Bracketology Tracker: West Virginia Keeps Pace, Despite Losses
Last week was a rough one for Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers as they squandered an 11 point lead vs No. 3 Kansas at home and followed that up with a road loss to No. 1 Baylor, 70-59.
The fact that West Virginia lost both of these games is not surprising, Kansas and Baylor are legit and are poised to make deep runs in March. The Mountaineers have now lost three straight games, two of which were to two of the top three teams in the country and although those won't go down as "bad losses", West Virginia is still searching for that signature win.
Throughout much of the season, West Virginia has been a projected two or three seed by ESPN college basketball analyst and bracketology enthusiast, Joe Lunardi. Last night, Lunardi tweeted out the most recent projected field that has the Mountaineers still claiming a number three seed as the eleventh best team overall. So despite the losses, the Mountaineers are still gaining respect. According to ESPN's college basketball power index, West Virginia has the nation's 14th toughest schedule and strength of record and ranks 12th in the BPI (Basketball Power Index). ESPN also predicts that West Virginia will finish with a record of 22.5-8.5 and a conference record of 10.5-7.5. If West Virginia finishes with 22-23 wins in the regular season and makes a run in the conference tournament, there still could be an outside shot of them grabbing one of the last No. 2 seeds. Albeit, they're only three spots behind that as we speak.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @WVUonSI
Twitter - @SI_WVU and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_
