WVU basketball: Mountaineers can’t afford another failure to ISU
The worst game for the WVU basketball team this season was against Iowa State. It was unexpected and uncommon, but the Cyclones earned a blowout win.
That game was in Iowa. This time around, the WVU basketball team has the home court advantage and it should be a big one on Saturday. The game is sold out.
Iowa State comes to the WVU Coliseum with the worst record in the Big 12. Even though the Cyclones have won four Big 12 games, against the Mountaineers and Texas Tech, no less, they have struggled mightily in spots.
The Cyclones are currently riding a three-game losing streak. The recent losses came against Kansas, Kansas State and TCU. Two of the losses were only by a combined 12 points. Conversely, Iowa State has won its games against the WVU basketball team and Texas Tech by a combined 34 points.
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It certainly is an interesting case. The last time West Virginia played at Iowa State three players reached double figures for the Mountaineers. Jevon Carter led with 18 points as Esa Ahmad and Sagaba Konate added 17 points each. The downfall for the WVU basketball team was really out of its control.
The Cyclones played their best game of the season. It’s hard to stop a hot-shooting team as ISU shot 66 percent on field goals and 63 percent from behind-the-arc. Getting a hand in their face sometimes isn’t enough. The Mountaineers were only able to turn ISU over eight times and create just two steals.
There needs to be better pressure by the Mountaineers this time around. Playing at home automatically give the WVU basketball team an advantage. The oddsmakers see that, too, because according to oddsshark.com the Mountaineers have a 9.5-point advantage.
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A win would give the WVU basketball a better seed in the Big 12 Tournament and still provide an outside chance at winning the regular season title. Even though there has been well-documented struggles this season, it’s good to see the fanbase hasn’t swayed from the WVU basketball team.