By JOHN RABY
Iowa State guard Abdel Nader (2) passes the ball over West Virginia guard Gary Browne (14) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, in Morgantown, W.Va. Iowa defeated West Virginia 74-72. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
Bryce Dejean-Jones, Jevon Carter
Iowa State guard Bryce Dejean-Jones (13) has the ball strip by West Virginia guard Jevon Carter (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
Fred Hoiberg
Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg berates a referee during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, in Morgantown, W.Va. Iowa defeated West Virginia 74-72. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
Juwan Staten, Matt Thomas
West Virginia guard Juwan Staten (3) grabs an offensive rebound from Iowa State guard Matt Thomas (21) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
Bob Huggins
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins, left, talks with a referee during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, in Morgantown, W.Va. Iowa defeated West Virginia 74-72. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia coach Bob Huggins’ preparations for No. 17 Iowa State didn’t exactly go according to plan.
No. 14 West Virginia struggled to shoot and pass the ball effectively, played behind for most of the game and lost to the Cyclones 74-72 on Saturday night.
“We worked three days on bounce the ball, pick it up, look up the floor, guy’s open, pass the ball,” Huggins said. Against Iowa State, “we picked it up and then dribbled it three times and then turned it over, where the guy’s standing there wide open at the other end. We did it three days. Three straight days.
“We’ve got to get better. Game slippage happens when you’re unprepared.”
Iowa State’s Abdel Nader tied a season high with 19 points, Georges Niang added 16 and Iowa State won its second straight after losing its final nonconference game to South Carolina in Brooklyn a week ago.
Nader, who had been averaging only 5.0 points, went 6 of 11 from the floor and made all six free throw attempts. He scored nine of Iowa State’s final 15 points.
“He made shots — it’s foreign to us,” Huggins said, referring to his team’s 32 percent shooting (22 of 68). “He made open shots.”
Against Oklahoma State, Nader had played just eight minutes and went scoreless.
“I’m real proud of Abdel,” Niang said. “He struggled against Oklahoma State, but he was in that gym the same night. It’s him working on his craft. People who work hard, what’s done in the dark will shine in the light.”
For the second time in four days, Iowa State (12-2, 2-0 Big 12) won a game that came down to the final seconds. The Cyclones beat Oklahoma State 63-61 on Tuesday night after Dustin Hogue blocked Tavarius Shine’s 3-point try with under a second left.
Against West Virginia, Iowa State twice squandered eight-point leads but pulled out the win by making three free throws in the final 13 seconds.
“You have to win road games if you want to compete for a league championship,” said Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg. “I told our guys to show me that they could do it and now they came out in their first Big 12 road game and got a big win against a team that is playing in a good rhythm right now. Not a lot of teams are going to win in this building, I’ll tell you that right now.”
Juwan Staten scored 23 points for West Virginia (14-2, 2-1). Devin Williams had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Jaysean Paige added 10 points.
West Virginia trailed by six when little-used Chase Connor hit a 3-pointer, Williams scored off another 3-point try by Connor and Staten made a three-point play to bring West Virginia to 69-68 with 55 seconds left.
The Mountaineers couldn’t convert after Gary Browne then stole the inbounds pass. Instead, after a scramble for a rebound, Iowa State’s Bryce Dejean-Jones made an uncontested layup for a 71-68 lead with 28 seconds remaining.
West Virginia’s Jonathan Holton sank two free throws with 18 seconds left. Nader and Williams then hit a pair of free throws each before Iowa State’s Naz Long made one with under 2 seconds left for the final margin.
TIP-INS
Iowa State: The Cyclones, playing on an opponents’ court for just the second time this season, shot 50 percent from the floor (25 of 50) but committed a season-high 18 turnovers.
West Virginia: Both of West Virginia’s losses this season have been at home.
DANCING FRED
Hoiberg is putting on his best dancing moves in an ESPN commercial for the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge, which asks fans to choose among 48 college basketball coaches. Huggins also is among them. The winner receives a $100,000 donation to the charity of their choice.
In the one-minute video, Hoiberg, wearing a track suit and headband in Iowa State’s school colors, Hoiberg appears in a charity dance off along with Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, with a cameo by a determined-looking Fran McCaffery of Iowa.
Last season, Hoiberg’s postgame dance moves in the lockerroom after an NCAA tournament win over North Carolina became an Internet sensation.
3-POINT THUDS
West Virginia went 3 of 15 (24 percent) from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers are last in the Big 12 in 3-pointers, making about 30 percent of them.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Plays at No. 21 Baylor on Wednesday night.
West Virginia: Hosts No. 16 Oklahoma on Tuesday night