’t see the Cowboys staying too close here, though they may hang around until halftime or so. Otherwise, it should be all West Virginia, so long as the Mountaineers play to their capabilities, that is. If WVU isn’t shooting well, it’ll be anyone’s game.