What to Know About No. 3 Iowa State Before WVU Basketball Big 12 Opener

The WVU basketball team has its work cut out for it to open Big 12 play, as the Mountaineers will step on to the home court of the undefeated No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones.

Ahead of WVU’s attempt at a statement win, here are three things to look out for from Iowa State.

Explosive Front-Court Scoring

Iowa State has been a consistent scoring powerhouse this season with 90.4 points per game, good for third-best in the Big 12 and 16th-best nationally. Iowa State also showcases two of the top 11 scorers in the country in senior forward Joshua Jefferson with 18.1 points per game (No. 10) and junior forward Milan Momcilovic with 17.9 points per game (No. 11).

Despite both players being 6-foot-8 or taller, they can convert from three-point range, as Jefferson shoots 42.4% from three and Momcilovic shoots 53.8%.

While ISU has impressive guard play as well, WVU’s front court will be tested on the defensive end.

Suffocating Defense

As much as Iowa State’s offense has had success, the defense has also complimented it. Iowa State is fourth in the country in average scoring margin at 27.

On the national level, Iowa State is also No. 6 in turnovers forced per game No. 14 in steals per game. Leading in that category is senior guard Tamin Lipsey with 26 steals on the year. Lipsey is also a two-time Big 12 All-Defensive Team nominee.

WVU has handled the ball well this season, averaging 10.5 turnovers per game while forcing 13.4 per game. The team’s first true away game will put the Mountaineers’ ball security to the test.

Neck-and-Neck Rebounding

One area Iowa State is ranked in the lower end of the Big 12 is rebounding, as WVU actually has the edge in rebounds per game 37.1-36.8. However, Iowa State has a better rebound margin this season at 7.5 compared to WVU’s 5.2.

Jefferson leads Iowa State in rebounding as well with 7.1 boards per game while junior forward Blake Buchanan follows with 6.7.

WVU basketball will play Iowa State at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2 at Hilton Coliseum.

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