What More Does Mark Kellogg Have to Do at West Virginia to Get the Nation's Respect?

Year after year, Mark Kellogg wins. That's the way it's been his entire career, dating back to his days as the head coach at Fort Lewis at the Division II level. Since becoming a Division I head coach in 2015 at Stephen F. Austin, he's won 77% of his games, the same percentage he's won at West Virginia through 2.5 seasons. He's a proven coach, a proven winner, and a program builder.

So, why is it that every year it takes so long for the voters, bracketologists, and the rest of the college basketball world to show respect to Kellogg and the Mountaineers? Beats me. Despite beating No. 10 Iowa State on the road by double digits, West Virginia remains outside of the AP Top 25, although it is the team receiving the most votes. According to ESPN's Charlie Creme, they are projected to be a No. 6 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament.

The only metric that I've come across that gives WVU the proper love is the NET Rankings, where the Mountaineers rank 18th. Given that they are 2-2 in Quad 1 games, 3-1 in Quad 2, and a combined 9-0 in Quads 3 and 4, why are they not viewed as a Top 20 team? Why are they not projected higher than a six-seed? I asked this question a bunch last year, too, but I figured some of that was still some uncertainty about Kellogg's ability to win at this level consistently. This deep in, yeah, I think it's safe to say the Mountaineers deserve more attention, especially after what they did to limit Audi Crooks over the weekend.

It's not that difficult to see how well of a job Kellogg has done since arriving in Morgantown. I mean, he beat a top-15 Duke team with just five players, for crying out loud. If I were in Kellogg's shoes and were asked about the lack of respect, I'd steal Curt Cignetti's "Google me" quote.

Updated Top 25

1. UConn
2. South Carolina
3. UCLA
4. Texas
5. Vanderbilt
6. LSU
7. Kentucky
8. Michigan
9. Louisville
10. TCU
11. Iowa
12. Maryland
13. Oklahoma
14. Ohio State
15. Michigan State
16. Ole Miss
17. Texas Tech
18. Baylor
19. Iowa State
20. Tennessee
21. Alabama
22. Princeton
23. Notre Dame
24. Nebraska
25. Illinois

Others receiving votes: West Virginia 41, Duke 41, North Carolina 21, Minnesota 12, Washington 11, Stanford 10, Utah 8, Rhode Island 4, USC 4, Georgia 3, Oregon 2, NC State 2.

Updated Top 25

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