March Madness is underway as the college basketball season reaches its peak. With the conclusion of the regular season, the highly anticipated NCAA Tournament is just a week away.
Teams are required to finish their respective conference tournaments, with a few already in progress.
The sport offers an exciting opportunity for any team to secure their conference’s automatic bid into the Big Dance, making it one of the highlights. Regardless of their previous performance or record, every conference tournament champion earns a guaranteed spot in the actual tournament.
Although it may seem improbable, the WVU Mountaineers could benefit from this situation in the current year. Despite their last-place finish in the Big 12, achieving a 4-14 record, head coach Bob Huggins and his team have the potential to make an impressive comeback and secure a spot in the field.
In order to achieve this, WVU must secure four consecutive wins in the span of a week. The road to the tournament victory is exceptionally challenging, as they may face formidable opponent Kansas, who currently holds the top seed.
On Wednesday night, the Mountaineers will be facing Kansas State in the sole first-round matchup.
We should examine WVU’s tilt and the remaining odds for the Big 12 tournament as listed in West Virginia sportsbooks.
WVU basketball vs. Kansas State preview
Despite a challenging season, the Mountaineers managed to conclude on a positive note by defeating TCU on Saturday, breaking their seven-game losing streak with a six-point win.
Regrettably, WVU has experienced two losing streaks of similar length since January.
There was a promising outlook earlier this year when the team achieved an impressive record of 13-2 overall after defeating Oklahoma State on January 11th.
Since that time, the Mountaineers have only managed two wins out of their last sixteen games. These victories were achieved solely against teams in the Big 12 conference who concluded their schedules with an overall losing record, namely Iowa State and TCU.
Despite the current unfavorable circumstances, there is still an opportunity to create excitement during this year’s March Madness.
The initial matchup between WVU and the Wildcats proves to be quite intriguing. The regular-season encounters between these two teams were evenly matched, with both games being incredibly close.
On January 8th, the Mountaineers seized victory in their home game at Morgantown. Despite winning by a margin of three points, they fell short of covering the spread of -9.
Last month, Kansas State avenged themselves by defeating WVU with a final score of 78-73. Surprisingly, WV sportsbooks accurately adjusted their predictions for the second match. They anticipated that KSU would have a -3.5 advantage in the point spread, which they managed to cover by a narrow margin.
The lineup for the opening game is yet to be determined, but bettors in the Mountain State can anticipate a narrow point spread. Kansas State had a slightly higher number of conference wins compared to WVU, although they had one less win overall.
In order for the Mountaineers to win the rubber match, it is crucial for one of their key scorers to consistently make shots.
In the previous game, Sean McNeil had an impressive 26-point contribution, whereas Taz Sherman scored 23 points in the recent loss. Throughout most of the games, these two senior players, McNeil averaging around 12 points and Sherman averaging 18 points, led WVU.
Guard Nijel Pack leads KSU with three players reaching double digits for the season.
Whoever progresses will have the opportunity to face Kansas in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Big 12 tournament odds at WV sportsbooks
Once again, the Jayhawks have clinched the top spot in the conference, but they are not the sole favorites in this competition. Sharing the spotlight with Baylor, who is also listed at +200 to win the Big 12 tournament according to DraftKings WV Sportsbook.
The two powerhouses also divided their season matchups, each winning by a margin of at least 10 points when playing on their home court. They possess matching conference records of 14-4, with Baylor holding a slight advantage of one game in their overall standings.
According to the AP poll, Baylor is ranked third while Kansas holds the sixth position.
Currently, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, both teams are projected to be No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. However, Lunardi acknowledges that it is improbable for both teams to maintain that position unless there are unexpected upsets in other conferences.
There are also various other strong contenders in the Big 12.
Closing out the regular season with a No. 14 ranking, Texas Tech establishes itself as one of the top teams in the nation. According to DraftKings, the Red Raiders are given odds of +340 to emerge victorious in the Big 12 tournament.
The Longhorns, another team from Texas, closely follows in the rankings. They have a +550 chance of winning the championship in Kansas City.
Lunardi’s bracket places Texas Tech as a No. 3 seed, while Texas is positioned on the No. 5 line.
Following that, the likelihood noticeably decreases. The online sportsbook exhibits the subsequent statistics:
- TCU +2000
- Oklahoma +3000
- Iowa State +3500
- West Virginia +7000
- Kansas State +8000
Securing the championship in the conference tournament is essential for securing a favorable seed, yet various methods exist to enhance your position. During this period, a single additional triumph can significantly impact your standing.
TCU and Iowa State could potentially fit into this scenario. They have secured spots in the Big Dance, ranking at No. 8 and No. 9 according to ESPN’s most recent update.
If TCU manages to defeat Texas, or if the Cyclones can outlast Texas Tech, then either team has the potential to climb a few spots higher.
The Big 12 tournament kicks off with WVU’s game scheduled for Wednesday night and wraps up with the championship showdown on Saturday at 6 p.m. EST.
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