Tuesday, February 2
Ames, Iowa
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Iowa State
Photo by: Sarah Ramundt
No. 17 West Virginia Looks to Bounce Back at Iowa State Tuesday Night
February 01, 2021 04:18 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – No. 17 West Virginia, coming off Saturday's five-point loss to Florida in the SEC/Big Challenge, resumes Big 12 play on Tuesday night at Iowa State.
The Mountaineers (11-5, 4-3) had three different opportunities to tie the game with less than a minute to go, but they couldn't come up with the game-tying basket.
Junior forward Derek Culver scored a career-high 28 points while grabbing 12 rebounds, his 24th career double-double game. The junior was 7-of-11 from the floor and 14-of-17 from the free throw line after entering the game shooting just 54% from the charity stripe.
Some work with coach Bob Huggins after practice on Friday clearly helped Culver's free throw shooting on Saturday.
"You have to have your elbow under the ball or you're going to shoot it flat," Huggins explained. "If you're going to lift something you've got to get underneath it and all I tried to do was make sure Derek got his elbow under the ball so he could get it over the rim. The next thing was to get him to shoot it in a straight line, but if you get it over the rim you've got a heck of a chance."
Culver boosted his season averages to 14.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game after a couple of subpar performances against Texas Tech and Kansas State following WVU's two-week pause for COVID-19 protocols.
Huggins said earlier today that he would like to see Culver's rebounding production even out a little bit more in the coming games.
"I think with Derek it's a consistency thing. He had, what, six the other day and then turns around and gets 12?" Huggins said. "He had 18 back-to-back and you're not going to get 18 every day, I fully understand that, but I think Derek can consistently be a double-figure rebound guy.
"It's kind of like guarding people; you've got to want to. I've never had a rebounder who never wanted to rebound and as Derek continues to become more consistent in his play I think he will be the premier rebounder in America."
Following Saturday's loss, Huggins was upset with his team's inability to guard Florida's outside shooters and fight harder for 50-50 balls.
His mood was no different Monday morning.
"A lot of guarding is wanting to. I've had guys that were maybe not as fundamentally sound as others, but they guarded their tails off because they took a lot of pride in it," Huggins said. "I don't see anybody getting mad when their man scores, and that's not a good thing. It's got to matter to you.
"Everybody gets mad when you miss a shot. You ought to get mad when your man makes one," he added.
West Virginia led the Gators 42-37 at halftime and had a seven-point lead early in the second half when sophomore guard Deuce McBride picked up his third foul and went to the bench.
That's when Florida went on its run to take the lead.
"Our guards, by and large, aren't very big and (McBride) gives us a little bit more size and athleticism," Huggins explained. "He's got great anticipation and makes a lot of plays defensively. He's not afraid to dive on the floor."
Guard Sean McNeil contributed 21 points off the bench on 5-of-11 shooting from 3.
Huggins was starting McNeil and junior forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. before the COVID-19 pause, but switched to a three-guard lineup consisting of McBride, Jordan McCabe and Taz Sherman with freshman Jalen Bridges and Culver up front.
That was the group Huggins used for wins over Kansas State and Texas Tech, as well as Saturday's loss to Florida.
Iowa State, meanwhile, is coming off a 39-point defeat at Mississippi State in its SEC/Big 12 Challenge game. The Cyclones are now 2-9/0-6 and haven't won since defeating Jackson State on Dec. 20.
The first time these two teams met earlier this year, West Virginia needed some late-game heroics from Sherman to pull out a 70-65 win at the WVU Coliseum. There were 16 lead changes and seven ties and neither team shot the ball well down the stretch.
West Virginia missed seven of its final eight field goal attempts while Iowa State failed to make a field goal during the concluding three minutes of play.
Culver and McBride led West Virginia with 18 points while Penn State transfer Rasir Bolton led the Cyclones with a game-high 25.
"We struggled to win. They played very well and were hard to guard," Huggins said. "(Iowa State coach) Steve (Proehm) does a great job. They run great sets, and they've got a lot of guys that can make shots."
Last Saturday, Iowa State gave up two big runs to begin the second half to drop its fifth straight. The Cyclones were playing Saturday without Nick Schuster, Solomon Young, Javan Johnson and Tre Jackson because of health and safety protocols.
Bolton led Iowa State with 18 points. Iowa State's 56 points were its lowest scoring output of the season.
"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," Huggins said.
After Tuesday's game, West Virginia will embark upon a 17-day, seven-game gauntlet that includes back-to-back tilts against No. 2 Baylor on Feb. 15 and Feb. 18.
Also in this stretch are games against Top 25 teams Kansas (Feb. 6), Texas Tech (Feb. 9), Oklahoma (Feb. 13) and Texas (Feb. 20).
WVU will also have a pair of games at the end of the month against TCU and Kansas State, and will also look to make up postponements against TCU and Oklahoma State before the Big 12 Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 10.
Huggins said he mentioned what's ahead for his team before Sunday's practice.
"I'm very real with them and yeah, I brought it up," he said. " I think they understand what's coming."
Tuesday night's Iowa State game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN + (Mark Neely and King McClure). You can subscribe to the Big 12 Now on ESPN + streaming service by clicking this link: https://plus.espn.com/big-12
The Mountaineers Sports Network from Learfield/IMG College radio broadcast on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile app WVU Gameday begins at 6 p.m.
