BYU or Kansas State? Which Team Should WVU Fans Be Pulling for in Big 12 Tournament?

Breaking down the two possible opponents for the West Virginia Mountaineers in round two.

Feb 28, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) dribbles against West Virginia Mountaineers guard Treysen Eaglestaff (52) during the first half at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, the BYU Cougars and the Kansas State Wildcats will be squaring off in round one of the Big 12 Conference tournament. The winner will advance to take on West Virginia on Thursday night.

So, who should West Virginia fans want to win this matchup? I know the question may seem obvious, but it depends on which angle you look at it.

The at-large bid route

If you are of the belief that West Virginia can still make the NCAA Tournament without having to win the Big 12 championship, then you're going to need BYU to win this game. Beating Kansas State and Houston isn't enough to get the job done. You're probably going to have to make it to the Big 12 title game, and at that point, perhaps win it to punch the ticket.

Taking down BYU and Houston would bump West Virginia up to seven Quad 1 wins. As of this writing, there are only 17 teams in the country that have 7+ Quad 1 wins, all of which are expected to make the tournament. I'm not guaranteeing that wins over BYU and Houston would be enough, but it would at the very least put the Mountaineers in the conversation.

When you look at many of the other teams on the bubble, they are in that 3-5 Quad 1 wins ballpark. I'm well aware West Virginia's resume has some real stains on it, but a win over Kansas, a sweep of UCF, BYU, and Cincinnati, and a victory over Houston should be more than enough considering the gauntlet that is the Big 12.

The auto bid route

To make a deep run in Kansas City, the Mountaineers would probably rather face Kansas State, although they split the season series with them and didn't look sharp in either game. Ross Hodge, I assume, likes his teams' odds much better against the No. 15 seed as opposed to a fringe top-25 team that has a projected top-two overall pick. Despite how poorly WVU looked offensively in those two contests with K-State, they would fare much better in a rock fight against them rather than another up-and-down game with an elite scorer on the other side.

BYU and Kansas State will tip things off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The winner of this game and West Virginia is slated for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPNU.