By: Cole Livengood | WV Sports Chat
As we step closer and closer to the NCAA Tournament, things are looking very promising, yet intriguing for this year’s WVU Women’s Basketball squad. Entering the final week of the regular season, West Virginia currently ranks second in the Big 12 and has a chance to secure their third regular-season title in program history.
The turnaround under third-year head coach Mark Kellogg has been nothing short of amazing. He’s looking to secure his third straight 25+ win season. No coach in program history has ever achieved back-to-back, let alone three straight. WVU still has a decent shot at securing a top-four seed in March Madness, which would come with the honor of hosting the opening two rounds. Morgantown has only hosted twice in program history and hasn’t hosted an NCAA Tournament game in Men’s or Women’s basketball since 1974.
Entering the final week of the regular season, the Mountaineers currently rank second in the Big 12, with a 12-4 record in conference play and 22-6 overall. The Mountaineers currently hold tiebreakers over Baylor and Colorado, who are ranked #3 and #4 in the conference, respectively. For the Mountaineers to win the Big 12 regular season title, they would need to win their final two games, along with TCU losing its final two.
Even if TCU gets a win, West Virginia can still lock themselves into the #2 seed with just a winout, as they hold the head-to-head advantage over Baylor. Securing a top-four finish in the conference is key for the Mountaineers if they want to make a deep run this postseason. With a top-four finish, West Virginia would get five days off before the conference tournament begins and have just a three-game path to the title.
However, even splitting these final two games puts the Mountaineers in danger of not only losing that double-bye, but also losing their chance to host in March Madness. According to ESPN Bracketology, WVU is currently projected to be a five-seed, but one game may haunt them on Selection Sunday. In the final game of the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, the Mountaineers let an eight-point lead slip away in the final 4:05 of the game to lose 83-81 to an Ohio State team that now ranks #10 in the country and are projected as a #4-seed.
Unless West Virginia suffers a late season collapse, they should be set up for a strong chance at a Big 12 championship here in just a few weeks.
Photo Credit: Shanna Rose/WV Sports Chat
