Riot Bowled Over: Iowa State Loses Season Finale at West Virginia

Naz Mitrou-Long hit five 3-pointers in the first half and Iowa State trailed by just one point at halftime (43-42), but a mix of poor play and poor officiating contributed to a lackluster second half as the Cyclones fell 87-76 at West Virginia tonight.

The momentum shift of the game came about midway through the second half. The Cyclones were called for three different fouls on a single WVU possession (resulting in two made free throws). Then, Nick Weiler-Babb was mugged with no call a couple possessions later on a dunk attempt. The Mountaineers collected the rebound, came down the court and got their second consecutive dunk. Steve Prohm, furious with his team’s play and the inadequacy of the referees, was tagged with his first technical foul as head coach of Iowa State.

After the technical, West Virginia would never let ISU get closer than 11 points away from the lead the rest of the way. WVU’s Daxter Miles Jr. had a hot night, scoring 22 points and going 4-8 from beyond the arc.

Mitrou-Long led the Cyclones in scoring with 22 points of his own, finishing 6-11 from 3-point range. Monte Morris (17), Deonte Burton (17), and Matt Thomas (16) also scored in double-figures for ISU. The only other Iowa State player to score was Nick Weiler-Babb, who tallied 4 points.

On the night, the Cyclones shot just 37.3% from the field. Also of note, Iowa State had 22 fouls to West Virginia’s 18. Because everyone knows ISU is known for being way more physical and fouling more than WVU, duh.

Now, Cyclone fans wait for the result of the Baylor vs. Texas game. If Texas wins, ISU will be the 3-seed in the Big 12 Tournament. If the Bears win, that means Iowa State is the 4-seed.

See you in Kansas City!