The West Virginia Mountaineers opened Big 12 play shorthanded against the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones on Friday night, and as many may have predicted, WVU was unable to compete with one of the nation's elite team's and was handled easily in a 80-56 loss. Here are three quick takeaways from the rough loss.
This Team Likely Is Exactly Who We Thought They Were, And It Could Make For A Tough Big 12 Slate
We've seen enough of the Mountaineers against Power 5 competition to get an idea that they don't measure up against comparable teams, nonetheless a Top 5 opponent like Iowa State. There may have been some hope entering Friday's game that maybe he Mountaineers used the Christmas break to sort it out, but the team you saw on the floor for WVU was exactly the same team that blew leads against Clemson and Ohio State, and sacrificed close games against Xavier and Wake Forest.
They looked outmatched by the Cyclones, which maybe shouldn't be unsurprising. And playing in a conference as deep as the Big 12, expect this to be old hat for the Mountaineers by the end of the season. Don't sell your Ross Hodge stock, but maybe sell 'first season Ross Hodge' stock.
Rebounding Struggles Are Painfully Obvious
If the Mountaineers do hope to find answers, they must be better on the boards. They were out-rebounded 35-23 by the Cyclones, and allow Iowa State to earn 12 offensive rebounds. That type of effort isn't going to cut it in Big 12 play, and those numerous second-chance offensive opportunities were at times killer to the Mountaineers early in the game when the score was close.
Some of this can be attributed to the absence of starting forward Brenen Lorient, who is third on the team in rebounding, but regardless, it's an issue that needs fixed. It's an issue that reared it's ugly head early in the season for WVU that has been somewhat rectified since, and they're don't need it coming back.
Chance Moore Is A Game-Changer
Moore was the second-leading scorer and the leading rebounder for the Mountaineers this season entering the game against Iowa State, and he showed what makes him so dangerous against Iowa State. He finished as the team's leading scorer with 17 points and leading rebounder with seven boards, and pretty much was the only answer WVU had all night. His talent will be a boon to the Mountaineers down the stretch,
The problem on Friday was that he didn't have the usually reliable Honor Huff to play off – Huff is the team's leading scorer this season but was just 1-of-9 shooting and scored only six points against Iowa State. meanwhile, Treysen Eaglestaff continued to come up short in his expectedrle as a primary scorer, adding only six points of his own. If WVU could get two of these three players going at the same time, or preferably all three, in a game like this, that could be the missing recipe.