West Virginia has won nine out of the last 11 regular season meetings against Iowa State including four straight. Overall, the Mountaineers are 10-8 against the Cyclones.
Last year, WVU defeated Iowa State 77-71 in Ames.
The Mountaineers (11-5, 4-3) had three different opportunities to tie the game with less than a minute to go, but they couldn't come up with the game-tying basket.
Junior forward Derek Culver scored a career-high 28 points while grabbing 12 rebounds, his 24th career double-double game. The junior was 7-of-11 from the floor and 14-of-17 from the free throw line after entering the game shooting just 54% from the charity stripe.
Some work with coach Bob Huggins after practice on Friday clearly helped Culver's free throw shooting on Saturday.
"You have to have your elbow under the ball or you're going to shoot it flat," Huggins explained. "If you're going to lift something you've got to get underneath it and all I tried to do was make sure Derek got his elbow under the ball so he could get it over the rim. The next thing was to get him to shoot it in a straight line, but if you get it over the rim you've got a heck of a chance."
Culver boosted his season averages to 14.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game after a couple of subpar performances against Texas Tech and Kansas State following WVU's two-week pause for COVID-19 protocols.Huggins said earlier today that he would like to see Culver's rebounding production even out a little bit more in the coming games.
"I think with Derek it's a consistency thing. He had, what, six the other day and then turns around and gets 12?" Huggins said. "He had 18 back-to-back and you're not going to get 18 every day, I fully understand that, but I think Derek can consistently be a double-figure rebound guy.
"It's kind of like guarding people; you've got to want to. I've never had a rebounder who never wanted to rebound and as Derek continues to become more consistent in his play I think he will be the premier rebounder in America."
Following Saturday's loss, Huggins was upset with his team's inability to guard Florida's outside shooters and fight harder for 50-50 balls.
His mood was no different Monday morning.
"A lot of guarding is wanting to. I've had guys that were maybe not as fundamentally sound as others, but they guarded their tails off because they took a lot of pride in it," Huggins said. "I don't see anybody getting mad when their man scores, and that's not a good thing. It's got to matter to you.
"Everybody gets mad when you miss a shot. You ought to get mad when your man makes one," he added.
West Virginia led the Gators 42-37 at halftime and had a seven-point lead early in the second half when sophomore guard Deuce McBride picked up his third foul and went to the bench.
That's when Florida went on its run to take the lead.
"Our guards, by and large, aren't very big and (McBride) gives us a little bit more size and athleticism," Huggins explained. "He's got great anticipation and makes a lot of plays defensively. He's not afraid to dive on the floor."
Guard Sean McNeil contributed 21 points off the bench on 5-of-11 shooting from 3.
Huggins was starting McNeil and junior forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. before the COVID-19 pause, but switched to a three-guard lineup consisting of McBride, Jordan McCabe and Taz Sherman with freshman Jalen Bridges and Culver up front.
That was the group Huggins used for wins over Kansas State and Texas Tech, as well as Saturday's loss to Florida.
Iowa State, meanwhile, is coming off a 39-point defeat at Mississippi State in its SEC/Big 12 Challenge game. The Cyclones are now 2-9/0-6 and haven't won since defeating Jackson State on Dec. 20.
The first time these two teams met earlier this year, West Virginia needed some late-game heroics from Sherman to pull out a 70-65 win at the WVU Coliseum. There were 16 lead changes and seven ties and neither team shot the ball well down the stretch.
West Virginia missed seven of its final eight field goal attempts while Iowa State failed to make a field goal during the concluding three minutes of play.
Culver and McBride led West Virginia with 18 points while Penn State transfer Rasir Bolton led the Cyclones with a game-high 25.
"We struggled to win. They played very well and were hard to guard," Huggins said. "(Iowa State coach) Steve (Proehm) does a great job. They run great sets, and they've got a lot of guys that can make shots."
Last Saturday, Iowa State gave up two big runs to begin the second half to drop its fifth straight. The Cyclones were playing Saturday without Nick Schuster, Solomon Young, Javan Johnson and Tre Jackson because of health and safety protocols.
Bolton led Iowa State with 18 points. Iowa State's 56 points were its lowest scoring output of the season.
"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," Huggins said.
After Tuesday's game, West Virginia will embark upon a 17-day, seven-game gauntlet that includes back-to-back tilts against No. 2 Baylor on Feb. 15 and Feb. 18.
Also in this stretch are games against Top 25 teams Kansas (Feb. 6), Texas Tech (Feb. 9), Oklahoma (Feb. 13) and Texas (Feb. 20).
WVU will also have a pair of games at the end of the month against TCU and Kansas State, and will also look to make up postponements against TCU and Oklahoma State before the Big 12 Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 10.
Huggins said he mentioned what's ahead for his team before Sunday's practice.
"I'm very real with them and yeah, I brought it up," he said. " I think they understand what's coming."
Tuesday night's Iowa State game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN + (Mark Neely and King McClure). You can subscribe to the Big 12 Now on ESPN + streaming service by clicking this link: https://plus.espn.com/big-12
The Mountaineers Sports Network from Learfield/IMG College radio broadcast on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile app WVU Gameday begins at 6 p.m.
West Virginia has won nine out of the last 11 regular season meetings against Iowa State including four straight. Overall, the Mountaineers are 10-8 against the Cyclones.
Last year, WVU defeated Iowa State 77-71 in Ames.
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