WVU's Seed Set for Big 12 Tournament, Finishes Four Spots Higher Than Preseason Poll

The Mountaineers will find out who they play in Kansas City after the first round concludes.

Mar 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Brenen Lorient (0) celebrates with teammates during the first half against the UCF Knights at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Moments ago, the TCU Horned Frogs took down the Cincinnati Bearcats in Fort Worth. What's the significance? Well, with Cincinnati losing, the West Virginia Mountaineers have now officially claimed the No. 7 seed in the Big 12 Conference tournament.

There is currently a three-way tie between West Virginia, Cincinnati, and UCF at 9-9, but the Mountaineers have won all four games against those two teams. BYU can reach 9-9 tonight with a win over Texas Tech, but it simply won't matter either, as the Mountaineers have the head-to-head over the Cougars as well. WVU is locked into the No. 7 seed and will receive a first-round bye in next week's tournament. They will await the winner of the matchup between the No. 10 and No. 15 seeds, which will be determined after today's slate of games.

In the Big 12 preseason poll, the media picked the Mountaineers to finish 11th in the league, so finishing four spots higher is pretty remarkable for a first-year head coach. It's also just the ninth time since the school joined the Big 12 that they have finished with a league record of .500 or better, and just the second time it's happened in the last five years. The only other occasion in the last half-decade was last year, when the Mountaineers went 10-10 under Darian DeVries.

As Ross Hodge mentioned in his postgame interview last night, at this point, West Virginia is just fighting for one more game, one more film session, one more night in a hotel, etc. With the record being what it is, there's no certainty of what lies ahead for this group after the Big 12 tournament.

We will post another article on the site once the Big 12 bracket is set, revealing all of the matchups. For now, here is what the seed matchups look like.

First round matchups

No. 9 vs. No. 16
No. 10 vs. No. 15
No. 11 vs. No. 14
No. 12 vs. No. 13

Single bye (Teams seeded 5-8)

No. 5 seed: would face the winner of No. 12 vs. No. 13
No. 6 seed: would face the winner of No. 11 vs. No. 14
No. 7 seed: would face the winner of No. 10 vs. No. 15
No. 8 seed: would face the winner of No. 9 vs. No. 16

Double byes (Top four teams)

No. 1 seed: would face the winner of No. 8 vs. No. 9/No. 16
No. 2 seed: would face the winner of No. 7 vs. No. 10/No. 15
No. 3 seed: would face the winner of No. 6 vs. No. 11/No. 14
No. 4 seed: would face the winner of No. 5 vs. No. 12/No. 13