West Virginia is KenPom's Statistical Darling

Moments ago, the latest edition of the highly-regarded KenPom rankings was released, placing the West Virginia Mountaineers as the sixth-ranked team in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy’s statistics.

The Mountaineers’ ranking is heavily influenced by the elite performance that Bob Huggins’ team has produced on the court this season. Coming in third in the nation in Pomeroy’s adjusted defense metric, West Virginia trails only conference rival Kansas and the perennially stingy Virginia.

The defense has buoyed the team throughout the season, both on the court and in the rankings. If the offense can ever catch up to the defense, the Mountaineers will be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason and it looks like that development may already be taking place.

West Virginia clocks in as the 45th best team in terms of adjusted offense. In the latest top ten, it is the only team that ranks outside the top 40 in adjusted offense, making that defensive rating even more impressive.

The offense does look to be progressing however, as since scoring 55 points at Oklahoma State on January 6, the Mountaineers have averaged 78 points per game over the last four contests. This includes a pair of blowout wins over TCU and Texas in which West Virginia broke the 80-point mark in both wins.

Some of the strongest metrics that goes into the KenPom ratings is the series of opponent statistics. This has seriously affected West Virginia’s position in the rankings, rating toward the top of each of these three categories.

The opponents the Mountaineers have played have helped to develop a strong resume for the Gold and Blue. Through terrific scheduling, West Virginia currently sits tenth in opponent ratings, 37th in opponent’s offense, and third in opponent’s defense.

As a result of elite-level defensive performances, the West Virginia Mountaineers have become an analytical darling, particularly according to KenPom. As the season rolls on, an improvement on the offensive end can help to not only push the team to the top of the polls but also the top of the statistical ratings.

West Virginia is not only loved by the KemPom ratings, but by Vegas as well. The Mountaineers currently sit inside the top 10 in best odds to win the national championship.