Mountaineer Maven Big 12 Tournament Predictions for West Virginia
The Mountaineers will begin Big 12 conference tournament play this Thursday with a quarterfinals matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma swept the regular season series away from the Mountaineers and are looking to make three straight. Our staff has put together some predictions for how far West Virginia will go in the conference tournament in Kansas City.
Michael Gresko
West Virginia will defeat Oklahoma in a close contest up until the end. They’ll meet Baylor in the semifinals where they will fall by seven to ten points. Kansas will take care of Baylor somewhat easily in the championship game.
Zach Campbell
It's been a year for college basketball. Chaos has been the rule rather than the exception across almost the entirety of the college basketball landscape this season- except for the Big 12. Be it Kansas or Baylor trading the top spot in-conference (and nationally) like a timeshare, they've been the clear front runners this year in the Heartland conference. Meanwhile, there's an absolute log jam for third place as West Virginia, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma all stand even at 9-9 a piece in Big 12 play. So what plays out? If West Virginia can carry the fire from it's 12-point upset over Baylor on Saturday, they might have what it takes to play spoiler. It might not matter, though, as Baylor and Kansas are two of the better teams in the nation and will ultimately battle it out for the Big 12 crown and given Baylor's stomach-churning defense and athleticism, I'd say it's likely Baylor will just edge the Jayhawks for the cowboy conference crown.
Schuyler Callihan
West Virginia seems to have their swagger back after winning two straight games to end the regular season, but will it continue? Oklahoma has been a pest for the Mountaineers this year and have three or four guys that can really shoot it. It's tough to beat a team three times, especially a team that has the amount of talent that West Virginia has. I have the Mountaineers just edging out the Sooners in the quarterfinals, but dropping big to Baylor in the semis. The Bears will be playing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and aren't too happy with how they played against West Virginia on Saturday.
Jonathan Martin
The 2020 Big 12 men’s basketball tournament once again looks challenging – with several teams capable of taking the title. Kansas once again is the team to beat, winning the conference regular season with a record of 17-1. Though fading some of late, Baylor has been strong – and West Virginia, Texas and Oklahoma appear to be peaking at the right time. However, in a conference where anyone can beat anyone – I still like the Jayhawks to win their 12th conference tournament championship.
John Pentol
West Virginia is the dark horse for the Big 12 tournament this week in Kansas City. They are riding a two game winning streak and are once again playing like the team we saw in January. I see them beating Oklahoma in their first game and earning some revenge. But unfortunately, I see them losing to Baylor (who I think will beat the winner of TCU vs Kansas State).
Daniel Woods
The momentum West Virginia is carrying into the postseason will help them make a push deep into the tournament, but it won't quite be enough. The Mountaineers should get past Oklahoma in the quarterfinals, setting up another matchup with Baylor. The neutral site will play into Bob Huggins' team's favor, helping the Mountaineers upset the Bears for the second time in a week. The championship game will be a tough matchup with Kansas and as West Virginia fans have seen over the years, beating the Jayhawks in Kansas City is one of the hardest tasks in the country. Kansas takes the title and the Mountaineers finish as the runner-up.
Anthony G. Halkias
With the stunning victory over Baylor in Morgantown, I believe the Mountaineers got that signature win that they needed and have momentum heading into post-season play. Having said that, I don’t expect a bunch from WVU. I think getting that No. 6 seed was unfortunate, but they are hungry for revenge on Oklahoma. I like WVU to get that game and then get bounced. Looking at a Kansas-Baylor tourney championship.
