Oklahoma State star Cade Cunningham, who rolled his left ankle Thursday, did not play in the No. 17 Cowboys' 85-80 victory over No. 6 West Virginia on Saturday.
Cunningham suffered the injury toward the end of Thursday's loss at Baylor and missed the final minute of the game.
Coach Mike Boynton said the expectation remains that Cunningham, the projected No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft who is averaging 19.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists on the season, should be able to return soon.
"Cade was a big part of today's win," Boynton said. "He was as vocal as he's been all year on the bench and timeouts. ... The kid only cares about winning. Whether he's going to go out there and score 25 and take 25 shots, or he's not going to play at all, he's going to be a great teammate every day. ...
"I'm biased, no question, that he's the best player in the country. Because he does have the talent and the expectations that he should be the man. But he doesn't let that distract from the main priority, which is trying to help his teammates and our program have success while he's here."
Cunningham had missed two games this season due to COVID-19 protocols. Oklahoma State is now 2-1 in games without him.
The 6-foot-8 freshman guard had 40 points in a rivalry win at Oklahoma last weekend.
Oklahoma State on Saturday also was without starting guard Isaac Likekele, who has missed the last three games with a hand injury. Likekele has played in just one of the last six games, as he also missed two games due to a foot injury. He's averaging 9.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Without Cunningham and Likekele in the fold, Boynton will have to lean on senior guard Ferron Flavors for more minutes and can also go with a bigger lineup featuring forwards Keylan Boone and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe.
