WVU Given 10th Best Odds to Win Title Next Season

With a combination of talent and experience returning next season for West Virginia, expectations for the 2020-21 Mountaineers figure to be sky-high.

Those expectations are starting to show even now, as FOX Bet has West Virginia tied with the 10th best odds to win it all next season. The driving force behind the lofty expectations being placed on the Mountaineers starts with the fact that both of the team’s talented frontcourt tandem of Oscar Tshiebwe and Derek Culver, will both be returning for next season.

The two big men powered WVU to be the best rebounding team in the Big 12 last season and were the team’s two leading scorers. Since the season has ended, WVU coach Bob Huggins has admitted that Culver and Tshiebwe did not even really understand how to play with one another last season and were still able to be that productive.

Overall, Huggins has stated that he expects boosts all over the roster next season, including improvement from last season’s JUCO shooters and the addition of redshirt-freshman Jalen Bridges at the wing. The team will also be adding three talented scholarship players in JUCO guard Kedrian Johnson and forwards Taj Thweatt and Isaiah Cottrell.

On FOX Bet, WVU is tied for 10th in the championships odds alongside Florida State and Wisconsin. Gonzaga, Virginia and Big 12 rival Baylor are all tied for the top odds while another Big 12 foe, Kansas, is also ahead of WVU at eight. Other notable Big 12 team include Texas Tech (15), Oklahoma State (22) and Texas (25).

The Mountaineers finished 2019-20 with a 21-10 record, sixth in the Big 12 with a 9-9 conference record. Three other teams, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech, also finished 9-9 in conference, while Kansas (28-3, 17-1) and Baylor (26-4, 15-3) topped the conference.