2017 Big 12 Tournament: Iowa State vs. West Virginia preview, prediction, TV schedule

The Iowa State Cyclones will face the West Virginia Mountaineers in the 2017 Big 12 Tournament final.

TV schedule: Saturday, March 11, 6:00 pm. ET, ESPN

Just as competitive as we all expected, the two teams to reach the 2017 Big 12 Tournament final are the No. 4 seeded Iowa State Cyclones and the No. 2 seeded West Virginia Mountaineers.

West Virginia scraped by Shaka Smart and the Texas Longhorns in their opening game, and then barely hung on to win in the semifinal against the Kansas State Wildcats. If anything, West Virginia gifted the game to Kansas State and should have lost, but were able to survive. It might not be an attractive way to win, but it works in March.

Iowa State had a much easier run to the final, as they knocked off a solid Oklahoma State Cowboys’ team and then were gifted a matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs after an upset of the Kansas Jayhawks. While their route to the final might have looked easier than the Mountaineers’ on paper, Iowa State is no pushover. The Cyclones have fought hard all season long and look like a team more than capable of at least making the Sweet 16.

However, I believe West Virginia wins this game. The Mountaineers are not playing their best on offense right now, but the inability of their opponents to win the game feels like destiny. Bob Huggins’ squad is on a mission, and the Cyclones are not going to stop them.

Next: 5 predictions for the Big 12 tournament

Prediction: West Virginia 68, Iowa State 62

A few weeks ago, I wrote that West Virginia and Baylor looked like teams where one would be upset in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament and the other looked like they would go to the Final Four. Right now, West Virginia looks to have what it takes to be that Final Four team.