WVU Picked to Finish Third in Big 12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

The West Virginia Mountaineers have been picked to finish third in the 2020-21 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll, the conference announced Thursday afternoon.

Baylor and Kansas were picked to finish ahead of the Mountaineers in the poll and were also the only teams to receive first-place votes, seven going to the Bears and three to the Jayhawks. After West Virginia was Texas and Texas Tech rounding out the top five.

WVU finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Big 12 last season, going 21-10 and 9-9 in conference play. The Mountaineers struggled on the road, winning just two conference games away from the WVU Coliseum.

Announced yesterday, West Virginia big men Oscar Tshiebwe and Derek Culver were honored on the Preseason All-Big 12 team. Tshiebwe was an All-Big 12 selection while Culver was an honorable mention.

The Mountaineers will open the 2020-21 college basketball season on Nov. 25 against Texas A&M in the Crossover Classic in South Dakota. Conference play for WVU will start on Dec. 18 at home against Iowa State.

The full Big 12 preseason rankings are:

1. Baylor (7)
2. Kansas (3)
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Texas Tech
6. Oklahoma
7. Oklahoma State
8. Iowa State
9. TCU
10. Kansas State