When Bob Huggins took over at West Virginia in 2007, he immediately transformed the Mountaineers’ basketball program.

Now, nearly a decade later, Huggins has built a program that is consistently ranked in the AP Top 25 and has one of the nation’s best full-court defenses.

To many, they’re “Press Virginia.”

“The obvious, ‘Press Virginia,’” Iowa State senior Naz Mitrou-Long said when asked about the Mountaineers. “They force you into making uncharacteristic plays.”

Iowa State (13-7, 4-3 Big 12) will host No. 7 West Virginia (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) at 8 p.m. Tuesday in an attempt to bounce back from its non-conference loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday.

But in order to do that, Iowa State is going to have to find a way to break Huggins’ notorious full-court press that lasts all 40 minutes of the game. However, his press isn’t a traditional defense that many basketball fans are used to.

“If you look at the games, a lot of the turnovers they force other teams into is not really steals,” Mitrou-Long said. “It’s just making guys play uncharacteristic and fast and throw the ball in several places or travel — things like that. If you stay cool, calm, collected and poised, get the ball moving, I think that’s the key to beating the press.”

The Mountaineers are fresh off a pair of wins against Kansas and Texas A&M and have won 13 of their last 16 games. Four of their five starters are scoring in double figures, and they force an average of 22.7 turnovers per game.

Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said controlling the ball is the biggest thing they need to do to be successful Tuesday night.

“I think the teams that have beat them, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, teams like that in our league have had a low number of turnovers,” Prohm said. “You have to take care of the ball. You can’t let them dominate you on the glass. Then you have to keep them off the free-throw line.”

This week is also perhaps the toughest on Iowa State’s schedule all year. After playing West Virginia on Tuesday, the Cyclones will take on No. 3 Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday afternoon.

And Iowa State is dealing with just two days of rest after it fell to Vanderbilt on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. 

Should they win both games, the Cyclones will likely be catapulted back into the rankings and will have garnered some national respect — rightfully so should they beat two top-10 teams in a five-day span.

Should they drop both games, though, the Cyclones will be on a three-game losing skid and could quickly find themselves on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament.

Prohm, though, isn’t focused on what lies ahead. He’s just going one game at a time.

“It is a big week, but we’ve got to try to take care of West Virginia first,” Prohm said. “It’s a great opportunity. It’ll be a great environment. But we have to play all 40 minutes to beat them.”

Mitrou-Long is embracing the challenge.

“You go into a week knowing you play the No. 7 and No. 3 teams in the country, that says it right there,” Mitrou-Long said. “You come out one on the road, one at home, as projected and high they are in the BPI and the regular rankings, that’s it. This is what you play for, for these opportunities.

“It’s a blessing to play in this type of league, because coming off a loss like we did, and being able to play two of the best in the country, it doesn’t get better than that.”

If the Cyclones are going to make a statement over the next week, they’ll have to get past Huggins and West Virginia first.

While it’s a unique opponent, point guard Monté Morris said it’s a game he looks forward to — and Tuesday will be no different.

“It’s always a fun game,” Morris said. “You don’t run a lot of offense, you’re just out there playing off feel, and just knowing you need to hydrate because Huggins is going to send two or three guys after you. It’s going to be a fun game.”