WVU Basketball
Consecutive Losses Cost WVU Basketball Top 25 Ranking

Unsurprisingly, WVU basketball fell out of the AP Top 25 ranking in this week’s poll following back-to-back losses. The Mountaineers (13-6, 4-4 Big 12) re-entered the poll at No. 23 last week and received three votes in this week’s poll despite dropping out.
WVU suffered two disappointing losses last week to Arizona State on Tuesday and Kansas State on Saturday. WVU got off to bad starts in both games, a result of poor shooting and defense.
Againstย ASU on Tuesday, West Virginia went down 10-2 to begin the game before the Mountaineers battled back to make it 24-23 at halftime. The Sun Devils began the second half on a 13-1 run, however, as WVUโs defense fell apart after halftime. ASU shot 61.5% in the second half while grabbing seven offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers shot just 31% for the entire game.
The Mountaineers tried to bounce backย at Kansas State, which had lost six in a row, on Saturday. Again, a poor start doomed WVU as the Wildcats jumped out to a 19-2 lead in the first seven minutes. KSU shot 53.3% in the first half, carrying over WVUโs defensive struggle from the second half against Arizona State.
For West Virginia to break its first losing streak of the season, the Mountaineers will need to get revenge against No. 6 Houston. The Cougars beat WVUย 74-50 two weeks agoย at home and travel to Morgantown this week for the rematch Wednesday at 7 p.m.
In addition to Houston, other ranked Big 12 teams are No. 3 Iowa State, No. 11 Kansas and No. 22 Texas Tech. Arizona and Baylor also received votes.
Houston pulled off an incredible double-overtime win at Kansas on Saturday. The Cougars tied the game in regulation with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left. Then in the first overtime, Kansas led by six with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Houston made a three, stole the inbounds pass and then made another three to tie the game with two seconds left. Houston then rolled in the second overtime, outscoring Kansas 13-7 to win 92-86.
Houston is the last undefeated team in Big 12 play, sitting at a perfect 8-0. The Cougars have won 12 games in a row, last losing on Nov. 30.
NET Rankings
West Virginia had a much milder drop in the NCAA’s NET rankings, falling just one spot from No. 42 to No. 43. Houston is ranked No. 3, the top team in the Big 12.
For a related story, WVU basketball suffers big drop in KenPom ranking after losses.
WVU vs Everyone
January 27, 2025 at 1:40 pm
Guess what Cody? If WVU wins 7 games they will be going to the NCAA Tournament. Nobody cares about the top 25 rankings because those of us with brain cells know that the rankings are rigged and favor the Big 10 and the SEC conferences. Lets Go Mountaineers!!!
Mike Asti
January 27, 2025 at 3:12 pm
This isn’t football. The Big Ten and SEC are not even a cut above the rest conference in basketball. WVU will also likely still get in the tournament without getting to 20 wins.