Bubble trouble? West Virginia Mountaineers - IN or OUT?

WVU Resume:  

• Overall: 21-9   Big East: 10-7
• RPI ranking: 39
• Strength of Schedule: 54
• Key Wins –  Marquette (2), Pittsburgh
• Key Losses – Cincinnati by 23,  Villanova by 22, Tennessee by 2

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WVU Outlook:

West Virginia picked up arguably their biggest win of the season this past Monday, defeating Pittsburgh at home 76-62, becoming the sixth team in the Big East to win 10 conference games this season, but the magic number for West Virginia is 11, not 10.  The Mountaineers must take of business in their regular season finale at St. John’s to get them to an 11-7 mark in conference play. It would be very difficult to leave West Virginia out in the cold with 11 wins in what’s been the top conference in all of college basketball. Their most notable out of conference game on their slate was a two point loss to Tennessee back in late November. The Mountaineers are 3-6 against teams in the top half of the Big East standings, 7-1 against the bottom half of the league. If you take away the 23-point drubbing they were dealt by Cincinnati, the Mountaineers’ other five losses to Georgetown (1), Louisville (9), Notre Dame (13), Pittsburgh (1) and UConn (8) were by a combined average of 6.4 points.  Certainly if West Virginia were able to have won one or two of those contests, we probably wouldn’t be talking about them being on, or around the bubble. The Mountaineers still can help their cause in the Big East Tournament next week as well. One or two wins in the tournament would help lament their tournament status, but above all else, a win Saturday over St. John’s is a must. I believe if they handle St. John’s on Saturday and get to the 11-win plateau in the Big East, West Virginia will get into the NCAA Tournament.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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