Big 12 Basketball: West Virginia topples Iowa State to earn two-seed in league tournament

By Carmine Carcieri | Mar 4, 2017

Mar 3, 2017; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins talks to his team during a timeout during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

West Virginia earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big 12 basketball tournament with a win over Iowa State in Morgantown.

The number two seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament was on the line on Friday night in a battle of two top 25 teams in Morgantown. The red-hot Iowa State Cyclones, who shot into the AP Poll this past Monday, battled the West Virginia Mountaineers, a team that has lost a total of two games in their own building all season.

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It was Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers who came on top, though, as they toppled Iowa State by using their size, strength, and depth to notch an 87-76 victory.

WVU had four players score in double figures, including Daxter Miles Jr. (23 points on 4-of-8 from three), Nathan Adrian (16 points and seven rebounds), Jevon Carter (13 points) and Elijah Macon (10 points). On Senior Night, Tarik Phillip also chipped in a near triple-double that consisted of seven points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds.

It was ultimately West Virginia’s play in the paint and ability to wear down the Cyclones with their bodies that helped them capture this crucial W. Huggins’ squad grabbed 48 total rebounds (19 more than ISU), including an astounding 18 offensive boards. Adrian and Macon were terrific and even freshman Sagaba Konate came off the bench to score four points and block three of West Virginia’s nine shots on the night.

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Iowa State, who recently inserted Solomon Young into their lineup to give them more size and toughness up front, were completely shell-shocked by WVU’s physicality. Young and Darrell Bowie, the two lone true big men on their roster, scored a total of zero points and pulled down just seven total boards. What makes matters worse is the fact that Iowa State’s next tallest rotation player after 6’8″ is the 6’5″ Deonte Burton, who is more perimeter oriented.

West Virginia also wore down the Cyclones with their depth as the game went on. They only led the game by just one point at the half but things turned for the worst for Steve Prohm and company when the Mountaineers went on a 12-0 run that lasted from the 12:15 minute mark to the 8:57 minute mark in the 2nd half. They overwhelmed them with pressure and a plethora of different fresh options — WVU played 12 rotation players and ISU played just eight.

The home team also had an excellent game plan that limited point guard Monte Morris’ touches. Iowa State’s best player scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists, but he also was invisible for portions of the game. West Virginia was able to deny him from getting the basketball and that in turn helped them create 14 turnovers (Morris had just one of the 14).

Naz Mitrou-Long (22 points on 6-of-11 from three) and Deonte Burton (17 points on 6-of-13 shooting) also had solid games. However, Matt Thomas had a tough shooting night and the next highest scorer on the team was Nick Weiler-Babb who had just four points.

The Cyclones shot the ball well from both the field and from three while WVU shot 43 percent from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc.

West Virginia is clearly not going to be an easy team to prepare for during the NCAA Tournament — preparing for ‘Press Virginia’ is going to be anything but easy, especially after just one day of rest in between the first and second rounds. If Miles and the rest of the roster can play more consistent half court offense without relying as heavily on the press, the Mountaineers could surprise some people with a deep run.

That’s still a question worth asking, though.

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Meanwhile, Iowa State cannot take any shame in losing at West Virginia. It’s one of the toughest places to play in the conference and the team has already notched a win at Phog Allen Fieldhouse this season. Add in the fact that they’ve still won six of their last seven, and the Cyclones are still a feared team to watch in March.

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