Arizona Loss Doesn’t Hurt WVU Basketball in KenPom Ranking

The most remarkable thing about WVU basketball’s spot in the KenPom Rankings over the last week has been how little movement there’s been.

Coming in at No. 47 last week, West Virginia only moved up one spot following the team’s improbable win at No. 7 Kansas. There was no movement following Saturday’s convincing win over Oklahoma State. And then after Tuesday’s loss to Arizona, which snapped a seven-game winning streak, the Mountaineers only fell two spots, down to No. 48, where they currently sit.

So between a massive road upset, a blowout win and a disappointing loss, the Mountaineers just jostled around the same three spots in the rankings over the last seven days or so.

WVU did enter the Top 25 this week for the first time this season, debuting at No. 21. The loss to Arizona shouldn’t hurt the Mountaineers too much in that regard, depending on what happens on Sunday at Colorado (3 p.m./ESPN+).

March Madness analyst Andy Katz expressed confusion earlier this week as to why the Mountaineers weren’t ranked even higher in the poll, being 10 spots lower than the Jayhawks.

From our @BleacherReport @AP_Top25 breakdown on why @WVUhoops should be ranked higher (@Big12Conference @MarchMadnessMBB): pic.twitter.com/HAPNCxa9ME

— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) January 6, 2025

Big 12 KenPom Rankings

3. Houston
4. Iowa State
8. Kansas
13. Arizona
16. Texas Tech
17. Baylor
32. Cincinnati
47. BYU
48. West Virginia
56. Arizona State
74. TCU
78. UCF
84. Colorado
88. Utah
94. Kansas State
103. Oklahoma State

West Virginia’s next opponent, Colorado, is one of the lowest-rated teams in the Big 12. The Buffaloes are 9-4 this year and have lost both of their conference games thus far to Iowa State and Arizona State.

For a related story, Arizona’s coach thinks WVU basketball should extend Darian DeVries.