‘Press Virginia’ bringing the show to No. 14 Iowa State

AMES - West Virginia doesn't allow its opponents any breathing room and thrives off mistakes. Iowa State has seen it do just that throughout the last three years.

When senior Georges Niang was asked to describe what it feels like to be hounded for 40 minutes, he equated it to something rather primal. Preparing for a team affectionately called ‘Press Virginia' is unlike most others.

'Have you ever been chased by a couple wild pit bulls? That's what their press feels like. They're everywhere,” Niang said. 'They're just looking to make you feel as uncomfortable as possible.”

Defensive numbers for No. 12 West Virginia speak for themselves. The Mountaineers (17-4, 6-2) are fourth in the nation in defensive rating, holding conference opponents to 40.6 percent shooting, forcing 19.5 turnovers per game and leading the nation in offensive rebounding and steals.

No. 14 Iowa State averages just 11.3 turnovers per game, but keeping that number low against an opportunistic team like West Virginia becomes even more crucial. The Mountaineers operate primarily in an offense based on transition so the Cyclones (16-5, 5-3) must cut out live ball turnovers.

West Virginia is the second-best rebounding team in the Big 12 at 40.2 boards per game, but they are the top offensive rebounding team in the nation with 16.5 per game. That, as much as anything else, stands out to the Cyclones.

'As much as the press is important, they kill you on the glass,” said Iowa State coach Steve Prohm. 'We've got to get stops and rebounds because they rebound almost 50 percent of their misses, which is incredible. That's (Bob Huggins') MO and what makes his teams good is their toughness and their drive and will. We've got to do a good job taking care of the ball.”

'They're going to try to make us play out of our game a little bit and beat us up,” said junior Monte Morris. 'They crash four guys so it's to our advantage once we get the rebound and we have numbers all night at the other end. We just have to convert and play our style and try not to play West Virginia's style of basketball.”

Despite the style of play that gives opponents fits, Iowa State has a 5-1 record against West Virginia all-time with the only loss coming in Morgantown. The Cyclones have won all three of their home games by 13 points, but the catalyst for recent success is Morris.

Morris has 29 assists and two turnovers in four games against West Virginia and against a team that prides itself on turning people over, Morris and Niang - averaging 15 points in six games against the Mountaineers - are valuable assets to have. With capable distributors at his disposal, Prohm said pace of play has to stay at a moderate level, but that doesn't mean turning down easy buckets for the sake of pace.

Niang has suffered a thigh bruise in the loss to Texas A&M and has dealt with some plantar fasciitis in his left foot, but said with extra treatment periods it won't affect his game. Prohm said the staff tried to take precautions with Niang and held him out of shooting Sunday, but that he will play Tuesday.

With West Virginia coming to town, Iowa State will likely need all the healthy bodies it can get.

'I just know it's going to be a tough matchup every time we lace up against West Virginia,” Morris said. 'The roughhousing they do, that's just how they play. You can't get mad at them. That's just what they know so that's what we expect when we play them.”

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