There were laughs in West Virginia’s locker room Saturday afternoon, which is not to say the Mountaineers were humored by Oklahoma State and what resistance the Cowboys offered in a game they never led or that WVU’s players were free of cares in advance of tonight’s game.

Quite the contrary, at least as it relates to the latter. You see, forward Devin Williams has a knack for speaking up and a flair for rallying his team in particular moments, and this was one of those occasions.

“He’s like a preacher,” forward Jon Holton said. “He’ll get going, and it sounds real. He makes you a believer.”

Williams was surrounded by his teammates and together they turned the page toward tonight, the first time WVU has had that nation’s top-ranked team on its home floor in 10 seasons. It’s just the fifth time No. 1 has visited the Coliseum. He knew what they knew. He’s never lost to Kansas at the Coliseum. They should have won at Allen Fieldhouse last season. And while the Jayhawks are No. 1, the Mountaineers are No. 11.

“From the starting five to the bench, we can play with anybody in the country, and our coaching staff can coach, you know, out-coach anybody in the country,” Williams said later, summarizing what he’d told his teammates. “We’ve just got to do what we do and come in focused.”

And his teammates were impressed, hard as that may be for a veteran and close-knit group that only takes so many things too seriously, which is one reason why Williams’ teammates couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“It’s more than attainable,” Williams said. “I said that in the huddle. They said I made up a word. I don’t know, but it’s more than attainable. It’s just going to be about how much we focus in and dial in and how much we do to prepare ourselves.”

Attainable, for the record, is a word.

“They told me it wasn’t,” Williams said. “They’ve never heard me use certain words.”

What other milestones await the Mountaineers?

(I saved the draft at 4:15 p.m. At 6 p.m. I decided to walk to the game. Fun winter night!)