MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It will be a quick turnaround for the West Virginia University men's basketball team following its disappointing 78-72 loss to Texas Tech on Saturday.
 
The Mountaineers (15-12, 4-10) face Oklahoma State (16-11, 7-7) tonight in a 7 p.m. Big 12 game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (David Saltzman and Chris Spatola).
 
Last Saturday, West Virginia appeared to take control of the game when Mohamed Wague scored with 8:41 remaining to give the Mountaineers a 63-55 lead, but it took the Red Raiders only two minutes to tie the score. Then, Texas Tech limited West Virginia to just three field goals over the final 6:30 to pull out a six-point victory.
 
Guards Erik Stevenson (27) and Kedrian Johnson (20) did most of the scoring for West Virginia, which split its season series with the Red Raiders. Those two were a combined 17-of-34 from the floor while the rest of the team finished a combined 10-of-28.
 
After winning five in a row to boost its NCAA Tournament hopes, Oklahoma State has now dropped two straight, including last Saturday's 100-75 loss at TCU.
 
It took TCU just 20 minutes to put away Oklahoma State, leading the Cowboys 47-27 at halftime. Guard Bryce Thompson led OSU with 18 points but made just six of his 15 field goal attempts. John-Michael Wright scored 15 points and Caleb Asberry added 12.
 
"(Oklahoma State is) really, really athletic," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said following Saturday's loss to Texas Tech.
 
Thompson was also the high-point man for Oklahoma State the first time these two teams met in Stillwater on Jan. 2, a 67-60 Cowboys victory. Thompson led four double-digit scorers with 15 points that evening. West Virginia battled back from a 13-point deficit to take a 57-54 lead with 5:25 remaining on Stevenson's 3-point shooting. Then, Stevenson was called for a technical foul after a 3-point basket, his fourth, and drew his fifth foul moments later when he was called for an offensive foul.
 
Consequently, WVU managed to score just five points over the game's final 5:57.
 
Both teams are in desperate need of a victory to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Cowboys, despite having a lower NCAA NET ranking than West Virginia, appear to be in better shape based on their 7-7 conference record. Oklahoma State's NET is 37, compared to West Virginia's 32, heading into tonight's action.
 
Before Saturday's action, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had West Virginia listed as one of four teams receiving byes as an 11-seed. Oklahoma State was on much firmer ground as a nine-seed.
 
The remainder of West Virginia's regular season schedule includes another Saturday-Monday-road trip to Kansas and Iowa State before wrapping up play back at the WVU Coliseum against Kansas State on Saturday, March 4.
 
Kansas is now No. 6 in the NET following its impressive home triumph over Baylor, while Iowa State (15) and Kansas State (20) remain in the top 20.  Any win against those three would give the Mountaineers another Quad 1 victory.
 
WVU has five Quad 1 wins so far this year and has faced 16 Quad 1 opponents, matching Iowa State's 16, which are two below Kansas' 18. A victory over Oklahoma State tonight would constitute another Quad 2 win for the Mountaineers. WVU is 3-1 in Quad 2 games this season.
 
Oklahoma State's remaining schedule includes home contests against Kansas State and Baylor and a road tilt at Texas Tech.
 
All 10 Big 12 teams, including last-place Oklahoma, are still in NCAA Tournament contention. The Sooners, despite their 13-14 overall record, have a NET ranking of 61 and moved up two spots despite an overtime loss at Texas last Saturday.
 
Nine of the 10 Big 12 teams have at least 15 victories and boast winning overall records.
 
Kansas and Texas are tied at the top of the league standings with 10-4 marks.
 
Mountaineer Sports Network coverage with Tony Caridi, Jay Jacobs and studio host David Kahn begins at 6 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network. 
 
Satellite radio coverage is on Sirius/XM channel 84.
 
Oklahoma State holds a 12-11 advantage in all-time series play. The Cowboys have won five times at the Coliseum since 2017.
 
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.