Those two teams really do bring something out of one another. They seem to do something entertaining when they get together, and I could live with a 3-6 or even a 2-7 matchup in Kansas City.

In a game it had to have, if only for its own good, West Virginia scored 1.26 points per possession and had scores on 55 percent of its trips to its side of the court. The 97 points were a Big 12 season-high and the most in a conference game since scoring 102 against Iowa State two seasons ago.

But that’s limiting the conversation.

There were 11 ties and 12 lead changes. Both teams made essentially half their shots or more, and there was a fun blend of team and individual offense, creating and shot making.

Abdel Nader had a quintessential WVU Opponent performance and heard it from the crowd and Jaysean Paige and Tarik Phillip had memorable nights. (Aside: How much could Paige have scored if Phillip wasn’t so hot? How much could Phillip have scored if Paige wasn’t so hot?)

Georges Niang, one of the most-liked players in the league and a Senior CLASS Award finalist, elicited a hilarious reaction from Tarik Phillip, picked up a technical foul and suffered from selective memory.

Niang said he hadn't seen video of the incident so didn't want to comment on the below the belt aspect. Said it was bumping shoulders

— Travis Hines (@TravisHines21) February 23, 2016

Not quite karate kicks and clotheslines, but not outside the canister, either. And maybe the familiar fun with and against the Cyclones was good for the Mountaineers in that it made them who and what they once were again. WVU’s 4-4 in the past eight games, which is not great, but only twice has the team had its full roster. The Mountaineers won both those games, and on Monday crushed Iowa State on the boards and off the bench. Worth noting and remembering as WVU is off until Saturday and figures to only get more healthy before it arrives in Stillwater, Okla.

Beginning with a loss at Florida in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the Mountaineers played four games without forward Jon Holton and went 2-2. Miles strained his right hamstring in a Feb. 13 win against TCU and missed losses at Texas and against Oklahoma. Paige hurt his right ankle early in the loss to Texas and did not score. He played Saturday against the Sooners and shot 4-for-16.

Holton came off the bench for the fourth straight game against Iowa State and had seven points and 10 rebounds. Miles came off the bench for the first time in his career. He made his first shot and finished 1-for-2 for three points, and he added three assists and two steals in 13 minutes.

They were able accomplices for Paige and Phillip as WVU’s bench outscored Iowa State’s 69-10. Paige made 12 of 21 shots. Phillip was 6-for-10. Paige was 1-for-6 from 3-point range but had three three-point plays. Phillip, who had 16 points after halftime, was 6-for-8 from 3-point range.

“When we have the whole team healthy and we have everyone back, it’s hard to beat us because we have more depth and we can do what we want to do,” Holton said. “When we have guys out, it’s hard to catch a rhythm.”

The Mountaineers used 10 players and each but starter Esa Ahmad, who played seven minutes, saw at least 12 minutes on the floor. The Cyclones used eight players. Two subs combined to take one shot and play three minutes.

“They hit shots at first, but they got tired because they play five or seven guys,” Holton said. “We got the last punch.”

Williams had 13 points and nine rebounds for WVU (21-7, 10-5 Big 12), which outrebounded Iowa State (19-9, 8-7) 43-29 after being outrebounded 48-37 in Saturday’s loss to No. 3 Oklahoma.

“We got dominated on Saturday, so I think we had some motivation to rebound it better,” Huggins said. “If there was one thing we emphasized – and there were a few things – it was blocking people out.”