Latest Tournament Projection Has WVU Up Against Familiar Regional Foe

The latest Bracketology update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has an interesting first-round NCAA Tournament matchup for WVU basketball.

Lunardi, who has had the Mountaineers in the tournament picture for several weeks, now projects WVU to be the No. 7 seed in the East Region. He has West Virginia taking on No. 10 seed Ohio State in the first round.

The Mountaineers and Buckeyes have played twice in the last few years, in 2019 and 2023 in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. WVU knocked off Ohio State, ranked No. 2 at the time, in 2019. The Buckeyes took last season’s meeting.

In Lunardi’s projection, WVU could play either Alabama or Central Connecticut in the second round. The Sweet Sixteen is where Lunardi’s projection gets really interesting, as it could feature a Backyard Brawl rematch between WVU and rival Pitt, who Lunardi has as a No. 6 seed.

West Virginia’s tournament projections have been all over the place this season. The Mountaineers have been as high as a No. 2 seed after winning on the road at Kansas last week, but they’ve also been left out of the bracket following the injury to star Tucker DeVries earlier this season.

For a related story, WVU basketball game vs. Iowa State sold out.