MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU’s NCAA Tournament resume has improved over the last week, thanks to a pair of important home wins.
In the latest projections from ESPN, Joe Lunardi lists the Mountaineers among the last four teams receiving first round byes in the tournament. They’re slotted in that projection as a No. 10-seed facing No. 7-seed Duke in the Greensboro Region in the second round.
The Mountaineers earned a huge nonconference win last Saturday, beating then-No. 15 Auburn 80-77 at the Coliseum. Then, they pummeled Oklahoma for their third Big 12 win of the season, beating the Sooners 93-61.
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Through games played Monday, WVU is No. 20 in the NET rankings. The Mountaineers have won four contests against Quad 1 opponents, and they’re undefeated against Quad 2, Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams.
Prior to the Oklahoma game, WVU was listed in the “last four in” category. The win boosted West Virginia’s standing, and, at least temporarily, knocked the Sooners off the bubble.
According to the latest ESPN projection, which was published Tuesday morning, eight of the Big 12’s 10 teams will be tournament bound when March arrives. The two Big 12 teams currently projected to miss the NCAA Tournament are Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is listed in the “last four in” category in Tuesday’s projection.
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The Mountaineers will have another opportunity to improve their standing when they host No. 11 Iowa State Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.