Throughout the season we'll look at bubble teams and assess whether they have a better chance of ending up in the NIT or NCAA Tournament.
Team: West Virginia Mountaineers
Record: 20-9 (9-7 Big East)
Good Wins: Marquette, Syracuse
Bad Losses: Cinci (by 23), at Villanova (by 22)
Comments: The Mountaineers may have 9 wins in the Big East, but only one came against a team with a winning record in the conference.
Their non-conference had a couple good games that they played close, but ultimately lost. They lost to Tennessee by 2 on a neutral court and went to overtime before losing to Oklahoma. That's been the Mountaineer's this season. Playing good teams well enough to just lose.
Other Views: They are 41st in RPI, 52nd on Basketball State, 24th by the Sagarin Ratings.
Verdict: The Mountaineers have no really bad losses -- other than the margin of the loss -- but only one really good win. Nothing really stands out for their record. They play a lot better at home than away.
Last year's NIT champs are heading back unless they can beat Pitt in Morgantown on Monday and win at least one game in the Big East Tournament.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-03-2008 @ 9:59AM
Big Mike said...
WVU is in the dance -- no doubt about it. 20 wins and a over .500 record in the Big east gets them in. By the time the Big east Tourney ends for them, they will have 23 or 23 wins -- a shoo-in for the NCAA
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3-03-2008 @ 11:44AM
Gary Davis said...
Only 1 conference win over a .500 team, and as usual with ALL wvu OCC's, very weak. They need a win over Pitt and at least 2 conference tourney wins to get in. Otherwise, NIT for you.
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3-03-2008 @ 6:40PM
CTMountaineer said...
Beat sPitt tonight and they are in the Big Dance regardless of the rest of the season. A 20+ win season in the tough Big East does the trick.
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