The Two Remaining Scenarios for WVU's Seeding in the Big 12 Conference Tournament

With West Virginia's win over the UCF Knights on Friday night, the Mountaineers can finish no worse than 8th in the Big 12 Conference standings. BYU enters its game against Texas Tech at 8-9 but can leapfrog WVU, of course, because the Mountaineers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The same remains true with Cincinnati as they take on TCU on the road this afternoon. That is the only game WVU fans should show a serious interest in, as the result of the Bearcats game is the only thing that will determine the Mountaineers' seed in the Big 12 Conference tournament.

The two scenarios

If Cincinnati wins, they will be 10-8 in the league and would actually jump up to the No. 6 seed, passing TCU, who would be the No. 7. West Virginia would receive the No. 8 seed.

If Cincinnati loses, they would match West Virginia's 9-9 conference record, but because they lost both games to WVU, they would fall below the Mountaineers, who would earn the No. 7 seed. Even if BYU were to beat Texas Tech and create a four-way tie record-wise, the Bearcats have the head-to-head over the Cougars.

What it means for West Virginia

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jasper Floyd (1) celebrates with fans after defeating the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

If the Mountaineers become the No. 7 seed, they will play the winner of the No. 10/No. 15 game. Right now, that would be BYU vs. Kansas State. Should they win their first game, the Mountaineers would move on to the quarterfinals against the No. 2 seed, which is Houston.

If the Mountaineers become the No. 8 seed, they will play the winner of the No. 9/No. 16 game, which, as of the moment, would be UCF vs. Utah. Winning that first game would pit West Virginia against the No. 1 seed Arizona in the quarterfinals.

Obviously, both scenarios are not ideal matchup-wise because you're running into one of the best teams in the entire country either way if you win your first game. Crazy things happen all the time in March, though, and who knows? Maybe there's actually some sort of an advantage to playing in the second round over having the double bye. The team that WVU would be playing in the quarterfinals would be extremely rested, but perhaps a little rusty.

That Cincinnati vs. TCU matchup is set for 2 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV. The full Big 12 bracket will be set by the end of today/early Sunday morning following the conclusion of Arizona vs. Colorado, which tips at 11 p.m. ET.