ESPN BPI Heavily Favors West Virginia in Big 12 Home Opener vs. Oklahoma State

A 2-0 start to Big 12 playing coming for the Mountaineers?

West Virginia University guard Jonathan Powell / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

How does West Virginia stay focused after a big win over Kansas earlier in the week? We're about to find out as the Mountaineers are set to welcome in the Oklahoma State Cowboys for a noon EST tip-off at the WVU Coliseum.

West Virginia's recent games

We won't spend much time talking about the tail-end of non-conference play because, quite frankly, wins over NC Central, Bethune-Cookman, and Mercyhurst don't matter. But what happened earlier this week in Lawrence is still hard to believe. The Mountaineers really went into Phog Allen Fieldhouse without Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry and pulled out a win, marking the first win at the venue in program history. West Virginia raised some eyebrows with their wins over Gonzaga and Arizona, but now they have everyone's attention.

Oklahoma State this season

The Cowboys haven't played to their full capability, and because of it, they enter this matchup with an 8-4 (0-1) record. They have losses to Florida Atlantic and Nevada and squeaked out wins over St. Thomas-Minnesota, Southern Illinois, and Tarleton State. In their Big 12 opener against Houston, the Pokes struggled mightily on the offensive end of the floor, shooting a measly 25% from the floor (14/54), including a 4/19 day from three-point range. If that performance is replicated today, they'll face a similar result.

What the ESPN BPI says

According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI) matchup predictor, West Virginia has an 86.1% chance to defeat Oklahoma State and move to 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have just a 13.9% chance to win.

If West Virginia wants to be a true player in the Big 12 Conference race this season, it must take care of business against inferior teams, especially when playing at the WVU Coliseum. Oklahoma State isn't a bad team, but they're expected to be one of the weaker teams in the league. It's a must-win game for WVU, so 86% sounds about right.

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