MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Good day from the WVU Coliseum, where West Virginia will play its final home game of the regular season, with the No. 1 focus being on slowing down Iowa State’s offense, which leads the Big 12 in scoring at 78 points per game.
That’s not good news for the Mountaineers, who allow 76.6 points per game (last in the Big 12). Opponents are shooting 45.2 percent against the Mountaineers (also last in the Big 12) and the Cyclones (20-9, 9-7 Big 12) shot 54.5 percent (30 of 55) in their 93-68 victory on Jan. 30, in Ames.
With all of the disclaimers aside, the main focus just might be on sophomore guard Lindell Wigginton, who has a history of having his best games against West Virginia (11-18, 3-13). How good has he been? In three meetings, he’s averaging 26.3 points and 3.3 assists per game and he just may get the start today, because senior guard Nick Weiler-Babb is working on a bruised knee suffered Saturday against Texas. Weiler-Babb is ruled as a game-time decision.
Another reason Wigginton is the key: Senior guard Marial Shayok has been ruled out of this game with a foot injury. The grad transfer from Virginia had 18 points and five rebounds in the first meeting against West Virginia.
So, as the Mountaineers get set for Senior Night with no seniors on its roster, here’s what you need to know:
TV: ESPNU for the 7 p.m. tip-off. BETTING LINE: Iowa State is favored by 5.5 points.
THREE GOOD QUESTIONS
Is Bob Huggins seriously considering the CBI for this team? Yes, but there is a catch: The Mountaineers have to be invited first, and a Big 12 team finishing with just 11 or 12 wins may get overlooked by the tournament’s selection committee. There are other things of note, too, like the fact that it costs schools $50,000 to host a home game in the tournament. If you win and want to host again, it’s another $50,000. If you continue to advance and want to host a semifinal game, the ante goes up to $75,000. But, as one person in the program said, WVU spent a lot of money to play in the Camping World Bowl basically to see how backup quarterback Jack Allison and a bunch of other backups at other positions would fare against Syracuse.
“We spent two or three million dollars to find out if our backup quarterback could play,” the source said. “So, 50 grand is pretty cheap.”
In all seriousness, there are positives and negatives to playing in the CBI, with the biggest negative being paying $50,000 for a few extra practices, not have your players take it seriously and then get beat by a team from the Sun Belt or Big Sky in the first round. The positives are the extra practices, especially for a young team like the Mountaineers, and having the opportunity to build some momentum toward next season.
“To a degree, you want it to be a positive experience,” Huggins said. “You’d like to end the season on a good note.”
Without the CBI, is this the last home game for some WVU players? Short answer: Yes. The better question: How many? We are not going to speculate over names here, especially of freshmen who haven’t completed their first season yet. Huggins has pointed out that the team will have a number of players graduate in May, including Beetle Bolden, Chase Harler and Lamont West. If they chose to do so, those three could transfer to another school and be eligible to play immediately next season by the NCAA’s grad-transfer rule. This is not to say any or all of them will choose to do so. They may all stay or decide to go pro or transfer or give up hoops and concentrate on school or some combination of those options. As for the players who will not graduate, it’s likely the first player who has to make a decision is Sagaba Konate and then the WVU coaching staff can move ahead based on that decision. For example — and this is strictly hypothetical with no inside info here at all — if Konate decided to leave school early, it could mean West Virginia would like to develop sophomore Andrew Gordon so that he could add some depth next season behind Derek Culver and incoming freshman Oscar Tshiebwe. If Konate were to remain in school, that could change some things. It is possible both players could leave.
As for other positions, West Virginia is taking a hard look at two or three junior-college guards and wings. Doesn’t mean they will all sign with the Mountaineers, but it doesn’t mean they won’t, either. It’s hard to throw a number out there, but it’s likely this will be the final home game for at least a few players.
Who’s in and who’s out for the Cyclones? Shayok is definitely out and he may not play until the Big 12 tournament next week. Sophomore forward Cameron Lard is in after serving a suspension during Iowa State’s 86-69 loss on Saturday against Texas. At 6-9, 225, Lard is the Cyclones top big man right now, so West Virginia will have the size advantage in this game. Weiler-Babb is the wild card. With Shayok out, Weiler-Babb may try and give it a go simply to give the Cyclones another option. Iowa State is 2-4 all-time at the Coliseum, including an 85-70 loss here last season.
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