WILLIAMS BLOG: Statement win

Stretching from November to March, college basketball’s regular season is a marathon.

The Big 12’s round robin, 18-game slate is an absolute meat grinder.

It’s only Jan. 10. Heck, Santa just squeezed his fat butt down the chimney. It’s early. It’s very, very early.

But on Jan. 10, after Oklahoma’s semi-shocking home loss to Kansas State, only two unbeaten remain in the country’s best basketball conference.

There is No. 12 Kansas, who shellacked Texas Tech 86-54 on Saturday following a one-point win at Baylor last week. 

And then there are the 17th ranked Cyclones, who limped past Oklahoma State earlier in the week before winning a 74-72 slugfest in Morgantown.

*** ROAD RECAP — Iowa State outlasts West Virginia 74-72 ***

In front of the College GameDay crew, Iowa State and Kansas will do battle next Saturday but before then, it’s a road trip to Waco on Wednesday. Kansas will host Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.

Enough looking ahead though…

Fans should enjoy the West Virginia win for a moment (before turning focus to another tough road game at Baylor). 

That was a heavyweight fight that Iowa State not only survived, but also conquered. West Virginia won’t lose many games at home this season (if any). When it comes to potentially winning a Big 12 regular season tile (that’s the goal, right?), Iowa State just stole one.

That’s the type of win that you have to claim if you want to win a championship.  

Again – say it with me now – it’s early. But with one week in the books, Iowa State is in good shape.