STILLWATER — One quick look at the top part of the Big 12 women’s basketball standings tells you how big this West Virginia at Oklahoma State game is.

The Cowgirls (13-2, 3-1 Big 12) are tied for third place in the league with WVU (13-2, 3-1), and while there’s a lot of basketball left to be played, this game could be important as the standings shake out in late February. 

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:

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A duel of conflicting strengths

Though OSU’s offense has been struggling lately, it still remains the best in the Big 12, putting up 84.4 points per game. West Virginia, on the other hand, is the second-best defense in the league, giving up just 51.1 points per game.

The Cowgirls’ recent shooting struggles are the bigger concern. They’ve scored just 66 and 64 points in the last two games, most recently defeating Cincinnati 64-48.

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Can Anna Gret Asi heat up?

A key piece of Oklahoma State’s offensive attack is combo guard Anna Gret Asi, but the senior hasn’t been seeing shots fall lately.

Over the last two games, Asi is 1 for 16 from the floor and 0 for 12 from 3-point range. That has dropped her 3-point percentage from 42.9% to 37.1%.

Cowgirls must avoid turnovers

OSU’s guard-heavy lineup has been reliable in taking care of the ball this season, averaging just 14.2 turnovers per game.

That will be critical in holding off WVU on Saturday. The Mountaineers rank fourth nationally and well ahead of everyone else in the Big 12 in turnovers forced, causing 25.9 per game.

How to watch OSU-West Virginia women

The Cowgirls and Mountaineers will be broadcast on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. Saturday. Streaming for the game can be found here. The OSU radio broadcast will be on KGFY 105.5 FM.

Score prediction for OSU-West Virginia women

West Virginia 64, OSU 63: A few key Cowgirls, like Asi, have been cold from the floor in recent games, and that trend is sure to turn in their favor soon. But West Virginia’s defense might be catching OSU at the ideal time to steal a road win.

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West Virginia is one of the most successful programs in college football history. As a matter of fact, they are the winningest team in college football without a national championship.

Is that a good thing? Well, yes and no.

It shows that the program has consistently won and is at a high enough level to be among the best programs in the country. However, it’s certainly not a label that Mountaineers fans are exactly proud of. The 1988 and 2007 seasons are still burned into the memory bank of WVU fans and getting back to the big dance in this day and age is a tall task.

The Mountaineers entered the 1988 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame with an unblemished record and clobbered many of their opponents on their path to the big game. Unfortunately, star dual-threat quarterback Major Harris injured his shoulder on the third play of the game and wasn’t the same player the rest of the game. The Mountaineers would fall to the Fighting Irish 34-21.

In 2007, well you all Mountaineer fans know the story. But for those who don’t, West Virginia entered the final week of the season ranked second in the country and all they needed to do was beat a 3-8 Pitt team in the Backyard Brawl, at home, to secure a spot in the national championship.

The high-powered WVU offense went stagnant as star quarterback Pat White injured his non-throwing hand early in the game. White didn’t return until late in the fourth quarter and the Panthers were able to hang on to pull off the stunning upset, defeating the Mountaineers 13-9.

That was the last time WVU has been on the doorstep of a national title.

So, which team in the NFL has shared that same level of misery yet has been a consistently winning organization? That would be the Minnesota Vikings.

They have the best winning percentage of any team in the NFL who have yet to win a Super Bowl. Only the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs have a better winning percentage, but they all have Lombardi Trophies.

Now, technically, the Detroit Lions have the most wins of any NFL team without a Super Bowl win, but they have a winning percentage of .455, so it’s not exactly an accurate representation of the success West Virginia has had at the collegiate level.

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