Three Keys For A Mountaineer Victory Over Iowa State

What will it take for West Virginia to leave Ames with a victory?

Tonight, the Mountaineers will travel to Ames, Iowa for their final road game of the season as they take on the Iowa State Cyclones. West Virginia got the best of the Cyclones in the first matchup with a 76-61 win back on February 5th in Morgantown. Iowa State is not going to be playing beyond the Big 12 tournament, but a win over West Virginia would lower the Mountaineers seed in the NCAA tournament. The Cyclones are looking to play spoiler and extend West Virginia's losing streak to four straight games. The game is set to tip-off at 9 p.m. EST and will be televised on ESPNU.

If West Virginia wants to earn their twentieth win of the year, they will need to follow these three keys.

1. Get The Ball Inside

The Mountaineers normally see success when Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe are able to control the paint on both ends of the court. For West Virginia to win, they must feed these guys the ball as often as possible throughout the entirety of the game. Iowa State doesn't truly have any guys who can keep up with these guys inside so the Mountaineers must make this priority number one for their offensive attack. 

2. Contain Rasir Bolton

Sophomore, Rasir Bolton, has stepped up as the leader for the Cyclones ever since star player Tyrese Haliburton was lost due to injury. In the first meeting against the Mountaineers, Bolton finished with 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists. He was able to have a breakout game due to the Mountaineers focusing on containing and slowing down Haliburton. Now that Haliburton is out, West Virginia should give Bolton that same type of attention. Doubling him and forcing his teammates to beat you is the key to slow down Iowa State's offensive attack.

3. Need Scoring From The Bench

In the first matchup against the Cyclones, the bench only provided nineteen points for the Mountaineers, and fourteen of those points came from senior guard Chase Harler. West Virginia cannot rely on their starters to outscore teams by themselves. The second unit must provide scoring when they are in the game. Miles "Deuce" McBride, Chase Harler, and Taz Sherman are the primary offensive weapons for Bob Huggins off the bench. If those guys can each provide anywhere from eight to ten points, that is a huge lift for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia wants to finish the regular season on a high note and a win over Iowa State could give the Mountaineers confidence before their home date with Baylor this weekend. 

The theme of the season has been that the Mountaineers do not play well on the road. Will they finally snag one on the road tonight?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

If you cannot watch the game tonight but will have access to your phone, there is no reason to worry. Before every game, Mountaineer Maven has posted a "Game Thread" where our Mountaineer Maven team and West Virginia fans can comment and interact with each other. *Note: don't follow/comment on the thread through Facebook/Twitter comments, but through the actual article itself* Let's help each other out by commenting as much as possible for those who can't watch and keep them posted play by play and score by score.

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