WVU Basketball Maintains KenPom Ranking Despite Winless Week

WVU basketball continues to hold firm in the KenPom Rankings, despite dropping both of its games last week.

The Mountaineers (15-10, 6-8 Big 12) are actually up a single spot from where they were last week, up to No. 47, as Big 12 losses  continue to not hurt WVU much in the computer rankings.

WVU lost to BYU, 73-59, Wednesday and fell 74-71 in overtime at Baylor Saturday afternoon. The team has not lost three of its last four games and six of its last eight.

Things were looking up for the Mountaineers at the beginning of the week coming off an encouraging win over Utah last Saturday. WVU had one of its best offensive performances of Big 12 play against the Utes, with four players scoring in double figures led by Amani Hansberry’s 17 points.

That success continued against BYU, but defensive lapses in the second half opened the door for the Cougars. An inadvertent switch on the final possession allowed the Cougars to convert an easy and-one to seal the game in the final seconds.

At Baylor, the Mountaineers played a strong second half, but faltered in overtime as the Bears won without making a single field goal in the extra period.

While it hasn’t hurt the Mountaineers in the computer rankings, this recent stretch has dropped WVU basketball in terms of the NCAA Tournament. Previously firmly in the tournament field, the Mountaineers have recently slipped down to bubble territory.

WVU Basketball Finally Drops Down to Dreaded Bubble Territory

WVU is clustered in the KenPom rankings with other bubble teams SMU (No. 46), North Carolina (No. 48) and Pitt (No. 50).

This week, the Mountaineers host Cincinnati for a 7 p.m. tip-off in the Coliseum on Wednesday and travel to Texas Tech for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.