Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger is determined to avoid a letdown for his second-ranked Cyclones.
Iowa State (15-1, 5-0 Big 12) is coming off a 17-point win at home against No. 9 Kansas on Wednesday night. Iowa State has won 12 games in a row and holds the highest ranking in school history.
Next comes a difficult challenge away from home against West Virginia (12-4, 3-2) on Saturday evening in Morgantown, W. Va. A sellout crowd is expected at the WVU Coliseum, where West Virginia will honor the late Jerry West, a former Mountaineers star, with a ceremony and video tributes, with many of his family members in attendance.
Meanwhile, Otzelberger does not want his team to feel too comfortable with its winning streak or its place in the national rankings. He said the key to success is to stay in the moment.
“As you’re in this, what you realize is as soon as the horn goes off on one game, your thought process goes on to, ‘What do we need to do tonight, tomorrow, to be successful the next game?” Otzelberger said. “We’re locked into the moment, as opposed to patting ourselves on the back for maybe what has happened up to this point or looking ahead at what could happen past this point.
“We’re going to stay right in the moment, right in the day.”
West Virginia hopes to play the spoiler role on its home court. The Mountaineers return after a two-game road trip that included a 78-70 win vs. Colorado on Sunday and a 70-54 loss against No. 10 Houston on Wednesday.
Mountaineers coach Darian DeVries emphasized the importance of limiting turnovers heading into Saturday’s game. He praised Amani Hansberry, who came off the bench to score 16 points against Houston, but said defense took priority.
“Amani gave us a spark in the second half,” DeVries said. “But every time we got back in there, it seemed like it was a big turnover from us that didn’t give us a shot to even get a ball up at the rim.”
Iowa State has won six of its past seven games by double digits and has mostly avoided significant injuries through the first few months of the season, although Milan Momcilovic is out indefinitely because of a hand injury.
Through 15 games, Momcilovic is averaging 10.3 points on 46.6 percent shooting from the field, including 44.3 percent from 3-point range.
The Cyclones have four other players who are averaging in double digits in scoring and can help fill the void while Momcilovic is out.
Curtis Jones leads the team with 17.8 points per game, and Keshon Gilbert is second at 15.5 to go with a team-high 4.9 assists.
Joshua Jefferson (11.9 ppg) and Tamin Lipsey (10.4) also are scoring in double digits for Iowa State. Dishon Jackson is averaging 9.9 points per contest.
West Virginia boasts three scorers who are averaging in double digits. Javon Small leads the group at 19.4 points and contributes 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. Tucker DeVries (14.9 ppg) and Hansberry (10.1) also are scoring in double figures.
The Mountaineers are 8-1 at home this season, and Iowa State is 3-0 on the road.
–Field Level Media
