West Virginia Could Unofficially Punch NCAA Tournament Ticket During Utah Trip
Since about the middle of Big 12 Conference play, the West Virginia Mountaineers have flirted with danger when it comes to their NCAA Tournament outlook. They’ve lost some games to non-tourney teams, while letting a handful of games slip right through their fingers, even at home.
By taking care of business against TCU on Tuesday, WVU inched closer to solidifying their spot in the 68-team field. The magic number, according to most, is 19. With three games remaining in the regular season in addition to the Big 12 Conference tournament, there are more than enough opportunities for the Mountaineers to reach that mark.
A win on Saturday at BYU would put West Virginia in the driver’s seat. It would be their sixth Quad 1 win of the season, and every team that currently has six is projected to make the field. Also, it would provide WVU with plenty of wiggle room. They face Utah on Tuesday, who just fired their coach, and then wrap up the season at home against UCF, who sits near the bottom of the league standings.
Win both games in the Utah two-step? Consider the ticket punched. I’m not sure a loss to UCF and a one and done in the Big 12 tournament would keep the Mountaineers out, although it would make it more nerve-racking for Darian DeVries. The bubble is pretty weak and with WVU’s resume, they should still be in pretty good shape unless there are several mid-major bid stealers.
At bare minimum, West Virginia needs to split the two games versus BYU and Utah. If they can, they’ll still be in a pretty comfortable position, although not as the previous scenario I just laid out. Dropping both games, believe it or not, isn’t the end of the world as they’re both considered Quad 1 games as of today. It would just put more weight on the UCF game more than anything. You don’t want to have to make a run in Kansas City to be considered safe.
