WVU Basketball Sits on Right Side of Bubble Before Texas Tech Game

On the eve of a big game against No. 9 Texas Tech in Lubbock, WVU basketball remains firmly on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. In ESPN Joe Lunardi’s latest update of his Bracketology, West Virginia sits as one of the “first four byes” and inside the field as a No. 10 seed.

This scenario is similar to where he had the Mountaineers going into their 62-59 home win over Cincinnati on Wednesday night. At that time, Lunardi had WVU facing Louisville in Cleveland. The only change is he now has West Virginia opening the first round against St. Mary’s.

“Winning is hard. Winning is hard in any league, but especially in this league,” said WVU head coach Darian DeVries after his Mountaineers narrowly escaped their battle with the Bearcats.

As a continued advantage, WVU has one of the strongest resumes of any at-large team, and certainly any team on the bubble, with its signature wins over Gonzaga, Kansas and Iowa State, but continued losses late in the year have been threatening the Mountaineers’ tournament hopes. All signs now point to West Virginia getting in barring a major collapse in their final five games.

WVU basketball now owns a 16-10 (7-8, Big 12) record as they prepare for a Saturday showdown with Texas Tech. An upset victory would give West Virginia four top 10 wins in a season for the first time in program history.

For a related story, Darian DeVries talked about the chaotic finish to the Cincinnati game and his team’s mental strength.