• Basketball
  • Oklahoma State Outlasts The WVU Mountaineers, Get Ready For Baylor

Oklahoma State Outlasts The WVU Mountaineers, Get Ready For Baylor

Details
Basketball

12/14 Oklahoma State outlasted 10/9 West Virginia thanks to timely buckets from Avery Anderson III and Cade Cunningham, and stifling defense down the stretch.

The Cowboys have now played in 18 games decided by 10 points or less, and are 14-4 in those contests. With the win, Oklahoma State advances to the Big 12 Championship semifinals for the first time since 2013. They will face No. 2/2 Baylor, which took down the Cowboys, 80-71, last week in Waco, Texas, although the Bears led by just four points with 2:32 remaining.

What. A. Run.
OSU is making its claim to be one of the nation's hottest teams. On Feb. 13, the Cowboys were unranked, but have since won seven of eight games and have risen to No. 12 in the AP top-25. In this eight-game span, OSU has taken down five top-20 squads, including three against top-10 teams, and three of those wins came away from home. OSU is shooting 49.0 percent from the floor with a +6.4 rebounding margin while holding opponents to 42.6 percent during this run.

Made For This
OSU is 26-21 in its history at the Big 12 Championship, including back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. The 26 wins rank third behind only Kansas and Texas, while the program's .553 win percentage trails only Kansas among all Big 12 squads. OSU is 13-2 (.867) all-time in the first round, which is five more wins than the next closest Big 12 team and easily the best win percentage in the opening round. Oklahoma State is 8-14 in the quarterfinals, 3-4 in the semifinals and 2-1 in the championship game. OSU is the No. 5 seed in this year's championship, and is 5-3 all-time in the event as that seed. In 1999, OSU took down No. 1 seed Texas, 59-57, to advance to the championship game.

Against The Bears In The Postseason
Oklahoma State is 3-0 all-time in postseason play against Baylor, although this will be the first meeting between these two teams in the Big 12 Championship since 2013. That year, OSU was the No. 3 seed and took down No. 6 Baylor, 74-72, in the quarterfinals. The Cowboys also took down Baylor in the first round of the 1999 and 1997 Big 12 Championships.