West Virginia Remains in Dicey Spot in Latest ESPN Bracketology Projection

A look at where the Mountaineers are projected to land in the field.

Feb 19, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Joseph Yesufu (1) celebrates with West Virginia Mountaineers guard Sencire Harris (10) during the second half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

West Virginia's win over Cincinnati took years off the life of Mountaineer fans as they nearly blew a nine-point lead with 15 seconds to go.

Jonathan Powell missed the front end of a one-and-one, leading to a crazy banked-in-three from Dan Skilling Jr. on the other end. WVU turned over the ball on the inbound, leading to another Skillings triple to cut it to three.

The Mountaineers burned their final two timeouts because they couldn't get the ball in and then, once again, turned it over on the inbound with the ball going off of the hands of Sencire Harris. Tyler Betsy had a wide-open look from the top of the key, which would have sent the game to overtime, but it clanked the front of the rim, giving WVU the win.

At this point, it's all about surviving and advancing. Style points don't really matter right now for West Virginia. They just need wins and picking one up on Wednesday keeps them in a pretty good spot for the NCAA Tournament.

In Joe Lunardi's latest ESPN Bracketology update, he still has West Virginia as part of the "Last Four Byes" and as a No. 10 seed in the East Region.

Lunardi's projected East Region

Feb 19, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Darian DeVries answers questions from the media after defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

1. Duke vs. 16. Southern/American

8. Creighton vs. 9. Texas

5. Missouri vs. 12. George Mason

4. Purdue vs. 13. Akron

6. UCLA vs. 11. Vanderbilt/Wake Forest

3. Texas Tech vs. 14. Towson

7. Saint Mary's vs. 10. West Virginia

2. Tennessee vs. 15. Central Connecticut

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