MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia will attempt to put an end to its seven-game losing streak on Tuesday night against Iowa State, winners of 16 games so far under first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger.
 
The Cyclones (16-7, 3-7) have already far-exceeded preseason expectations with an undefeated nonconference record that includes noteworthy victories over Oregon State, Xavier, Memphis, Creighton, Iowa and Missouri in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
 
Otzelberger has returned for his third stint at Iowa State and his first in a head coaching capacity. He was the lead recruiter and top bench coach for Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm during their tenures in Ames, and Otzelberger's head coaching stint at South Dakota State included a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017-18.
 
Most recently, he was UNLV's head coach for two seasons before returning to Iowa State last March to take over a Cyclone program that won just two games in 2021 and finished at the bottom of the Big 12 standings.
 
This year, Iowa State already shows conference victories over Texas Tech, Texas and most recently, at Oklahoma State in overtime on Jan. 26.
 
Athletic guard Izaiah Brockington is leading the Cyclones and scoring (16.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.8). The 6-foot-4, 196-pound senior transferred from Penn State after beginning his college career at St. Bonaventure.
 
He's shooting 46.5% from the floor and making 35.3% of his 3-point attempts. 
 
"Brockington has had a heckuva year," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "He's really played well. He's really athletic and can make athletic plays."
 
Freshman guard Tyrese Hunter, the No. 36-rated player in the class of 2021, has lived up to his advanced billing by averaging 10.5 points and a team-best 4.4 assists per game and pairs with Brockington in the backcourt. Six-foot-4 senior Gabe Kalscheur, a Minnesota transfer, is Otzelberger's third perimeter starter and is averaging 9.9 points per game.
 
Caleb Grill began his college career at Iowa State, transferred to UNLV, and then returned to Ames with Otzelberger and is the team's leading 3-point shooter, connecting on 37.6% of his 101 attempts. 
 
He is also Iowa State's top scorer off the bench.
 
The Cyclones' two starting post players are 6-foot-8, 220-pound Tristan Enaruna, a transfer from Kansas, and 6-foot-9, 245-pound Robert Jones, a transfer from Denver. The duo has combined 8.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
 
Senior forward George Conditt IV is a familiar name to Mountaineer fans and has made 18 starts this year while averaging five points and 3.8 rebounds per contest.
 
Iowa State is far better defensively this year under Otzelberger, surrendering an average of just 61 points per game compared to 76.7 points per contest in 2021.
 
"They're playing 1-3-1, 1-1-3, man and they're pressing some – three-quarter court and full-court," Huggins said. "That's just what (Otzelberger) does. That's his personality."
 
Similar to West Virginia (13-9, 2-7) in its 60-53 loss to No. 9 Texas Tech last Saturday, Iowa State is coming of a poor offensive performance in a 22-point defeat at Texas. The Cyclones shot just 28.6% for the game, including a 6-for-24 shooting performance in the second half.
 
That's a little better than the Mountaineers' 4-for-32 shooting effort against the Red Raiders in the second half.
 
Huggins indicated Monday that he's still unsure of leading scorer Taz Sherman's availability for Tuesday night's game. The guard remains in concussion protocol and the decision will be up to WVU's medical team.
 
The senior did not practice Sunday, according to Huggins.
 
Sophomore forward Jalen Bridges scored a team-best 16 points against Texas Tech in Sherman's absence, but all 16 of those came in the first half when WVU led 32-26. In the second half, Bridges only got off three shot attempts as the Red Raiders focused more attention on stopping him.
 
Senior guard Sean McNeil contributed 15 points, but he, too, drew lots of attention and was just 4-of-16 from the floor.
 
WVU used four different post players, including seldom-used true freshman James Okonkwo, in an effort to try and come up with some interior scoring. However, West Virginia was just 9-of-38 from inside the arc and was outscored 34-10 in the paint.
 
"We just got big boyed," Huggins said. "They just bounced it in, banged and bounced it until they got close enough to score. We physically couldn't match up with them."
 
Finding someone who can score close to the basket has been an ongoing concern all season long. One post player is no longer with the team, Huggins confirming Monday that 6-foot-10, 240-pound sophomore forward Seny N'diaye has put his name into the transfer portal. The Dakar, Senegal, native failed to score in six appearances with the Mountaineers this season.
 
Huggins said Sunday was spent watching a lot of videotape. He said the team will get some heavy prep work today getting ready to face the Cyclones.
 
"We kind of went through what they do offensively and what they do defensively, but it was a walk-through. It wasn't anything strenuous," he said.
 
Despite the team's current difficulties, the players continue to play hard and the Mountaineers are in games until the end.
 
"They know where they are and it's just been a tough year," Huggins said. "We're on the verge of beating Baylor and Taz gets knocked out. We just haven't had a great year all the way around.
 
"We've played exceptionally hard the last two games."
 
Iowa State is not currently in the rankings but was once ranked as high as No. 8 just a few weeks ago and is still receiving votes. West Virginia has already played eight games so far this year against teams ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25, with a ninth (Arkansas) getting votes.
 
The current seven-game skid is West Virginia's longest since it dropped seven straight to conclude the 2013 season. WVU lost nine in a row twice during Gale Catlett's final season coaching the Mountaineers in 2002.
 
Since joining the Division I ranks in 1985 at Akron, Huggins has never lost more than seven straight games.
 
Tuesday night's game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Mountaineer Sports Network coverage on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday begins at 6 p.m.
 
Tickets are available and can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.