Reeling West Virginia In Search Of Win
Two-win Cyclones up next for No. 17 Mountaineers
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By JARED SERRE
For the Intelligencer
When things seem to be looking alright for Bob Huggins' West Virginia University men's basketball team, a wrench seems to be thrown into the Mountaineers' plans. That's kind of been the story of the 2020-21 college basketball season.
Forward Oscar Tshiebwe left the team at the beginning of January, leaving a hole in WVU's starting five. COVID-19 issues resulted in a two-week hiatus for the team. Now, after knocking off then-No. 10 Texas Tech a week ago, a five-point loss to unranked Florida has shot West Virginia down to No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
The Mountaineers (11-5, 4-3 Big 12) return to the floor Tuesday to face Iowa State for the second time this season. They're 3-3 in their last six games.
According to Huggins, the current crutch seems to be a lack of motivation.
"I'm not a witch doctor, and I'm certainly not a cardiologist. At some point in time, I think they maybe ought to get tired of losing these games," Huggins said.
Against Florida, the Mountaineers led for most of the way before the Gators capitalized on a handful of second-half blunders from WVU, ultimately shooting an improved 55% from the field in the second half en route to a 85-80 win.
"A lot of guarding is wanting to," Huggins said.
"I've had guys that maybe weren't as fundamentally sound as a lot of other guys, but they guarded their tails off because they took a lot of pride in it. I just don't see a lot of pride – I don't see anybody getting mad when their man scores."
They'll look to build back some confidence against the Cyclones, who sit as the worst team in the Big 12. Iowa State (2-9, 0-6 Big 12) has lost its last six games, and has not won a game in conference play. West Virginia most recently beat the Cyclones, 70-65, in Morgantown on Dec. 18.
"The only thing they've changed is kind of what everybody's changed," Huggins said.
"They got hit with the COVID-19 thing like everybody else did, so they've played with a shortage of players – I think they're back to full strength now," he continued. "We were struggling to win; they played very well. They're hard to guard. (Iowa State head coach) Steve (Prohm) does a great job, runs great sets, and they've got a lot of guys who can make shots."
Guard Rasir Bolton, who led the Cyclones with 25 points the last time the two teams matched up, leads the team with an average of 15.5 points per game. His previous performance against West Virginia was a season-high.
Yet, despite Bolton's efforts, the Cyclones possess the No. 9 scoring offense in the 10-team Big 12.
Another positive for West Virginia is the fact that Iowa State sits dead last in the conference in rebounding, also possessing the worst rebounding margin in the league. WVU's Derek Culver leads the team in rebounding and is second in scoring.
Culver enters Tuesday's matchup having earned his eighth double-double of the season with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
"I think Derek could consistently be a double-figure rebound guy," Huggins said.
"It's kind of like guarding people – you've got to want to. I've never had a rebounder who didn't want to rebound. I think, as Derek becomes more consistent in his play – which he has over the years – I think he'll be one of the premier, if not the premier, rebounder in America, but it's going to take consistency."