West Virginia Beats Iowa State and Snaps 7-Game Losing Streak
The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Iowa State Cyclones, 79-63, on Tuesday at WVU Coliseum to snap its seven-game losing streak.
The Mountaineers (14-9, 3-7 in Big 12) were in dire need of a win. West Virginia had fallen all the way out of ESPN Bracketology as of Tuesday as a result of the streak. Last week, the Mountaineers were on the outside looking in, but at least they were on the bubble.
Now West Virginia has a little momentum as it tries to crawl back into NCAA Tournament contention.
The Mountaineers were happy to see Taz Sherman back. He missed Saturday’s game after he suffered a concussion against Baylor last Monday, and the Mountaineers fell to Texas Tech. Sherman played 31 minutes and scored a team-high 16 points. But, he had a lot of help, too. Three other Mountaineers scored in double figures — Malik Curry and Jalen Bridges each had 14 points, while Sean McNeil added 13 points.
Sherman and McNeil combined for six 3-pointers, while Curry was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. West Virginia shot 50 percent for the game overall.
Meanwhile, Iowa State (16-8, 3-8) continued its struggles in the meat of the Big 12 schedule. The Cyclones have now lost three straight, and five of their last seven. The loss came a day after the Cyclones fell out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since they entered the poll after winning the NIT Season Tip-off in late November.
Tyrese Hunter had a big game for ISU, scoring 22 points, with three rebounds and four assists. The Cyclones’ leading scorer this season, Izaiah Brockington, was held to 11 points. Caleb Grill came off the bench to score 12 points, all of which came on 3-pointers.
Also Tuesday evening, TCU (16-5, 5-4) beat Oklahoma State (11-12, 4-7), 77-73, in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs won the game without guard Mike Miles, who was out with wrist soreness. But four different Horned Frogs scored in double figures — Chuck O’Bannon with 19 points, Damion Baugh with 15 points, Emanuel Miller with 16 points and Eddie Lampkin with 10 points. Oklahoma State’s Isaac Likekele led the Cowboys with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Avery Anderson III added 14 points.
On Wednesday, Baylor faces Kansas State and Texas Tech faces Oklahoma.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
