WVU vs Iowa State Preview: Riot Ballin'

Game Day Vitals

• #21 West Virginia Mountaineers (19-5, Big XII 7-4, NCAA RPI 30) vs. #14 Iowa State Cyclones (17-6, Big XII 7-4, NCAA RPI 19)
• Series Record: 1-4, last matchup was a battle in Morgantown L 74-72
• Location: Hilton Coliseum (Capacity: 14,356) Ames, Iowa
• Vegas Lines: N/A, O/U: N/A
• Date: Saturday, Feb 14, 2015, 4:00 PM EST
• Television: ESPN2 / WatchESPN
• Radio Affiliates

Opponent Information

• #14 Iowa State Cyclones (17-6, Big XII 7-4, NCAA RPI 19)
• Head Coach - Fred Hoiberg, 5th year as head coach, 107–53 career (.673)
• Last Result - Loss @ #17 Oklahoma on Monday L 94-83
• Official Cyclones athletics website
• SBN Iowa State blog - Wide Right & Natty Lite

Riot Ball, Y'All

The Iowa State Cyclones are legit. Their RPI ranking has finally caught up to the Cyclones talent with only one hiccup this year in Lubbock. They are Top 15 in scoring (80.0ppg) and shooting percentage (48.8%), and 2nd in the country in assists (17.5.) So, what does that mean specifically? They are super efficient on offense. All five of their starters average in double digits for point production including, our favorite Dolph Ziggler impersonator, Dustin Hogue.

Hogue has started cooling off recently, but he dropped 19 in Norman on Monday, so he is dangerous. This provides ISU another option to go to in situations outside of the two usual suspects: Georges Niang (14.9ppg) and Bryce Dejean-Jones (12.6.) With the Cyclone scoring engine in Hogue, Niang, and Dejean-Jones all being in the 6'6-6'8 range, it's going to be interesting to see if Huggs tries to go with a lineup featuring Nathan Adrian at the 3 with Jonathan Holton and Devin Williams in the back court.

As always, if Iowa State cannot get comfortable going against the press, then West Virginia has a real shot. If the Mountaineers do not shoot well and play sloppy, the Cyclones won't need magic to get a win at home.

Prediction: WVU 68, Iowa State 78