By: Cole Livengood | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Let’s be honest, this was not the start that many WVU basketball fans wanted in year one of the Ross Hodge era. Currently sitting at 8-4, the Mountaineers haven’t been able to pull through in some hard-fought games that might have made a path to March far easier. With conference play just around the corner, let’s take a look at where West Virginia’s results put them in the race for a spot in the big dance.
The most popular metric to use in this case is the NCAA Evaluation Tool, more commonly known as a NET ranking. NET rankings replaced the RPI rankings in 2018-19 and take into account winning percentage, game results, strength of schedule, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. With these taken into account, teams are then assigned a ranking from 1 to 365 and placed into four quadrants based on rank.
Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75.
Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135.
Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240.
Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353.
As of 12/18/2025, West Virginia is ranked as the 100th best team in the NET rankings and 14th in the Big 12, meaning if a team beats the Mountaineers in Morgantown or at a neutral site, they would earn a Quad 2 victory. A win against West Virginia at their home court would give them a Quad 3 victory.
Now that you are familiar with how the NET system works, here is how West Virginia’s schedule breaks down in terms of its March Madness resume.
Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75. Record: 0-2: Remaining Games: 11
West Virginia has not found success yet in Quad 1 play, with both opportunities being brutal in their own ways. Though they still have plenty of opportunities to gain some quality wins in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers will have to face some of the top teams in the country in conference play, including four teams currently ranked inside the top 10 of the AP Top 25.
But the Mountaineers will need to pull off some upsets if they want to build a good enough resume to make the field-of-68. The 2024-25 West Virginia squad missed the NCAA tournament with a 6-10 record in Quad 1, with wins over Gonzaga, Kansas, and Iowa State, which were inside the Top 10 when the Mountaineers defeated them.
West Virginia had the chance to enter conference play with at least two victories in Quad 1, but couldn’t cash in on the opportunity. Fans were hopeful entering the Charleston Classic that the Mountaineers could leave with the championship, and it looked like they could make it, but an 11-point lead over Clemson with 10:57 remaining in the game quickly diminished when Tigers forward Carter Welling took over in the final four minutes to hand them a 67-70 victory.
The Mountaineers let yet another chance slip away whenever they fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes in a double-overtime thriller in Cleveland. West Virginia held a 14-point lead with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game. Even after the Buckeyes overcame the deficit, West Virginia had a chance to escape Cleveland with the victory after Honor Huff knocked down a jumpshot with 11 seconds remaining to give the Mountaineers the lead. But with 3.6 seconds remaining, Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton hit the game-winner to give Ohio State the win.
Quadrent 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135. Record 0-1: Remaining Games: 5
The lone Quad 2 matchup for the Mountaineers so far this season was the 66-75 loss to Wake Forrest in Charleston, in which they shot just 6-28 from beyond the arc. Free throws have always been an issue for the Mountaineers, but it’s very difficult to win games when you shoot just 75% from the free-throw line.
With just five games available in Quad 2, West Virginia doesn’t have any room for error if it wants to make sure what happened last year doesn’t happen again. With all five games being in conference play, the Mountaineers have a chance to get some solid quality wins that would not only improve their March Madness chances, but positioning in the Big 12 Tournament.
West Virginia has the advantage in Quad 2 play due to four of its five matchups being at Hope Coliseum, which includes matchups against a K-State squad that already has a Quad 3 loss on its resume. The only road contest in Quad 2 for the Mountaineers is against a Cincinnati squad that already has a Quad 4 loss against Eastern Michigan on its record.
Quadrent 3: 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240. Record: 1-1: Remaining Games: 2
Quad 3 became way more important for the Mountaineers after the third-place game of the Charleston Classic, where West Virginia suffered a 68-78 loss to Xavier. The Mountaineers controlled the first 12 minutes of the game, then slowly fell behind and weren’t able to recover in time. If West Virginia want’s their resume to look more appealing, they may need to root for an old-time rival.
The Pitt Panthers have had quite the fall-off this season since their 71-49 loss in Morgantown earlier this season. Now sitting at 6-6 with Quad 3 losses to Quinnipiac, Hofstra, and Texas A&M, the Panthers are no longer a quality win for the Mountaineers.
Just two more games await the Mountaineers in Quad 3, the first of which comes vs Cincinnati in the return of Kerr Kriisa and Sencire Harris to Morgantown. West Virginia’s final Quad 3 matchup will be against a Utah team that already has two Quad 3 losses and a Quad 4 loss on its resume.
Quadrent 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353. Record: 7-0: Remaining Games: 1
Quadrant 4 games will not get you in the tournament, plain and simple; these games are the college basketball equivalent of scheduling an FCS opponent in football to fill that final spot on the schedule. West Virginia has luckily not lost a game in this quadrent yet.
But they didn’t help their case in this quadrent, with two of their matchups being against the two worst programs in the NET rankings in Coppin St and Mississippi Valley State, who WVU plays next week. That’s not including Little Rock, which currently ranks as the 14th-worst team.
Final Thoughts
West Virginia may need to pull off some Press Virginia magic if they want this resume to reach the point where they could even be considered for the NCAA Tournament. Nobody believed entering conference play that the Mountaineers would even have the chance of not having a single quality win on the schedule, and unless Pitt can have a quick turnaround, that may be the case. This is just year one of the Ross Hodge era, so expectations weren’t necessarily to make the tournament, but even if this team can get itself into a position to make the College Basketball Crown or NIT, fans should be pleased with that result.
