Short-handed West Virginia stays atop Big 12 with win at Iowa State

It’s not unusual for an ugly loss to preceed a special win. It happened again Tuesday night in Ames, Iowa where No. 14 West Virginia handed No. 13 Iowa State a rare setback at home in Hilton Coliseum.

The Mountaineers were coming off their worst loss of the season Saturday at Florida after which coach Bob Huggins ripped them for a lack of commitment to their pressing style of play. They responded with a spirited victory in one of the least likely places to earn it, beating the Cyclones 81-76.

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Iowa State had won 12 consecutive home games when it was coming off a loss, as it was Tuesday in trying to rebound from a loss at Texas A&M in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Cyclones also had won 32 of their previous 34 home games.

West Virginia pulled off the upset despite missing starting forward Jonathan Holton, who is suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Junior forward Devin Williams responded with a monster effort on the boards. He scored 17 points and pulled down 18 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and the 10th of his season.

The Mountaineers allowed Iowa State to make 11 of 22 3-pointers, which wasn’t a positive way to follow up giving up 12 from behind the arc to Florida. But the difference came on the boards. They didn’t give up second and third opportunities and forced 15 turnovers from the Cyclones.

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Iowa State all-conference forward Georges Niang scored 20 points in the game but he struggled with the Mountaineers pressure at times, commiting eight turnovers. Niang also seemed to disappear for stretches in what was one of his least effective performances of his final college season.

The Cyclones almost managed to overcome Niang’s struggles. They led by two with less than 90 seconds remaining, but Jaysean Paige made a 3-pointer to give the lead back to the Mountaineers and the Cyclones missed three consecutive jump shots in the final minute. Paige led WVU with 23 points.

The victory keeps West Virginia tied atop the Big 12 with Oklahoma. Both teams are 7-2 in conference games. The Mountaineers are also in the midst of one of the toughest parts of their schedule with games against ranked Baylor and Kansas teams coming next.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo