Latest Bracket Projections Have WVU Basketball Falling Seeds

Dreams of WVU basketball earning a single-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament appear to be over, as the Mountaineers have fallen in recent bracket projections.

The latest updates for both ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports’s Jerry Palm have moved the Mountaineers to an 11-seed following their loss to Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament.

Lunardi has WVU on the bubble, earning one of the last four byes to make the field. With them in, he’s moved the Mountaineers down to an 11 seed in the Midwest Region. WVU was a nine seed as recently as Wednesday night. That seeding pits West Virginia against sixth-seeded Illinois in the first round in Providence, Rhode Island.

At the end of the regular season, Lunardi had the Mountaineers as a lock to make the tournament, giving them a greater than 90% chance to earn a bid.

Palm has WVU as an 11 seed in the West Region, taking on sixth-seeded Memphis in a first-round matchup in Denver, Colorado. Unlike Lunardi, Palm does not have the Mountaineers as the bubble.

WVU lost 67-60 to Colorado in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday afternoon. The Buffaloes were the tournament’s No. 16 seed as the last-place team in the conference. It is easily WVU’s worst loss since losing at TCU on Feb. 5 and, arguably, is the Mountaineers’ worst loss of the season based on the opponent. Colorado went just 3-17 in Big 12 play this season.

WVU basketball will have to wait until Selection Sunday to learn its tournament fate. The NCAA Tournament selection show will be broadcast starting at 6 p.m. this Sunday.