Three Things to Watch during OSU-West Virginia

Oklahoma State opens conference play in Gallagher-Iba Arena for the second year in a row against West Virginia (11-1, 0-0). Mike Boynton would love to add another marquee win to his resume and the No. 7 Mountaineers would definitely fit that bill. But more importantly, he would like to start conference play off on the right foot. Here are some key things to watch for during this game.

1. Defensive Rebounding

This will be an immensely important area of the game for the Cowboys. Bob Huggins’ teams thrive off of dominating their opponents on the boards. The Mountaineers enter this game ranked 3rd in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (15.4 per game) and 17th in total rebounds per game (41.3). Oklahoma State comes in ranked 67th and 92nd in those categories, respectively.

Here are West Virginia’s three closest games they have played/lost and how it fared on the glass.

Basically what this tells us, is that team’s who have found success against the Mountaineers were successful in keeping WVU from dominating the boards. That can be said about most teams, but with a West Virginia team that rolls out 10 fresh bodies to press the whole game, it is especially true.

2. Mitchell Solomon’s minutes

The senior from Bixby’s growth this season has been incredible. Someone who used to be a defensive liability is now hands down the best defensive player on the team. But with that comes a tough responsibility. With N’Guessan seeing fewer and fewer minutes and Yankuba Sima still adjusting to competitive play again, it is vital for Solomon to be able to stay in the game as long as he can.

In Brad Underwood’s up-tempo offensive style, Solomon committed a stunning 3.7 fouls per game over the course of the season, good enough for 122 fouls for the season and 4th in the NCAA. This season, Solomon has only fouled a total of 34 times, dropping his foul per game average to 2.8, which is an amazing jump. Obviously that number is likely to climb a little bit with a loaded Big 12 slate upcoming, but it is evident both empirically and visually that not only is Solomon terrific defensively, but he is paramount to OSU’s success.

3. Handling Jevon Carter

It feels like he’s been at West Virginia forever. The 1st-team star guard for the Mountaineers is and has been a star for them. He really embodies everything that WVU is about — a gritty, relentless presence on both ends of the floor. Jevon has always been a solid defender but this year his offensive numbers have seen a steep rise. The 6-2 senior is averaging 18.2 points per game (an increase from 13.5 last season) which includes outbursts of 29 against Missouri and 23 against Virginia.

On the defensive side, the kid is just lock-down. Per sports reference, Carter leads the NCAA in defensive wins shared and is 8th in overall defensive rating. These advanced metrics are used to measure an individuals defensive contribution to the game while on the floor and how it directly ties into his team’s win.

Keep an eye out for which Cowboy is tasked to match up with this talented senior.