Three takeaways from Iowa State’s 85-72 loss to West Virginia

Redshirt senior Deonte Burton drives through the defense during a game against West Virginia, Jan. 31 in Hilton Coliseum. After trailing early, the Cyclones lost 85-72, and move on to 13-8 on the season, and 5-4 in conference play. 

Luke Manderfeld

Just two full days after falling to Vanderbilt in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Iowa State (13-8, 5-4 Big 12) fell to No. 7 West Virginia (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) 85-72 on Tuesday night at Hilton Coliseum. It was the first double-digit loss at home for the Cyclones since Feb. 25, 2013 — a 108-96 defeat to Kansas in overtime.

Check out the story from the game here.

Here are three additional takeaways from the game.

Deonte Burton puts up a weird stat line 

Iowa State forward Deonte Burton has endured an up-and-down season — exceling in some games and collapsing in others. On Tuesday night, he racked up a double-double, but not in the way that some might expect.

Burton, who usually is a force on the glass, had 11 points and 10 assist to go along with his five rebounds. The 10 assists marked a career high. Burton also had five of Iowa State’s 16 turnovers, suggesting that the ball went through him for a big chunk of the game.

When asked about it after the game, coach Steve Prohm lumped Burton and guard Nick Weiler-Babb, who had nine points and six rebounds, together. He said both players were intergral in breaking the infamous West Virginia full-court press.

“I thought Babb and Deonte, with the matchups they had, were able to get past their guy,” Prohm said. “We’ve just go to continue to make the right play in this game.”

Iowa State struggles to guard 3-point shot

While the Mountaineers’ bread and butter is to pressure teams into turnovers and score in transition, they found a more impactful way to score Tuesday night.

West Virginia shot 47.6 percent from long range, going 10-for-21 from beyond the arc. And that problem isn’t an isolated one.

In Iowa State’s loss over the weekend, Vanderbilt shot 43.3 percent from beyond the arc. 

Prohm said the struggles stem from the team’s inability to close out and contest shots.

“We’ve got to contest,” Prohm said. “When you chart this tonight, I bet seven of those 10 threes were uncontested. That’s the whole focal point of our defense.

Big game against Kansas awaits

The schedule won’t get any easier for the Cyclones.

Iowa State faces one of its biggest games of the season Saturday, when it will travel to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, to take on No. 3 Kansas at 1 p.m. The game has even bigger implications considering the Cyclones have just two games remaining against ranked teams this season.

And without a big resume win, that could live Iowa State limbo come NCAA Tournament time.

“You’ve just got to prepare the same way,” Prohm said. “This league, it gives a lot of opporutnities to get good wins. We’ve got to go on the road. We’ve played well on the road all season long… It’s a tough place to play. It’s a place that [Kansas coach Bill Self] has lost nine times, I believe, in his career. It’s a great challenge, but it’s a great opportunity.”