Something about playing the Iowa State Cyclones brings out the best in West Virginia this season.
Earlier this year, WVU went into Hilton Coliseum and quelled the Cyclones supporters during a shocking 81-76 win. During that game, Jaysean Paige was continuing his tear through Big 12 play, scoring 23 points to lead his team.
Tonight in Morgantown, Paige picked up where he left off, and some. The senior came off the bench as usual and blew up Mountaineer Coliseum for 34 points, a new career high. West Virginia wore down the depth-lacking Cyclones to win 97-87.
Jaysean Paige Turns On Super-Human Mode
After suffering from a painful ankle injury against Texas, Jaysean Paige hobbled around during West Virginia's loss to Oklahoma on Saturday. With his backcourt counterpart Daxter Miles Jr. just now coming back from an injury, Paige was going to need to have success against the Cyclones.
And he knew it. The former JUCO transfer went 12 for 15 inside the parabola, driving into the lane with authority against a consistently collapsing Iowa State defense. Paige used some finesse with the ball, putting in some critical, contested layups. He was a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe, and he didn't commit but one foul. He was only 1 for 6 from three, but his one make was a key trey that gave WVU a 49-38 lead with 23 seconds left in the 1st half.
WVU Gets Much Needed Balance
West Virginia's kryptonite this season has been their poor outside shooting, and it was a particularly prominent problem against Texas and Oklahoma last week. In those two matchups, there were many ill-advised shots from beyond the parabola, as well as a head-scratchingly confusing aversion from attacking the paint.
Tonight, it was a cleaner script for the Mountaineers. WVU surgically cut open the Iowa State defense by finding open lanes, either passing the ball down low to Devin Williams or simply driving it to the hole with Jaysean Paige. Nathan Adrian and Jonathan Holton combined for 16 points, using their brute force to batter the ISU frontcourt.
Also key for West Virginia was the beautiful stroke of Tarik Phillip. The young guard from Brooklyn took open opportunities, going a sensational 6 for 8 from deep. This outside shooting was the nail in Iowa State's coffin as the WVU fans were rocking.
Iowa State Doubters Are Not Being Proven Wrong
The main qualm that critics had with Steve Prohm's team was that it didn't have enough depth to survive tough bouts like tonight. That criticism is being justified. Although the Cyclones can boast about their outstanding starting five and Jameel McKay coming off of the bench, production beyond that group of six players is nonexistent.
As the minutes racked up for the Iowa State frontcourt of Georges Niang and McKay tonight, the fouls racked up as well. With no viable options to come in and alleviate the pressure on Niang and McKay, West Virginia took the opportunity to pound the paint as ISU held back in fear of committing more fouls.
Abdel Nader had yet another big night for the Cyclones, scoring 23 points with 5 three-pointers. He and Matt Thomas kept Iowa State in the game via the long ball, but as West Virginia amped up the pressure, the Cyclones faltered. A few turnovers for the usually sure-handed Monte Morris hurt the Cyclones dearly. WVU capitalized on almost all of the 15 total turnovers by Iowa State, zipping back up the court with the pro-WVU pace going strong.
Going Forward
Iowa State is now having to focus on avoiding a fall to .500 in Big 12 play. Now 8-7 in the conference, ISU is in position to hold the 6th seed in the Big 12 Tournament, a very disappointing scenario for a team with much hype coming into the season. With Texas Tech slowly creeping up on the team, fear and anxiety is rampant in Ames. The Cyclones do get an easier task on Saturday as they tussle with Kansas State at Hilton Coliseum.
West Virginia is thrilled that they have stopped their losing streak. Now in 2nd place in the Big 12, the Mountaineers are going to try and win all of their remaining games and hope for some Kansas losses. WVU will play at struggling Oklahoma State on Saturday.