Northern Iowa @ West Virginia preview

West Virginia took care of business during the on-campus portion of the Cancun Challenge and will look to do more of the same when it travels to Mexico to play fellow unbeaten Northern Iowa in the semifinal of the event on Tuesday.

The Mountaineers beat Northern Colorado 69-61 on Nov. 18 in the first game of the tournament before pasting Boston University 69-44 on Friday behind 21 points and 10 rebounds from freshman Oscar Tshiebwe. West Virginia shot 44.3 percent from the floor and 61.9 percent from the free-throw line, prompting coach Bob Huggins to prod his team a bit. "It could be scary if we can make any shots. We've got a lot to work to do ... This is a business trip. The hard thing will be all of the young guys making sure they understand it's a business trip." Northern Iowa dispatched Northern Colorado and UT Martin in the first two campus games of this tournament, then improved to 6-0 for the first time since 2014-15 with an 88-66 victory over Division III Cornell College on Wednesday behind 20 points and 4-of-4 shooting behind the arc from Trae Berhow.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA (6-0): Berhow (14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 49 percent from 3-point range), a 6-5 junior, finished 8-of-11 on 3-pointers against UT Martin, to tie the single-game school record and break the McLeod Center mark by one. Freshman James Betz (4.8 points) had his best game of the season for the Panthers, picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference, scoring 16 points on 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line. Sophomore guard AJ Green, a preseason First Team All-MVC selection, is averaging 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and four assists per game but shooting just 34 percent from the floor and 26 percent beyond the arc on 7.7 attempts per game.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (4-0): Tshiebwe (12.5 points, 9.8 rebounds), named the Big 12 preseason Freshman of the Year, made his first seven shots and finished the game 10-of-13 from the field. Derek Culver (10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds) contributed 10 points and four rebounds as West Virginia outscored Boston 48-22 in the paint and scored 25 points off 22 Terriers turnovers. Senior guard Jermaine Haley is the leader, averaging a team-best 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 76 percent from the floor.

TIP-INS

1. South Carolina and Wichita State will play in the other semifinal game with the winners and losers facing off on Wednesday.

2. Tshiebwe added 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks versus the Terriers. He had five points and five rebounds in the opener against Akron, torched Pittsburgh with 20 points and 17 rebounds (eight offensive) before recording four points and seven boards against Northern Colorado.

3. Berhow, who played his freshman season at Pepperdine before transferring two years ago, is shooting 41.1 percent beyond the arc over his career while averaging 3.9 3-point attempts.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 72, Northern Iowa 65