Iowa State basketball: 3 things to watch when the Cyclones play West Virginia

Posted by Admin January 17, 2025 Basketball

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Iowa State men’s basketball has looked unbeatable at Hilton Coliseum, but can it keep building momentum on the road?

Second-ranked Iowa State is headed to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT. The game will be available on ESPN+.

The Cyclones have won 12 straight to improve to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in Big 12 Conference play. They defeated Kansas, 74-57, on Wednesday night.

West Virginia also had a marquee win over Kansas to begin conference play, but the Mountaineers have been up-and-down since. They lost to Houston, 70-54, in their last outing to drop to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

Here are three things to watch:

West Virginia is tough defensively

First-year head coach Darian DeVries has already exceeded the Mountaineers’ win total of last season (they were 9-23 in 2023-24).

Offense has been inconsistent, especially since Tucker DeVries has been sidelined with an injury since early December, but their effort on defense has been stingy.

The Mountaineers are ranked No. 22 on KenPom for defensive efficiency.

Although they struggle with rebounding, they have been tough at defending the perimeter and creating turnovers. West Virginia ranks in the top 21 nationwide for holding opponents to a 29.2% three-point shooting percentage (21st) and 44.7% clip inside the arc (18th).

The Mountaineers have also limited opponents to a 44.4% effective field goal percentage, which is good for 12th in the nation.

Senior center Eduardo Andre doesn’t score much, but he’s a solid rim protector and is averaging a team-best 1.9 blocks per game.

Defense played a big role in their 62-61 road win at Kansas on Dec. 31 to open Big 12 play. The Mountaineers also held Oklahoma State to 50 points.

Iowa State basketball: Curtis Jones his performance in the Kansas game

Whether he’s starting or coming off the bench, Iowa State basketball’s Curtis Jones continues to be a big-time contributor.

Big 12’s leading scorers face off on Saturday

West Virginia’s Javon Small and Iowa State’s Curtis Jones are the top two leading scorers in the conference entering Saturday’s game.

Small is averaging a Big 12-best 19.4 points per game, while Jones is averaging 17.8 points per game.

Small is a catalyst for the Mountaineers. The 6-foot-3 point guard can create for himself and others. He is a volume scorer and he’s shown that he is dangerous from the three-point line.

Since Tucker DeVries went down in early December, Small has stepped up his play and is an all-around contributor. Besides his scoring, he is also averaging 5.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while shooting 42.6% overall and 36.6% from deep. Small has made at least three 3-pointers in each of the last four games.

As for Jones, he has been scorching hot as of late. The Iowa State guard drew praise from Kansas coach Bill Self for “playing like a first-team All-American” after the Cyclones’ 74-57 win over Kansas on Wednesday.

Jones has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games, including three straight 20-point games.

During this five-game stretch, Jones is averaging 21.6 points, 3.6 boards, 1.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game, while shooting 48.7% and a blistering 62.5% from beyond the arc.

Iowa State searching for first win in Morgantown since 2015

The Cyclones exorcised some demons last weekend at United Supermarkets Arena when they picked up their first road win at Texas Tech since 2019.

West Virginia, though, has been an even greater challenge for Iowa State to conquer on the road. The Cyclones last won at WVU Coliseum on Jan. 10, 2015, in Fred Hoiberg’s final year as head coach at Iowa State. Abdel Nader came off the bench with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds to help the Cyclones beat the Mountaineers, 74-72, in a battle of top-25 teams. Georges Niang added 16 points, while Dustin Hogue chipped in 11 more.

Since then, Iowa State has undergone two coaching changes and has a 0-8 record at WVU Coliseum.

This will be the Cyclones’ first trip to Morgantown since the 2022-23 season. Coincidentally, that Iowa State team enjoyed a double-digit win over top 10-ranked Kansas at Hilton Coliseum before hitting the road and suffering a letdown at West Virginia in its next game. The Mountaineers upset then-No. 11 Iowa State, 76-71, on Feb. 8, 2023.

Tamin Lipsey is the lone holdover from that game. He scored a season-high 16 points as a freshman.

Can the Cyclones avoid history from repeating itself?

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.