In the eyes of ESPN and its bracketologist Joe Lunardi, the West Virginia University men’s basketball team became a First Four candidate overnight.
Lunardi projects WVU as a First Four team in his latest bracketology update from Saturday morning, meaning the Mountaineers would be one of eight teams to compete in a play-in game in Dayton, Ohio early next week. In this projection, WVU and San Diego State would fight for the No. 11 seed in the West region and the right to play No. 6 Illinois in Milwaukee.
As recently as Friday night, he predicted WVU would be one of the “last four byes” in the field of 64 teams.
CBS Sports bracketologist Jerry Palm has a different opinion. Palm has WVU off the bubble entirely as a No. 11 seed in the South region of the NCAA Tournament. In his projection, WVU takes on No. 6 Missouri in Denver.
WVU’s tournament status, which was once considered a lock, is now somewhat in jeopardy following its disappointing loss to last-place Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri.
- NET Ranking: 51
- Vs. Quad 1 opponents: 6-9
- RPI Ranking: 57
- BPI: 51
- Road/Neutral site record: 6-9
- Notable wins: vs. No. 3 Gonzaga (N), vs. Arizona (N), at No. 7 Kansas, vs. No. 2 Iowa State, at Utah
- Key stats (D-I rankings): 29.7% opponent 3-pt FG% (12th), 64.8 opponent ppg (20th), 40.9% opponent FG% (39th), 68.2 ppg (309th), -3.0 average rebound margin (309th)
Selection Sunday for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is set for Sunday, March 16. First Four games are March 18-19. Round of 64 games will begin on Thursday, March 20.
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