Sooners, Mountaineers to come out firing
With arch-nemesis Iowa State out of the way, does Oklahoma actually have more room to breathe in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament?
No. 9 seed West Virginia would beg to differ. Hot off an 86-66 quarterfinal trouncing of TCU, Bob Huggins’ crew enters this evening’s 9 p.m. ET bout with the goal of padding its own NCAA resume.
Online sports book BetDSI, factoring all elements into the equation, likes the Mountaineers as one-point favorites in Kansas City – despite what happened in the most recent meeting between two of the conference’s best.
Lon Krugers Sooners steamrolled WVU on Feb. 20, 76-62, behind Buddy Hield’s 29-point effort. Five three-pointers, vicious attacks on the rim, effortless feeds to teammates – the senior dominated in every conceivable facet.
He was equally sublime on Thursday, outdueling Georges Niang and the Cyclones. The lone pre-Big Dance feat left to accomplish: leading OU back to the Big 12 tourney title game for the first time since 2003.
West Virginia, though, couldn’t care less about such a drought. Devin Willis, Jevon Carter and the rest of the cast positively scorched the Sprint Center nets against the Horned Frogs, draining 11 of 24 beyond-the-arc attempts.
Bet on both schools to catch fire all over again in a short while.
FRIDAY NCAA FREE PICK: BAYLOR/OKLAHOMA OVER 147
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