Can WVU Pull Off a Stunner Against Iowa State? ESPN Reveals the Mountaineers' Chances

The odds are slim to none for the Mountaineers in Ames.

West Virginia University guard Treysen Eaglestaff | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

What are the odds of taking down the third-ranked team in the nation? Probably not very good, right? As expected, the computers over at ESPN don't expect West Virginia to pull the stunner against Iowa State on Friday night.

What the BPI says

According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), West Virginia has just a 12.8% chance to pull off the upset. Meanwhile, Iowa State has an 87.2% chance of taking care of business and remaining perfect on the season.

To be quite honest, I'm surprised the BPI is giving WVU even this much of a chance. Hilton is one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball, and the Mountaineers are too flawed a team to be able get the job done. The only way this happens is if Honor Huff gets red hot, they play their best game defensively all year, and Iowa State helps them by missing shots and turning the ball over. I'd give this less than a five-percent chance.

West Virginia's recent games

WVU is 8-0 against low majors this season and 0-4 against high majors. To put it plain and simple, they've struggled against anyone with a pulse. Now, yes, they should have won two of those games, but they found a way to squander double-digit leads against Clemson and Ohio State.

They're 2-2 in their last four, with the victories coming against Little Rock and Mississippi Valley State, so there's not much you can take from that. Although the loss to the Buckeyes was disappointing, at least they showed they're capable of playing well in these types of games. Now, they just have to learn how to finish.

Iowa State's recent games

The Cyclones have been phenomenal this season, winning all 13 of their games. A few weeks ago, they went on the road to Purdue and put belt to the backside of the Boilermakers, winning by a score of 81-58. In that game, Iowa State shot a blistering 48% from three-point range, while Purdue hit just 4/18 (22%) from range. Since then, they've handled business against Iowa, Eastern Illinois, Long Beach State, and Houston Christian.

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