West Virginia Shockingly Remains on the Bubble in Latest Bracketology Projection

Wednesday's home loss to Utah was a tough pill for West Virginia to swallow, and it led many to believe, myself included, that the Mountaineers were essentially toast when it comes to an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.

The odds of them making it are still slim, but as the great Yogi Berra once said, "The game ain't over 'til it's over."

Even after dropping a Quad 3 game to the Utes, West Virginia, believe it or not, is still on Joe Lunardi's bubble in his latest bracketology update on ESPN. The crazier part? They didn't even drop a single spot. They're still the last team listed in his "next four out" grouping.

Lunardi's latest projection (Friday morning)

Last Four Byes: UCF, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ohio State

Last Four In: Santa Clara, Missouri, UCLA, USC

First Four Out: TCU, San Diego State, New Mexico, VCU

Next Four Out: California, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, West Virginia

How is this even possible?

Feb 18, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Amir Jenkins (2) shoots over Utah Utes forward Seydou Traore (0) during the second half at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Opportunities. It's as simple as that.

As Ross Hodge (and others) have said before, it's the beauty of the Big 12. As grueling as the schedule is, you have a chance to spruce up your resume every time you lace 'em up. Of West Virginia's five remaining games, three of them are currently considered Quad 1 matchups — tomorrow at TCU, Tuesday at Oklahoma State, and next Saturday vs. BYU. The regular season finale, which will be a home game against UCF, will be a Quad 2 game, and if they're able to secure a season sweep over the Knights, that will go a long way in how the committee views them.

Just because West Virginia is technically on the bubble doesn't mean they have a ton of wiggle room. If you ask me, they don't have any. They likely have to win out or go 4-1 down the stretch and do something in the Big 12 tournament to truly feel good about their chances. Even then, Mountaineer fans aren't going to be comfortable after last year's experience.

To even give themselves a chance, they have to do something about these sluggish starts. They're constantly finding themselves down roughly 7-8 points at the first media timeout — it's unsustainable, and Ross Hodge knows it.

“We have a small margin for error, and when you continually put yourself in these positions and dig yourself holes, and some of that is the inconsistency that you're playing with, whether it's individually or collectively, to continue to put yourself in these holes, and again, it's to be commended, I guess, that we continuously fight back and give ourselves chances in this game, but when you dig yourself those types of holes, so many things have to go right. In the games that we've been able to do that, we were able to kind of get over the hump with a big shot."