West Virginia is Creeping Up on the Bubble in Latest Bracketology Projection

With a win on Saturday, the West Virginia Mountaineers will improve to 15-7 on the season and have a 6-3 record halfway through Big 12 Conference play. Despite Baylor's poor record entering the game, WVU head coach Ross Hodge knows it's going to be a challenge.

"Their metrics are better than ours. Their NET ranking is higher than ours. They were predicted to finish higher in the league than us," he said during his radio show on Thursday night.

A win over Baylor isn't going to boost WVU's resume, but it will avoid tallying onto the "bad losses" column, which they already have two of.

In Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology projection on ESPN, he has the Mountaineers sitting just outside the bubble.

Joe Lunardi's updated bubble

Last Four Byes: Wisconsin, Miami, UCLA, New Mexico

Last Four In: Ohio State, USC, Texas, Indiana

First Four Out: Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Santa Clara, TCU

Next Four Out: Missouri, Cal, Stanford, George Mason

Next: VCU, Butler, Boise State, Creighton, West Virginia, Oklahoma State

Hodge on forecasting what will happen down the stretch

Jan 10, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge talks to a player during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

“As much as we like to do it, fans like to do it, media likes to do it…it is fun to talk about and a lot of people nowadays, it’s even a business model, to talk about things, project things, and make these bold declarations. But I’ve always said it, if I knew what was going to happen, I would open up a psychic tent on the corner of University, and I’d read palms for a living. I think if you start trying to look outside of the framework of what is exactly in front of you, you’re going to make mistakes. Even in life. Anytime I’ve gotten outside of what is right in front of me and fully present, it’s probably when you’re the least happy. You start getting anxious and anxiety, and I’m sure we’ve all worried about things that we thought were going to happen, maybe we even knew they were going to happen, and you’re worrying about it, you’re thinking about it, and the very thing you spent 48 hours thinking about doesn’t even happen.

“In this league, I mentioned it before, we played Kansas and beat them, and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, what’s wrong with Kansas? Kansas isn’t the same.’ And they haven’t lost since. Even coach (Bobby) Hurley had a viral moment after our Arizona State game, and then they go beat Cincinnati, and then they go play great at UCF.”

Joe Lunardi's updated bubble

Hodge on forecasting what will happen down the stretch

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