MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – How much has West Virginia improved since Jan. 2? 
 
We should get a better handle on that question Saturday afternoon when the 14^th-rated Mountaineers take on No. 12 Oklahoma at the WVU Coliseum in the Big 12's marquee matchup of the day.
 
The first time these two teams met a month ago in Norman on Jan. 2, West Virginia dug itself a deep hole in the first half before rallying late to make a game of it.
 
A key sequence in the game happened with four minutes to go and the Sooners leading 62-60. Forward Brady Manek rebounded a pair of missed 3s, leading to a third offensive possession that resulted in Austin Reeves' crucial 3 with 3:41 to go.
 
"We just have to look at the last game," said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, now five wins shy of 900 for his career. "The last game will provide all of the spark that we need."
 
Guard Umoja Gibson burned the Mountaineers for 29 points on eight-of-11 shooting from 3. During one stretch in the second half, Gibson hit three consecutive 3s and a fourth one was ruled a 2 when his toe was on the line.
 
"They've got a lot of scorers," Huggins said. "If you look at their statistics, very rarely is the same guy their scoring leader game after game. It's somebody else. Against us Gibson explodes for 29 and we didn't even know who Gibson was. Now we're very familiar with him. They've just got a bunch of guys that can make shots."
 
Oklahoma has had its way of late against West Virginia, winning its last three and four out of the last five. Last year, the Mountaineers fell 73-62 to the Sooners at the WVU Coliseum on the day Mountaineer All-American Rod Thorn's had his number retired.
 
For whatever reason, West Virginia forward Derek Culver has struggled mightily in five career games against the Sooners. The junior is averaging only 6.6 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 29.2% from the floor and 40.0% from the free throw line versus OU.
 
He's also committed 17 turnovers, including seven in the loss earlier this year, and has not played more than 22 minutes in any OU game. In four of the five games against Oklahoma, he's had at least three fouls.
 
At any rate, West Virginia (14-5, 7-3) has jumped past Oklahoma (12-5, 7-4) in the Big 12 standings behind league leader Baylor. The Mountaineers have won three straight and five out of their last six since hitting the pause button on their season in mid-January.
 
The Mountaineers are averaging an impressive 83.4 points over their last five games, including a season-high 91 last Saturday at the Coliseum against Kansas.
 
Why the scoring binge lately?
 
"We've made a conscious effort to recruit guys we felt could make shots and we basically recruited the two best scorers in junior college basketball in Sean and Taz, and obviously that's helped," Huggins explained. "Then, being able to add (Jalen Bridges) a 6-7 guy who can play power forward, small forward and more importantly can really stretch the defense I think has really helped us.
 
"Then, Derek enables them to get better shots," he added. "When we roll and replace with Derek it's like all five guys run at him. We throw it in the post they're going to double him, and when you double him obviously there is going to be somebody open. Derek has got to continue to work at being a little bit better at finding which one is open at that particular time, but one of them is open, it's just a matter of finding him."
 
OU rebounded from a five-point loss at Texas Tech on Monday, Feb. 1, to defeat Iowa State 79-72. The Sooners' game scheduled Wednesday against Baylor was postponed because of COVID-19 issues within Baylor's program.
 
Oklahoma has won five of its last six games, including recent impressive victories over No. 5 Texas and No. 9 Alabama in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
 
Reeves is Oklahoma's top scorer at 15.8 points per game. Guard De'Vion Harmon (12.5 ppg.) and Manek (10.9 ppg.) are also averaging double figures, while Gibson is just a shade below at 9.9 points per game.
 
West Virginia got a career-high 26 points from guard Sean McNeil, starting in place of Taz Sherman, in the Mountaineers' impressive 82-71 victory at Texas Tech on Monday night.
 
Deuce McBride chipped in with 20 while Culver contributed 15 points and eight rebounds. McBride had a career-high 31 in West Virginia's 91-79 win over Kansas, while Sherman added a career-best 25.
 
Sherman was held out of the Texas Tech game because of a groin injury, and Huggins did not provide an update on his status for Saturday's game.
 
McBride has boosted his season scoring average to 16.1 points per game and leads the team with a +161 plus-minus ratio. Culver shows averages of 14.3 points and 10.2 rebounds, while McNeil is contributing 11.1 points and a team-best 40 3-point field goals.
 
Sherman is averaging 13.1 points in 18 games this season.
 
Saturday's game will tip off at 1 p.m. and will be available to watch on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ streaming service. Fans can sign up by clicking here: https://plus.espn.com/big-12.
 
The Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG's radio coverage begins at noon on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday.
 
State and local health officials have increased the capacity of the WVU Coliseum to 2,800 and the remaining available tickets were sold this morning.