MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia returns to the road on Saturday seeking to end its seven-game winless streak in games played away from the WVU Coliseum this season.
 
Earlier this week, UCF played physically in its 72-59 victory over the Mountaineers in Orlando. West Virginia fell behind 8-0 early and could never catch up. What UCF did was similar to what West Virginia experienced in its road losses to Massachusetts and Houston. At the midway point of the second half, guard RaeQuan Battle's frustration boiled over when he was assessed a double-technical foul and was ejected from the game.
 
West Virginia coach Josh Eilert's message to his players after that game has been mental toughness and self-discipline.
 
"We lacked a lot of discipline in that game," Eilert explained. "In this conference, if you don't have the discipline to do things right on the defensive end – if you're not connected on the defensive end and you are not connected on the offensive end – you are going to struggle. I think the frustration with the physicality and the way the game was played and called kind of got into our heads and we lost our mental toughness. We've got to correct that fast because winning on the road takes mental toughness."
 
WVU (7-12, 2-4) will get another crack at getting a road victory Saturday against a reeling Oklahoma State team that has lost six straight games to begin conference play. Most recently, the Cowboys were unable to hold on to a 17-point first half lead and lost to TCU 74-69 earlier this week.
 
OSU has really struggled in close games this year. Tuesday night's five-point defeat to the Horned Frogs was the seventh time this year Oklahoma State has lost a game by five points or less. Against Kansas State last Saturday, Oklahoma State fell 70-66, and the Cowboys also dropped a five-point overtime decision to Baylor to tip off league play.
 
During the nonconference portion of its schedule, OSU suffered close losses to Abilene Christian by five points and to St. Bonaventure, Notre Dame and Southern Illinois by two points each.
 
The majority of coach Mike Boynton's roster is made up of homegrown players, but he does have a couple of transfers leading the way. East Carolina import Javon Small, a 6-foot-3 guard, is leading the Cowboys with an average of 13.9 points per game. The South Bend, Indiana, resident is the team's top 3-point shooter (39), playmaker (84 assists) and free throw shooter (55 of 65 for 84.6%).
 
Bryce Thompson, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound senior guard, began his collegiate career at Kansas and shows averages of 12.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Thompson has been OSU's top scorer in Big 12 games so far with 75 points in six contests.
 
Boynton's four-out lineup also includes 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior guard John-Michael Wright, a High Point transfer averaging 6.7 points per game, and 6-foot-6, 200-pound freshman Connor Dow from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who is scoring at a 2.4 points-per-game clip.
 
Brandon Garrison, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound freshman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, patrols the paint and shows averages of 6.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Garrison leads the team in blocks (30) and personal fouls (54).
 
"They surround you with a lot of shooters and guys on the floor that can make shots," Eilert said. "They are not a team that's going to pound it down low and score a lot in the paint, but they do a good job of spreading you out, get driving lanes and try and get downhill and kick it out to those shooters."
 
Freshman forward Eric Dailey Jr., a 6-foot-8, 230-pounder from Palmetto, Florida, came off the bench against TCU after starting 16 of the team's first 18 games of the season. He scored 13 in a reserve role against the Horned Frogs and is averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
Sophomore guard Quion Williams, a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder from Jonesboro, Arkansas, was also relegated to a reserve role against TCU after starting 17 of the first 18 games. Williams is the team's top offensive rebounder with 34 while averaging 6.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
 
Defensively, Eilert is not sure what his team is going to get from Oklahoma State on Saturday because the Cowboys have been switching things up to find some success.
 
"They will do a combination of some different things," Eilert explained. "I'm not sure how they are going to handle us because a lot of times their freshman big has been dropping, but a lot of teams have had success against us flat-hedging and getting out on those ball screens so it's hard to tell. 
 
"It seems like we are getting a different approach than they're showing on tape," Eilert added.
 
As a team, Oklahoma State shoots 44.9% from the floor, 66.6% from the free throw line, outrebounds its opponents by a plus-2.8 margin and is outscoring its opponents by 2.3 points per game despite its 8-11 overall record.
 
The Cowboys are 7-5 overall in games played in Gallagher-Iba Arena where West Virginia has won six out of the last nine meetings against the Cowboys and boasts a 6-5 record there.
 
Overall, the series is tied at 12-12.
 
Battle continues to lead West Virginia in scoring with an average of 17.9 points per game. The probable starting five listed in WVU's game notes include guards Kerr Kriisa and Kobe Johnson, and forwards Akok Akok and Patrick Suemnick.
 
Injured center Jesse Edwards has been practicing since the Kansas game, dressed against the Jayhawks, but did not suit up for last Tuesday's loss to UCF. He could be available to play on Saturday. Edwards has not played since injuring his wrist against UMass on Dec. 16.
 
Saturday's game will tip off at 2 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+ (James Westling and Bryndon Manzer). Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi begins at 1 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
This will be the only meeting between the two teams during the regular season this year.