Latest Bracketology Has Big 12 Champion WVU Hosting in NCAA Tournament

Winning the Big 12 Conference tournament and cutting down the nets in Kansas City was special for the West Virginia Mountaineers, not only because they were crowned as the queens of the league, but because they will now almost certainly host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Unlike the men's tournament, which is played on a predetermined neutral floor, the women's tournament rewards the top 16 seeds by playing the first and second rounds on their floor.

Going into the Big 12 title game against TCU, the Mountaineers were sitting just on the outside of a top 16 seed. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme bumped them up following the win, expecting them to be the No. 4 seed and hosting No. 13 Troy.

Creme's full region 2 (Sacramento) projection

Mar 8, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers celebrate after the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 Cal Baptist

No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 9 Syracuse

No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Miami OH

No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Troy

No. 6 Baylor vs. No. 11 Rhode Island

No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Charleston

No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Colorado

No. 2 LSU vs. No. 15 Navy

A first of it's kind for Morgantown

There have been a number of exciting games and atmospheres in Morgantown over the years, in all sports. The football game against Miami in 1993, vs. LSU in 2011, vs. Oklahoma in 2018, the Backyard Brawl in 2023 and 2025, all of the top-5 matchups in men's basketball, the baseball regional in 2019, the Mountain State Derby vs. Marshall, etc. But there has NEVER been an NCAA Tournament game in Morgantown of this magnitude, with all due respect to the soccer programs. We have never seen Hope Coliseum packed with 14,000 fans in a do-or-die situation. And in all likelihood, we will this March.

Destined for a deep run in March?

Obviously, there's no way to project how far the Mountaineers will go right now because there are so many unknowns. We don't have a bracket, and as we all know, it all comes down to matchups. You may be one of the best teams in the country, but if you meet a team in the second round that exposes many of your weaknesses and plays a style you're not accustomed to playing, it could be over in the blink of an eye.

Because this team is one of the elite defenses in the country, they will have a chance to beat just about anyone. Having that homecourt advantage, assuming it happens, should go a long way in helping them advance to the second weekend — something the Mountaineers haven't done since 1992.