GAME INFORMATION: West Virginia vs Iowa State

West Virginia (16-13, 5-11 Big 12) travels to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State (17-11, 8-8 Big 12) on Monday night. Both teams are in need of a win, with the Cyclones trying to improve their seed-line after losing five of their last six, and the Mountaineers trying to stay on the good side of the bubble.

• Iowa State has lost five of its last six and eight of their last 11
• The first meeting between these two teams was on Feb. 8, with WVU winning, 76-71. The Mountaineers forced 14 turnovers leading to 15 points, and were led by Kedrian Johnson and Emmitt Matthews who scored 22 and 20 points respectively
• Iowa State is ranked 23rd in the NET, while WVU is ranked 26th in the NET
• This is a Quad 1 game for both teams. Iowa State is 8-9 in Q1 games this year, while WVU is 4-12 in Q1 games.

Tournament Implications

This time last week, Iowa State was featured in the top-16 of the NCAA Selection Committee’s first reveal. Two losses in a week later and they sit outside of the AP Top 25, and as a projected five-seed according to Bart Tovik. With a win tonight though, Bart Tovik projects Iowa State would keep the Cyclones on the five-seed line, but a loss would drop them to a seven-seed.

For West Virginia, the life on the bubble is not a fun one to be living this time of year. The Mountaineers have bounced around between the last four byes and last four in for the past couple of weeks, and a 1-1 showing last week did more help than good it seems, with the loss being a two-point loss to No. 3 Kansas on the road. Bart Tovik has WVU as a last four in team ranked as an 11-seed playing in a First Four game. A win tonight has Bart Tovik projecting WVU to be an 8-seed and safe from the bubble for the time being, while a loss puts them projected to be outside the tournament.

Jerry Palm of CBS has WVU as an 11-seed in the First Four against Oklahoma State, while he has Iowa State as a six-seed.

Last Meeting — WVU won by five on Feb. 8, as Kedrian Johnson and Emmitt Matthews combined to score 42 points. Iowa State’s Jaren Holmes scored 18, and Tamin Lipsey scored 16. There were a combined 55 free throws shot in the game.

History — WVU is 13-9 all-time against the Cyclones, dating back to 2013. The Mountaineers have won seven of their last eight against Iowa State, including two of three in Ames. Last year, WVU led late, but a bad turnover in the final seconds cost WVU a chance to win.

Betting — Iowa State is currently a five-point favorite. The total number of points is set at 134.

TV — The game is set to be aired on ESPN2.

Where — Hilton Coliseum – Ames, Iowa

When — 9:00 p.m. EST, 8:00 p.m. CST tip-off